JOOMLA! Component Building

JOOMLA! Component Building

All Joomla! extensions must be packaged as a .zip installation file .According to the most common file arrangement, the package should contain at least the following two folders as a basic structure:

• site
• admin

If you set up your XML manifest file according to standard practice, the contents of site will be installed to /components/com_{componentname}, whereas the contents of admin will be installed to /administrator/components/com_{componentname}.

The /site folder

This folder keeps the files for the frontend part of the component.

/site/{componentname}.php

This is the component's main file and entry point for the frontend part.

/site/controller.php

This file holds the default frontend controller, which is a class called {ComponentName}Controller. This class must extend the base class JController.

/site/views

This folder holds the different views for the component.

/site/views/{viewname}

This folder holds the files for the view {ViewName}.

/site/views/{viewname}/view.html.php

This file is the entry point for the view {ViewName}. It should declare the class {ComponentName}View{ViewName}. This class must extend the base class JView. The .html section of the filename is related to the format the view will be loaded in. For example, if the format URL parameter is set to format=feed, the file view.feed.php will be loaded.

/site/views/{viewname}/tmpl

This folder holds the template files for the view {ViewName}.

/site/views/{viewname}/tmpl/default.php

This is the default template for the view {ViewName}. In this PHP file, the $this keyword refers to the view class that the template belongs to.

/site/models

This folder holds additional models, if needed by the application.

/site/models/{modelname}.php

This file holds the model class {ComponentName}Model{ModelName}. This class must extend the base class JModel. Note that the view named {ViewName} will by default load a model called {ViewName} if it exists. Most models are named after the view they are intended to be used with, but this is not a requirement. See Using multiple models in an MVC component for more information.

/site/controllers

This folder holds additional controllers, if needed by the application.

/site/controllers/{controllername}.php

This file holds the controller class {ComponentName}Controller{ControllerName}. This class must extend the base class JController.

 

 

The /admin folder

The file structure is exactly the same as in the /site folder.