1. Module Development Part 2 Magento 1 Stenik Group Ltd. Martin Grozdanov
Software University
© Software University Foundation –
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license. 1

2. Last time Convention URLs’ Structure Design elements & Fallback
Module Development - Basic Components
© Software University Foundation –
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license. 2

3. Table of Contents Set, Get & Save data in model Translations
Blocks & Cache
Admin Menu
Admin Grid + Model Collection
Model Create & Update via Admin 3
© Software University Foundation –
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license. 3

4. Varien’s Magical Getters & Setters
All Blocks and Models are extending Varien_Object
Varien_Object contains $_data property - associative array
getData(‘key’) and setData(‘key’, ‘value’) are used to manage the $_data
Varien_Object contains Magical Getters & Setters which translates setFooBar(‘value’) to setData(‘foo_bar’, ‘value’) and getFooBar() to getData(‘foo_bar’) 4

5. Set Model Data & Save <?php … $model->setFirstname(‘John’);
Model without data change does not save itself
<?php …
$model->setFooBar(‘barfoo’);
$model->setFirstname(‘John’);
$model->save();
... 5

6. Translations Magento uses English => Lang mapping translates
<?php …
echo Mage::helper(‘myhelper’)->__(‘Text to translate’);
...
Magento uses English => Lang mapping translates
Translate mappings are located in several places.
1. Magento first checks the database for the text
2. If not there – checks theme’s translate.csv file
3. If not there – checks modules translate file. 6

7. Translations
The DB translation mapping is located in the core_translate table. Not recommended to be used.
Theme’s translation files are located in theme’s …/locale/<store_lang_code>/translate.csv For example …/locale/bg_BG/translate.csv
Module’s translate file is located under app/locale/<store_lang_code>/<defined_file.csv> 7

8. Module Translate Definition
Definition - In module’s config.xml in frontend/adminhtml
… <translate>
<modules>
<SoftUni_Submission>
<files>
<default>SoftUni_Submission.csv</default>
</files>
</SoftUni_Submission>
</modules>
</translate> 8

9. Block Files
Extend Mage_Core_Block_Abstract or Mage_Core_Block_Template (or other)
Add your own methods which can be used in the template (if there is any) 9

10. How block cache works + setup
If block can be cached – Magento cache’s it’s HTML
Uses Cache Key to identify create or fetch the cache.
Uses Cache Tags to clear the cache when needed.
Setup: 1. Set cache lifetime using cache_lifetime data
Number – Seconds
FALSE – Forever
NULL – No cache. Default.
2. Set Tags if you want invalidation. (cache_tags data)
3. Provide Cache Key info creating getCacheKeyInfo method. The method’s result shall be array of strings. 10

11. @see Mage_Cms ‘s /etc/adminhtml.xml
Admin Menu
Define the menu in module’s config.xml
Define ACL for that menu.
@see Mage_Cms ‘s /etc/adminhtml.xml 11

12. Admin controllers Must use the adminhtml frontName.
Should have unique controller prefix.
Should have _isAllowed method in the class
The class should extend Mage_Adminhtml_Controller_Action 12

13. Admin – Creating Grid and Collection
Create controller action
Create Grid Container Block
Create layout and use this block in the content area
Create Model Collection
Create Grid Block with columns
Create gridAction if you want AJAX
Reference: Adminhtml_Cms 13

14. What is registry
Magento’s registry is global container for data for the current session. Usage:
<?php …
Mage::register(‘my_unique_key’, ‘value’);
$value = Mage::registry(‘my_unique_key’);
...
Registering the same key twice may cause error. 14

15. Admin – Create & Edit entities
Create new and edit controller action.
Register the object, so it can be used from the blocks
Create Form Container Block
Create Form Block
Define them in the layout.
Create save & delete actions
Reference: Adminhtml_Cms 15

16. Event Bus – things you can do
Dispatch event
Register for event and process it’s data.
Magento Events Cheat Sheet (1.9) - Nick Jones 16

17. © Software University Foundation – http://softuni.org
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license. 17

18. Thank you 18

19. License This course (slides, examples, demos, videos, homework, etc.)
is licensed under the "Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International" license 19
© Software University Foundation –
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license. 19

20. Trainings @ Software University (SoftUni)
Software University – High-Quality Education, Profession and Job for Software Developers
softuni.bg
Software University Foundation
softuni.org
Software Facebook
facebook.com/SoftwareUniversity
Software University Forums
forum.softuni.bg
© Software University Foundation –
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license. 20