Adding views/tmpl to Joomla Plugin - joomla

I need a advice on how to add some different views/tmpls to a Joomla 3.x System Plugin. I made a simple plugin to replace Joomla 3.x Offline page, but i would like to add several different views (layouts) to that plugin. I am confused with views vs tmpl. Could some one give me some guidance and give me a simple directory structure to follow.
I use this code to trigger \views\defaultview\view.html.php but i want to have more different views. Is this the correct way?
public function onBeforeRender(){
// Get the application.
$app = JFactory::getApplication('site');
if (($app->getCfg('offline'))&&(!$app->isAdmin())) {
// Get the document object.
$doc = JFactory::getDocument();
$view = 'defaultview';
$basePath = __DIR__;
$config = array( 'base_path'=>$basePath);
require_once $basePath . DS . 'views' . DS . $view . DS . 'view.html.php';
JResponse::setHeader('Content-Type', 'text/html; charset=utf-8');
JResponse::sendHeaders();
$app->close();
}
}
Thanks. Regards.

You don't provide much information (e.g. Joomla version, code showing what you've tried etc) but here goes…
Views and tmpls are part of the MVC of Joomla components not plugins. Plugins are small pieces of code that respond to events. If you're not clear on them read the linked articles.
Having, said that, it is possible to affect the loading of a view or it's tmpl but how you want to use it will depend on your existing code. Depending on whether you're on Joomla 3.x or Joomla 2.5.x you will probably benefit from reading through the tutorials about developing an MVC component, the 2.5.x version here or the 3.x version here.
Tmpl files are effectively templated pieces of code that are loaded by the view, a tmpl file can also load a sub-tmpl file easily. e.g. /tmpl/default.php can load /tmpl/default-tools.php with a single call (originally they were meant to be flexible and reusable pieces of code but for various reasons that doesn't work in practice). They can be overridden by the template in use for any given page.
In the recent releases of the J3 line, layouts are now available. These are small, flexible pieces of code that can be used and re-used in various places through-out Joomla, and they can be provided by third-party extensions, and overridden at the template.
If you can provide more details about your particular usage scenario, code etc we can probably provide more help.
Failing that as this question is about Joomla specific implementation details, you may get a better result if you, try asking on the Joomla Q&A StackExhange site.

Related

How to create a custom component for Joomla 3.3?

I'm new to Joomla and I'm confused, so I need your advice on this. I have to create a plugin which connects to an API and shows base64 PDF on a page. So, I created my PDF viewer, but I don't know how to pack it up in Joomla. It's not just "custom HTML", it has to be a separate package so it can be installed on other Joomla sites. I guess it also has to have a database to store some settings (e.g. API URL). I want users who install this extension to be able to go to Modules > New Module > PDF Viewer, and from there they can set up API URL for that module. Users will be able to create modules of this type on multiple pages and to be able to set different API URL for every page. So, what do I need? An extension, component, module...? I searched for tutorials and read Joomla docs but I'm still confused. Please help me, what to do, some guide, where to put files, where to upload them etc. Thanks
You could actually go about this with a component, plugin or module:
I think a component would be the most complex in this situation. As you are probably already aware, a component is like an application which renders itself in the main click of the website.
If you were to create a plugin, you could generate a short code snippet based on the name of the plugin which could then be added to an article, which would then display the PDF within the article. For example:
{PDFgen=NAME_OF_PDF}
or
{PDF}name_of_file.pdf{/PDF}
Creating a module in my opinion would be the easiest. As once you've added the functionality to render the PDF, the user can either display it as a module (like a sidebar widget), or they can also import it in their article using a built in Joomla feature. Assign a custom position to the module, then add the following anywhere within an article: {loadposition XXX}, where XXX is the name of the custom position you assigned to the module.
Out of all honest, you should develop it in a way you feel most comfortable with. Just make sure when you do it, that you stick to Joomla coding standards.
Hope this helps

