The finishing touches

Introduction

In this part of our basic module writing tutorial series we’ll look at the final steps to transform our Tutorialthird module class into a base template that we can use to kick start the writing of new modules. Rather than republish the same old code again we’ll only discuss the changes, but I’ve added a download link at the end of this part so you can grab the final code and use it as the basis for your own projects. We’re going to call this module “Skeleton” – a name that we’ll replace with our own when it comes to producing new modules based on it.

Updated for Prestashop version 1.4 onwards.

Continue reading "Writing your own Prestashop Module – Part 5"

Form Validation and Security

Introduction

While being sufficiently functional for what it does, the module we created in Part 2 does present us with some issues to consider when implementing “real world” modules to extend Prestashop. In particular the user input we captured with our form was written directly to the configuration entry without any checking to determine whether it was valid, nor did we take account of the type of data being entered.

In this tutorial we will look at the general issue of form input checking and security, both for Back Office and Front Office forms and user input as well as looking at improving our code both functionally and aesthetically.

Updated for Prestashop version 1.4 onwards.

Continue reading "Writing your own Prestashop Module – Part 4"

Storing Module Configuration

Introduction

In the third part of this series we’ll look at how we can store configuration data for our modules in the Prestashop database, and how we can allow users to interact with this data to control the module’s behaviour. We will also briefly touch on how we can generate output from our module to provide visual feedback of the configuration changes.

Updated for Prestashop version 1.4 onwards.

Continue reading "Writing your own Prestashop Module – Part 3"

Creating a basic module

Introduction

In this second part of the series we will look at creating our first basic Prestashop module that can be controlled from the Back Office.

The Module class

Similar to the ObjectModel base class, all Prestashop modules are extended from a common base class used to define their basic functionality. The “Module” class provides the interface between the administration screens and your module as well as providing internationalisation and “hook” management functionality.

Updated for Prestashop version 1.4 onwards.

Continue reading "Writing your own Prestashop Module – Part 2"

So you want to write a module?

Introduction

There has always been a little bit of Voodoo associated Prestashop modules. This has been mainly down to a lack of documentation available, but never fear — this series of tutorials aim to introduce module writing to the PHP programming masses. This series will look at building our very own fully functional module which will provide all the standard functionality that is the basis for many of the most common modules. It will also provide a basic framework that you can use as a  template for your own code. Later articles will look at creating Payment Modules and extending the Administration interface, but initially we’ll look at the class of modules which deal mainly with inserting content into your pages, as this best demonstrates the fundamental basic concepts of developing for PrestaShop.

Updated for Prestashop version 1.4 onwards.

Continue reading "Writing your own PrestaShop Module – Part 1"