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Modules and views

Pages with their own address: module.php and every ViewList key, a view script and a view class, POST actions, redirects and errors, from eZModule and a real extension.

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Address: https://doc.exponential.earth/exphelp/viewer/help/extension-development/part-3-extension-developer/modules-and-views.md

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Modules and views

Part 3, chapter 9. Every page of Exponential that is not a content page is a view of a module: /user/login, /setup/extensions, /owner/change/123. An extension adds pages by adding modules. This chapter explains the definition file, the view script, and what a view returns. The class that runs it all is eZModule (lib/ezutils/classes/ezmodule.php).

Register the module folder

In extension/mysite_hello/settings/module.ini.append.php:

<?php /* #?ini charset="utf-8"?

[ModuleSettings]
ExtensionRepositories[]=mysite_hello

*/ ?>

Every folder under extension/mysite_hello/modules/ is then a module. The address /hello/world/Ada runs the view world of the module hello with the parameter Ada.

module.php

A real definition, from se7enxweb/ezownerchange (modules/owner/module.php):

<?php
$Module = array( 'name' => 'Owner', 'variable_params' => false );

$ViewList = array();
$ViewList['change'] = array(
    'script' => 'change.php',
    'functions' => array( 'change' ),
    'params' => array( 'ObjectID' ),
    'unordered_params' => array( 'group' => 'StartNode', 'node' => 'NodeID', 'scope' => 'Scope' ),
    'ui_context' => 'edit',
    'default_navigation_part' => 'ezcontentnavigationpart',
    'post_actions' => array( 'BrowseActionName' ),
    'single_post_actions' => array( 'BrowseCancelButton' => 'Cancel',
                                    'CancelButton' => 'Cancel',
                                    'BrowseOwnerButton' => 'BrowseOwner',
                                    'PreviewButton' => 'Preview',
                                    'ConfirmButton' => 'Confirm' ),
    'post_action_parameters' => array( 'Cancel' => array( 'CancelURI' => 'BrowseCancelURI' ) )
);

$FunctionList = array();
$FunctionList['change'] = array();
$FunctionList['subtree'] = array();
KeyMeaning
$Module['name']a readable name
$Module['variable_params']true makes each parameter a variable of its own in the view script, besides $Params
'script'the file of the view, next to module.php
'params'ordered parameters: /owner/change/123 gives $Params['ObjectID'] = '123'
'unordered_params'named parameters anywhere after: /(node)/59 gives $Params['NodeID'] = '59'
'functions'the policy functions a user needs to open the view (Policy functions and access checks)
'default_navigation_part'which top menu tab of the administration is active
'ui_context'the interface context (edit, navigation, ...) the administration designs read
'single_post_actions'a POST button name and the action it means
'post_actions'POST variables whose value names the action
'post_action_parameters'POST variables made available per action
$FunctionListthe policy functions this module offers to roles

A view script

modules/hello/world.php:

<?php
/** @var eZModule $Module */
$Module = $Params['Module'];
$name = isset( $Params['Name'] ) && $Params['Name'] !== '' ? $Params['Name'] : 'world';

$tpl = eZTemplate::factory();
$tpl->setVariable( 'name', $name );

$Result = array();
$Result['content'] = $tpl->fetch( 'design:hello/world.tpl' );
$Result['path'] = array( array( 'text' => 'Hello', 'url' => false ) );

The script gets $Params (with the module as $Params['Module']), and sets $Result. The template escapes what came from the address: {$name|wash}. What $Result may contain is the next chapter but one, View results and the pagelayout.

A view as a class

Since 6.0.15 a view can be a class; the plain script above keeps working. The class extends \Exponential\Runnable\ModuleView (kernel/private/classes/runnable/moduleview.php) and returns the result:

<?php
// extension/mysite_hello/classes/runnable/views/hello/world.php
namespace Exponential\View\Extension\MysiteHello\Hello;

class World extends \Exponential\Runnable\ModuleView
{
    public function run( array $scope )
    {
        $name = isset( $scope['Params']['Name'] ) && $scope['Params']['Name'] !== '' ? $scope['Params']['Name'] : 'world';
        $tpl = \eZTemplate::factory();
        $tpl->setVariable( 'name', $name );
        return array( 'content' => $tpl->fetch( 'design:hello/world.tpl' ),
                      'path' => array( array( 'text' => 'Hello', 'url' => false ) ) );
    }
}

and the view file named in module.php becomes one line:

<?php
return \Exponential\View\Extension\MysiteHello\Hello\World::main( __FILE__, get_defined_vars() );

Classes can be tested without a request and share code with commands and cronjob parts; see Commands, cronjob parts and module views as classes.

Forms and actions

A view that handles a form reads the action the module derived from the POST:

<?php
$Module = $Params['Module'];
$http = eZHTTPTool::instance();

if ( $Module->isCurrentAction( 'Cancel' ) )
{
    return $Module->redirectTo( '/content/dashboard' );
}
if ( $Module->isCurrentAction( 'Confirm' ) )
{
    $comment = $http->postVariable( 'Comment', '' );
    // ... do the work, then redirect so a reload does not post again
    return $Module->redirectToView( 'world', array( 'Ada' ) );
}

With single_post_actions, a POST containing ConfirmButton makes isCurrentAction( 'Confirm' ) true. Forms that change anything must carry the form token (the ezformtoken extension adds it to forms and checks it); see ezformtoken and CSRF protection.

Errors 

<?php
$object = eZContentObject::fetch( (int)$Params['ObjectID'] );
if ( !$object instanceof eZContentObject )
{
    return $Module->handleError( eZError::KERNEL_NOT_FOUND, 'kernel' );
}
if ( !$object->canRead() )
{
    return $Module->handleError( eZError::KERNEL_ACCESS_DENIED, 'kernel' );
}

eZError (kernel/classes/ezerror.php) has the codes: KERNEL_ACCESS_DENIED (1), KERNEL_NOT_FOUND (2), KERNEL_NOT_AVAILABLE (3), KERNEL_MOVED (4), KERNEL_LANGUAGE_NOT_FOUND (5), KERNEL_FORM_TOKEN_REFUSED (6), KERNEL_MODULE_NOT_FOUND (20), KERNEL_MODULE_VIEW_NOT_FOUND (21) and more. The kernel shows the matching error page.

Check it

  1. php -l every file.
  2. Activate, clear caches (Activating an extension).
  3. Open /hello/world/Ada.
  4. If it says the module does not exist: ./console exp:ini where module.ini/ModuleSettings/ExtensionRepositories.

Replacing a kernel module

An extension can replace a whole kernel module with one of its own; see An extension can replace a kernel module. Add a view to an existing module with the RAD wizard View for an existing module.

RAD

Module extension (/setup/moduleextension) writes a module with views, templates, policies and settings; Module wizard (/setup/modulewizard) writes a module over existing database tables. See With RAD: a module with views.

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