ElementInfoManager does not provide an alter hook, cannot alter element plugin definitions [#2987208]

Problem/Motivation

ElementInfoManager does not provide an alterHook definition. This prevents altering element plugin definitions. As more and more contrib provide elements, sometimes it is required to override them for improvements. This is impossible for element plugins.

See alterDefinitions, where it is skipped if there is no alterHook

protected function alterDefinitions(&$definitions) {
    if ($this->alterHook) {
      $this->moduleHandler->alter($this->alterHook, $definitions);
    }
  }

Proposed resolution

Provide an alterHook definition. Invoke \Drupal\Core\Plugin\DefaultPluginManager::alterInfo in the consturctor so that end users can swap element classes.

Remaining tasks

Add patch.

API changes

Adds a new hook.

Release notes snippet

A new hook has been added to allow altering of render element plugins. Read the change record for more.

Comment	File	Size	Author
#19	2987208-19.patch	3.7 KB	alexpott
#19	8.8.x: PHP 7.1 & MySQL 5.7 26,732 pass PHP 7.1 & SQLite 3.15 26,772 pass
#19	2987208-19.test-only.patch	1.69 KB	alexpott
#19	8.8.x: PHP 7.1 & MySQL 5.7 26,731 pass, 1 fail
#11	2987208-element-plugin-info-alter-11.patch	1.66 KB	akalata
#11	8.8.x: PHP 7.1 & MySQL 5.7 26,282 pass
#10	2987208-element-plugin-info-alter-10.patch	1.66 KB	akalata
#10	8.8.x: PHP 7.1 & MySQL 5.7 Patch Failed to Apply
#8	2987208-element-plugin-info-alter-8.patch	1.58 KB	akalata
#8	8.8.x: PHP 7.1 & MySQL 5.7 26,282 pass
#6	2987208-element-plugin-info-alter-6.patch	1.57 KB	akalata
#6	8.8.x: PHP 7.1 & MySQL 5.7 26,282 pass
#3	drupal_form-element-info-alter-2987208-3.patch	734 bytes	sime
#3	8.7.x: PHP 7.1 & MySQL 5.7 26,384 pass

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Comments

Comment #1

20 July 2018 at 18:50

mglaman created an issue. See original summary.

Comment #2

mglaman

English

WI, USA

CreditAttribution: mglaman at Centarro commented 20 July 2018 at 18:56

To accomplish this, I swapped the element manager for a custom class:

<?php

namespace Drupal\mymodule;

use Drupal\Core\Cache\CacheBackendInterface;
use Drupal\Core\Cache\CacheTagsInvalidatorInterface;
use Drupal\Core\Extension\ModuleHandlerInterface;
use Drupal\Core\Render\ElementInfoManager;
use Drupal\Core\Theme\ThemeManagerInterface;

class AlterableElementManager extends ElementInfoManager {

  public function __construct(\Traversable $namespaces, CacheBackendInterface $cache_backend, CacheTagsInvalidatorInterface $cache_tag_invalidator, ModuleHandlerInterface $module_handler, ThemeManagerInterface $theme_manager) {
    parent::__construct($namespaces, $cache_backend, $cache_tag_invalidator, $module_handler, $theme_manager);
    $this->alterInfo('element_definition_info');
  }

}

And then

/**
 * Implements hook_element_info_alter().
 */
function mymodule_element_definition_info_alter(array &$info) {
  if (isset($info['commerce_profile_select'])) {
    $info['commerce_profile_select']['class'] = \Drupal\mymodule\Element\ProfileSelect::class;
    $info['commerce_profile_select']['provider'] = 'mymodule';
  }
}

Comment #3

sime

any/any

Melbourne

CreditAttribution: sime at Lil Engine commented 7 February 2019 at 05:49

File	Size
drupal_form-element-info-alter-2987208-3.patch	734 bytes
8.7.x: PHP 7.1 & MySQL 5.7 26,384 pass

Patch to add the alterInfo() call. I've used `form_element_info` to map what a developer would expect it to be called based on @FormElement plugin type but I didn't look deeper.