Building an online MVC architecture description

I would like to create for my Yii application, a site where I can describe each model, view and controller used. However, doing this for each and everyone of my classes would be an extremely long task which I believe might already be solved out there.
Is there a way to automatically create an site with each model/view/controller and its methods, so then I can add a description to it?
Have you tried phpDocumentor http://www.phpdoc.org/? It's crawls your PHP files' comments and generates a simple website for them in the spirit of JavaDocs.
Or, better still, there is a custom extension you can use to build docs like those on the Yii site call Yii Docs Generator http://www.yiiframework.com/extension/yiidocsgenerator. See the details at http://www.yiiframework.com/wiki/186/how-to-generate-yii-like-documentation
I would take a look at T4MVC - it uses a T4 template to generate code for each controller / method. Maybe you could utilize it.
Have you looked into the Gii module of yii. Once you create the tables it can produce models and then CRUD (create, update, delete) pages. Excluding the database there would be no programming required. And then you have the full source in a readable and documented form to manipulate and change to suite your needs.
If you wan't something a bit more advanced or custom you could extend Gii and produce some of your own templates
Larry Ullman has a really nice series on Learning the Yii Framework. In part 3 of the series, he walks you through configuring Yii and enabling Gii, a web-based automated code generation tool for Yii. In part 5, he shows you how to use it to generate the code for your models. The whole series is a really nice introduction to Yii, I recommend it.

customizing componnet in joomla

i have created a component using this http://www.notwebdesign.com/joomla-component-creator/index.php component creator how can i add a simple registration form in that and also make its backend looks like the other component
The name of that utility is a little misleading since it only creates the structure of a component. If you want to add functionality to the structure created you will need to actually put in the code that does what ever you need it to do. Think of this as the foundation and framework of a house. You actually have to put the walls up and furnish it.
It would probably be helpful to understand the files that have been created for you so you know what needs to be added. I would recommend learning how to build a component from scratch first. Joomla has pretty good documentation on that here - http://docs.joomla.org/Developing_a_Model-View-Controller_Component_-_Part_1
i have develop the Lots of component from this site http://www.notwebdesign.com/joomla-component-creator/index.php .
1) First Create the components and give the name and crrate the require field fo the registration from .and save the components then after the download this components.
2) Install the components in your joomla site.
3) Go to the Fornt-end view components folder. and create a form in the default.php page and save and update operation query is written in the model .
Your Registration page is ready.
This tutorial is the best I have come across so far. It will hopefully guide you to understand the MVC structure that the component generating site delivers to you.
I am actually the developer of the Component Creator you have used. It only creates the MVC files and structures needed to quickly create a component. You still need quite good PHP skills to develop a fully working component.
The component creator helps developers with the tedious tasks of building the framework.

mvc components in codeigniter?

in yii i could have mvc components (acts like an own application). could i have this too in codeigniter?
eg. in SYSTEM/APPLICATION have a folder called COMPONENTS and in there i put stand-alone applications that would be a part of the application. components like ADDRESS BOOK, MAIL, TWITTER and so on. every component folder has folders like: models, views, controllers, config etc.
so a component model extends the application model which in turn extends system's (code igniter) model. the same goes for view and controller.
i've already got a lot of these components which i want to use in codeigniter. is it good idea to place them as i said in SYSTEM/APPLICATION/COMPONENTS or is there best practice for this?
You can do this in CodeIgniter using v1.7.2 or 2.0, but using Packages as Billiam suggested would not work and sadly he is just confusing you.
You are basically looking for a HMVC architecture and this can be provided with a system called Modular Separation.
That works with CodeIgniter 1.7.2 and I have patched it to work with the (still unfinished) CodeIgniter 2.0 branch on the link in the entry.
Not by default in CI 1.7.2, but 'packages' will be available in 2.0.
Added ability to set "Package" paths -
specific paths where the Loader and
Config classes should try to look
first for a requested file. This
allows distribution of
sub-applications with their own
libraries, models, config files, etc.
in a single "package" directory. See
the Loader
class documentation for more
details.
From: http://bitbucket.org/ellislab/codeigniter/src/tip/user_guide/changelog.html
Also, take a look at Modular Extensions - HMVC

