Getting list of QGIS field names, not including hidden fields using PyQGIS

Question

Currently, for a python plugin for QGIS 2.8.3, I get the list of fields for a layer using pendingFields as mentioned in this thread:

fields = self.layer.pendingFields()

I now have a few hidden fields (set via the fields tab in layer properties). How can I get a list of fields that are not hidden?

I see the possibility to get Edit Type, but am not sure where to go from here :

EditType { 
  LineEdit, UniqueValues, UniqueValuesEditable, ValueMap, 
  Classification, EditRange, SliderRange, CheckBox, 
  FileName, Enumeration, Immutable, Hidden, 
  TextEdit, Calendar, DialRange, ValueRelation, 
  UuidGenerator, Photo, WebView, Color, 
  EditorWidgetV2 
}

Answer 1

The vector layer object has a editorWidgetV2ByName method which allows you to pass in a field name and get back the the name of the Edit Widget as a string. For example:

>>> layer.editorWidgetV2ByName("fieldname")
'Hidden'

Alternately there is the editorWidgetV2 method which allows you to pass in a field index:

>>> layer.editorWidgetV2(0)
'Hidden'

The list of names for different widgets can be found with the documentation for setEditorWidgetV2, which incidently can be used to set the widget for a field given the index, like so:

>>> layer.setEditorWidgetV2(0, "Hidden")

So to get a list of fields which aren't hidden you can use the following snippet:

fields = [
    field for field in layer.pendingFields()
    if layer.editorWidgetV2ByName(field.name() != "Hidden")
]