Comment #4

7 February 2019 at 05:49

Version:

8.7.x-dev

» 8.8.x-dev

Drupal 8.7.0-alpha1 will be released the week of March 11, 2019, which means new developments and disruptive changes should now be targeted against the 8.8.x-dev branch. For more information see the Drupal 8 minor version schedule and the Allowed changes during the Drupal 8 release cycle.

Comment #5

tim.plunkett

he/him

English

Philadelphia

CreditAttribution: tim.plunkett at Acquia commented 9 April 2019 at 21:40

Issue tags:

+Plugin system

Be sure to add a hook example in core/lib/Drupal/Core/Render/theme.api.php, preferably right after hook_element_info_alter().

I'd suggest hook_element_plugin_alter() here, it's not specific to forms.

Comment #6

akalata CreditAttribution: akalata at Tag1 Consulting commented 9 April 2019 at 22:03

Status:

Active

» Needs review

File	Size
2987208-element-plugin-info-alter-6.patch	1.57 KB
8.8.x: PHP 7.1 & MySQL 5.7 26,282 pass

Here's a quick patch with an attempt at documentation.

Comment #7

tim.plunkett

he/him

English

Philadelphia

CreditAttribution: tim.plunkett at Acquia commented 9 April 2019 at 22:10

+++ b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Render/theme.api.php
@@ -810,6 +810,23 @@ function hook_element_info_alter(array &$info) {
+ * @param array $plugins
...
+function hook_element_plugin_alter(array &$plugins) {

Let's rename this $definitions, seems to be the standard for these hooks.

+++ b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Render/theme.api.php
@@ -810,6 +810,23 @@ function hook_element_info_alter(array &$info) {
+  $plugins['layout_builder']['class'] = '\Drupal\mymodule\Element\MyLayoutBuilderElement';

Great example! :)

There's no need for explicit test coverage here, as it uses the existing DefaultPluginManager::alterInfo() method.

Comment #8

akalata CreditAttribution: akalata at Tag1 Consulting commented 9 April 2019 at 22:13

File	Size
2987208-element-plugin-info-alter-8.patch	1.58 KB
8.8.x: PHP 7.1 & MySQL 5.7 26,282 pass

Updated based on #7: $plugins to $definitions.

Comment #9

tim.plunkett

he/him

English

Philadelphia

CreditAttribution: tim.plunkett at Acquia commented 9 April 2019 at 22:24

Typo in definitiions.

Also I think this new alter should have a sentence about preferring usage of hook_element_info_alter when possible, since they are slightly different

Comment #10

akalata CreditAttribution: akalata at Tag1 Consulting commented 9 April 2019 at 23:06

File	Size
2987208-element-plugin-info-alter-10.patch	1.66 KB
8.8.x: PHP 7.1 & MySQL 5.7 Patch Failed to Apply

More words for #9.

Comment #11

akalata CreditAttribution: akalata at Tag1 Consulting commented 9 April 2019 at 23:17

File	Size
2987208-element-plugin-info-alter-11.patch	1.66 KB
8.8.x: PHP 7.1 & MySQL 5.7 26,282 pass

Tried editing the patch file manually, missed a step.

Comment #12

tim.plunkett

he/him

English

Philadelphia

CreditAttribution: tim.plunkett at Acquia commented 10 April 2019 at 09:53

Status:

Needs review

» Reviewed & tested by the community

Looks great, thanks!

Comment #13

11 April 2019 at 11:20

The last submitted patch, 3: drupal_form-element-info-alter-2987208-3.patch, failed testing. View results

Comment #14

alexpott

he/they

English

🇪🇺🌍

CreditAttribution: alexpott at Acro Commerce, Thunder commented 12 April 2019 at 23:34

Issue summary:	View changes
Status:	Reviewed & tested by the community	» Needs work
Issue tags:		+Needs release note, +Needs change record

I discussed this with @tim.plunkett and we agreed that the API expansion is necessary. This type of thing needs a change record so people know about it and a release notes snippet.