How to create my own form in joomla

I want to create my own form that are submitted and values of that form will be stored in joomla database. How can i used the Joomla connection code to interacte with the joomla database.
If you just want to get your work done, there are some components already avaiable in Joomla Extension's website to your form's needs. CkForms is a good one, you can create simple forms with it that are automatically saved in the database (supports upload of files too).
If you want to learn how to write extensions in Joomla, you should read Joomla Official Documentation website.
Extensions in Joomla are divided in "Components", "Modules" and "Plugins". More informations about these differences can be found here and here.
What you're trying to achieve sounds a "component" to me. Downloading the CkForms and reading it's source code should get you started to Joomla's way of writing components.
EDIT: Joomla has a huge API with a lot of features. It has a database module of it's own, with insert methods and such. Reading Joomla's API website before implementing your component it's a good idea to avoid "reinventing the wheel" and it's a good practice since those methods are extensively tested by all Joomla users.
The JForm class helps you build forms.
Documentation can be found here:
joomla CMS: http://docs.joomla.org/API16:JForm
joomla API: http://api.joomla.org/11.4/Joomla-Platform/Form/JForm.html
This class provides you with ready to use form elements and form loading and/or processing methods
This class includes validation methods, date picker control, color picker, etc.
Of course, as another mentioned above, if you are building a module, component, or application, you will need to learn how to to develop a module, component or application. Of these three, the module is the easiest to implement.
The application gives you much freedom b/c you are not constrained to the CMS paradigm, front and back end complexities. However, there is little documentation about how to develop applications with Joomla framework b/c joomla as a framework is relatively new
This tutorial gets you started understanding how to use JForm to create a form in Joomla: http://www.ostraining.com/blog/how-tos/development/getting-started-with-jform/
Or you could just create add a html module to any position and then write the form in html i.e.
<form method="post" action="mycreatedpage.php"> <input type="text"/> <input type="submit">
Now just create a page that handles the code by emailing or inserting into db. I havent tried it but i think it should work.
Looks like everyone already told you almost everything I know except for the component creator. Very easy to use, and it follows Joomla standards. Will get you up and running within minutes.
I have got good working experience with Joomla RSForm Pro. It has got options for
validation
user email/admin emails on submit
file uploads
and many more
Good tutorials too. Get started with http://www.rsjoomla.com/support/documentation/view-knowledgebase/21-rsform-pro.html
Good luck!
Create View.
Create Model.
Create Table.
Create Controller ( if Needed ).
Create Form xml file.
Go here for more information:
http://docs.joomla.org/Standard_form_field_types
Take a look at the Chronoforms extension - does more than you want.
You have two options:
Use an already built custom form extension
Create your own custom form extension (or outsource it)
Now if you only want to modify the user registration form, then you can do some PHP customization to accomplish your goal.
Making forms in Joomla can be done in a couple of ways.
If you just wanted a contact us, you can just create a page with a menu item for the User contact form. This gives you a page with a Members address and contact form. So all you would need to do was add the user as the company of the websites home address and email. But the form is very basic, name, title, textarea for message.
Next up from that you could just make a Custom HTML module add add a form to it in plain HTML like +Sean said above this, you would need to code in PHP your own form process script. You would not get error in form data checking unless you also wrote it.
Next you might rather look on the Joomla Extension Directory JED for one of the good extensions for 3 and 2.5 Joomla RSForms!Pro is good, and can do all we have needed. This lets you add fields one by one and move your form around. Then can auto generate or custom the html of the form.
You can easily create your own forms with Fabrik
Chronoforms are now a days a very popular solution for custom forms in joomla. Chornoforms support twitter bootstrap also. In simple 5 steps you can create a contact form with unlimited fields and also embed various function like DB save, Email, Thanks Message, Redirection on any page. There is events and events will have particular events.
Also possibility of extension of Normal joomla registeration. It will not extend the core registration but at the time of registration you can take various information from users.
I would use Chrono Forms, they work really well and are easy to use.
Download here
Here is a full tutorial on the new Chronoforms 5 to help you get started quickly and understand most of the features available.
CLICK HERE
You can use plugin to insert external php form in content. It is easy and you don't need to make plugin etc. Please use this.
I suggest you to use breezingforms: http://crosstec.de/en/extensions/joomla-forms-download.html
It's one of the best solutions for custom form creation in joomla.

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