RAD tools: building faster
This page is for application creators who want working skeletons instead of typing boilerplate. Setup > RAD
(/setup/rad) lists every point where Exponential can be extended, how it is registered, and offers wizards that write a
complete extension (RAD tools, Extension points).
Contents
- Five minutes to a working extension
- The catalogue
- The wizards
- Survey and health check
- With or without the tools
Five minutes to a working extension
- Open Setup > RAD; you need
setup/setup. - Pick an extension point;
/setup/rad/(show)/toolslists those with a wizard. - The wizard asks for a name and what to generate, and lists every file it would write under
extension/<name>before writing any. - Confirm, activate the extension, regenerate autoloads, clear caches.
- Check it in the survey and the health check.
The catalogue
kernel/setup/expradcatalogue.php lists the extension points in groups (content, templates, modules, workflow, storage,
packaging, access), each with its mechanism (directory, handler, autoload, file, design, ini, override, registry,
filter), the kernel file it lives in, and its tool. A kernel class override is the last resort: two extensions replacing
the same class fight without knowing it.
The wizards
| Wizard | Writes |
|---|---|
Design extension (/setup/designextension) | a design with templates, stylesheets and an override set |
Template extension (/setup/templateoperator) | template operators, fetch functions, attribute operators, template functions |
Module extension, module wizard (/setup/moduleextension, /setup/modulewizard) | a module with views and policies, or a module over existing tables |
Datatype extension (/setup/datatype) | a datatype |
Workflow event extension (/setup/workflowevent) | workflow event types and triggers |
Content extension (/setup/contentextension) | a content class written as a script |
Handler extension (/setup/handlerextension/<point>) | handlers, including VAT, shipping, basket totals, exchange rates, login |
Settings extension (/setup/settingsextension) | an extension that only carries settings |
Kernel override (/setup/kerneloverride) | a kernel class replacement, the last resort |
Generated code never writes outside extension/<name>, never overwrites an existing extension, and escapes what its
templates print (RAD security).
Corrections in output from wizards older than 6.0.15
From Exponential 6.0.15 on, the wizards no longer write the faults below. An extension generated by an older wizard needs these edits by hand:
| Wizard | Fault in older output | Correction by hand |
|---|---|---|
| Template extension | The README and doc/examples.php call operators with name=value in the brackets ({$value|op( limit=3 )}), which the template parser refuses | Pass the values by position: {$value|op( 3 )}. Template functions keep name=value ({box limit=3}) |
| Template extension | operatorTemplateHints() lists 'input-as-parameter' twice; the second one wins | Remove the last 'input-as-parameter' line |
| Template, datatype, settings extension | The README says php bin/php/ezpgenerateautoloads.php --extension=<name>; --extension takes no value and the script refuses it | Run php bin/php/ezpgenerateautoloads.php --extension |
| Datatype | Templates are written to templates/ in the extension root, which no design looks in | Move them to design/standard/templates/ (the extension's design.ini.append.php has DesignExtensions[]) |
| Datatype | The edit and collect templates post {$attribute_base}_data_text_{$attribute.id} whatever storage was chosen | Post _<type>_<column>_ for the column the value is kept in (_mytype_data_int_), and read the same name in fetchObjectAttributeHTTPInput(); the generated class now has it as VALUE_VARIABLE |
| Datatype | content.ini.append.php has DataTypeGroup[<type>], which nothing reads | Remove the line; the form no longer asks for a group |
| Module wizard | Templates are written to design/<extension name>/, which is in no design chain, so every view draws an empty page | Move them to design/standard/templates/<module>/ |
| Module wizard | The view script casts every parameter to (int), so a text parameter (a language code, an identifier) becomes 0 | Cast only numbers (ID, NodeID, Offset...); take text as (string) and wash it in the template, as it already is |
| Design extension | The README says the design is found "without anything else being set" | DesignExtensions[] only makes the extension's designs searchable: a siteaccess still has to name the design in SiteDesign or AdditionalSiteDesignList[] |
| Handler (mail transport) | sendMail() returns true and sends nothing: mail is lost without a trace | Write the sending, and return true only when the mail has gone; the stub now logs an error and returns false |
The design extension wizard's own corrections (the Composer folder name, the operator autoload file, the Frontend stylesheet and script lists, the page head) are in The design wizard's parts.
Survey and health check
Setup > RAD > Extension point survey (/setup/radsurvey) reads what the installation really exposes: settings that
name a class, registries declared in rad.ini, and entries whose class or template is missing. The health check loads
each registration and reports what cannot work (RAD extension surface).
With or without the tools
The wizards write the same code these pages show by hand: start with a wizard to see a working example, then read the matching page (Custom modules and views, Writing a custom datatype, Writing a workflow event type, Writing template operators).
Related pages
- Your first extension
- Anatomy of an extension
- Extension point pattern: INI plug-in points
- Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.
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