Create a new CR here -> https://www.drupal.org/node/add/changenotice?field_project=3060

Comment #15

Ghost of Drupal Past

he/him

CreditAttribution: Ghost of Drupal Past at Smartsheet commented 12 July 2019 at 15:13

I hit this issue so often I published a workaround at https://gitlab.com/chx_/do2987208 almost a year ago. I will see what I can do to get this across the finish line.

Comment #16

Ghost of Drupal Past

he/him

CreditAttribution: Ghost of Drupal Past at Smartsheet commented 13 July 2019 at 14:26

Issue summary:	View changes
Status:	Needs work	» Needs review
Issue tags:	-Needs release note, -Needs change record

https://www.drupal.org/node/3067713 has been filed.

Comment #17

bircher

🇨🇿

CreditAttribution: bircher as a volunteer and at Nuvole commented 13 July 2019 at 15:55

Status:

Needs review

» Reviewed & tested by the community

This now has a release note snippet and a change notice. The patch is simple and looks good to me.

Comment #18

alexpott

he/they

English

🇪🇺🌍

CreditAttribution: alexpott at Acro Commerce, Thunder commented 15 July 2019 at 14:59

Status:	Reviewed & tested by the community	» Needs work
Issue tags:		+Needs tests

Ideally we'd have test coverage of this too. We could add a hook implementation to element_info_test,module

Comment #19

alexpott

he/they

English

🇪🇺🌍

CreditAttribution: alexpott at Acro Commerce, Thunder commented 15 July 2019 at 15:12

Status:

Needs work

» Needs review

File	Size
2987208-19.test-only.patch	1.69 KB
8.8.x: PHP 7.1 & MySQL 5.7 26,731 pass, 1 fail
2987208-19.patch	3.7 KB
8.8.x: PHP 7.1 & MySQL 5.7 26,732 pass PHP 7.1 & SQLite 3.15 26,772 pass

The test-only patch is the interdiff.

Comment #20

alexpott

he/they

English

🇪🇺🌍

CreditAttribution: alexpott at Acro Commerce, Thunder commented 15 July 2019 at 15:12

Issue tags:

-Needs tests

Comment #21

15 July 2019 at 16:29

The last submitted patch, 19: 2987208-19.test-only.patch, failed testing. View results

Comment #22

amateescu CreditAttribution: amateescu for Pfizer, Inc. commented 15 July 2019 at 16:32

Status:

Needs review

» Reviewed & tested by the community

Looks great :)

Comment #23

16 July 2019 at 17:36

The last submitted patch, 19: 2987208-19.test-only.patch, failed testing. View results

Comment #24

17 July 2019 at 18:40

The last submitted patch, 19: 2987208-19.test-only.patch, failed testing. View results

Comment #25

larowlan

🇦🇺🏝.au GMT+10

CreditAttribution: larowlan at PreviousNext commented 31 July 2019 at 06:28

issue credits

Comment #26

31 July 2019 at 06:32

larowlan committed d68cb07 on 8.8.x

Issue #2987208 by akalata, alexpott, sime, tim.plunkett, Charlie ChX...

Comment #27

larowlan

🇦🇺🏝.au GMT+10

CreditAttribution: larowlan at PreviousNext commented 31 July 2019 at 06:32

Status:

Reviewed & tested by the community

» Fixed

Committed d68cb07 and pushed to 8.8.x. Thanks!

Published the change record.

thanks folks

Comment #28

ndobromirov CreditAttribution: ndobromirov at FFW commented 31 July 2019 at 07:06

Just a late question...
Why introduce new hooks, when there is a viable alternative in D8 - events?

Comment #29

Berdir

German

Switzerland

CreditAttribution: Berdir at MD Systems GmbH commented 31 July 2019 at 07:22

See #2237831: Allow module services to specify hooks and tons of related issues and discussions. In short, the current event system has drawbacks and it wouldn't scale to convert all our current hooks to events. And replacing hooks with events has been pretty much put on old. This added a new hook, agreed, but we have a standard system in place for altering plugin definitions and this uses that.