Hello friends,
Today I was introduced to a new tool in the SimpleUpdates.com CMS. This new tool aims to simplify and speed up the process of creating a custom module for SimpleUpdates by having the builder do all of the repetitive tasks of module creation. It is the brain child of our lead programmer, Matthew Leffler, and it has already been put to good use.
First, I should make sure you all know what we mean by the term “module”. This is a script or set of scripts that perform a special function as an add on to the core SimpleUpdates CMS. An example is the calendar module, the photo gallery module, and many others.
Back to the module builder. The key component of the module builder is the YAML file. This file allows you to specify the database tables, the fields in each table, and the inter relationships of the fields and tables.
SimpleUpdates is a MVC system, meaning there are Model, View and Controller files. These are all created automatically by module builder.
There are several view file options, and you are able to select which view files you want created.
With the YAML file defining the module fields, the heavy lifting work is completed automatically.
The module builder is a tool SimpleUpdates will use internally. At this time we are not sure of this tool would be helpful to our end users or resellers. The view files still require some layout customization. We will see how this progresses, and we all look forward to plenty of custom modules.
What custom module would you like us to work on for you?
