PHP Concrete 5 Pass Variables to Add.php - php

Question

I'm creating a new block and I want to pass a defined variable to the block instance on add.
In my controller, I have the following:
// declare the var
public $hasMap = 0;
public function add() {
$this->set('hasMap', $this->generateMapNumber());
}
The generateMapNumber() function looks like this:
public function generateMapNumber() {
return intval(mt_rand(1,time()));
}
In my add.php form I have a hidden field:
<?php $myObj = $controller; ?>
<input type="hidden" name="hasMap" value="<?php echo $myObj->hasMap?>" />
When I create a new block, hasMap is always 0 and the hidden input value is always 0 too. Any suggestions? Thank you!
--- EDIT ---
From the concrete5 documentation:
// This...
$controller->set($key, $value)
// ... takes a string $key and a mixed $value, and makes a variable of that name
// available from within a block's view, add or edit template. This is
// typically used within the add(), edit() or view() function

Answer 1

Calling $this->set('name', $value) in a block controller sets a variable of that name with the given value in the appropriate add/edit/view file -- you don't need to get it from within the controller object. So just call <?php echo $hasMap; ?> in your add.php file, instead of $myObj->hasMap.

Answer 2

It will not be the same value, because the function will give diferrent values every timy it is called.

Answer 3

So here's the solution. In the controller...
public $hasMap = 0;
// no need for this:
// public function add() { }
public function generateMapNumber() {
if (intval($this->hasMap)>0) {
return $this->hasMap;
} else {
return intval(mt_rand(1,time()));
}
}
And then in the add.php file...
<?php $myObj = $controller; ?>
<input type="hidden" name="hasMap" value="<?php echo $myObj->generateMapNumber()?>" />
It works perfectly. On add, a new number is generated and on edit, the existing number is drawn from the hasMap field in the db.
Thanks for all the input. Hope that helps someone else!