Module Development In Joomla 1.5x

TUTORIAL FOR COMPONENT
This article will discuss about the basic of module development in Joomla! 1. we are going to create a module which will randomly display the comment from guestbook comonent.

Preparation

For the preparation, you can use this insert statement to register your new module to Joomla! database.

INSERT INTO `jos_modules` (`title`, `ordering`, `position`, `published`, `module`, `showtitle`) VALUES
('Comment', 19, 'left', 1, 'mod_comment', 1);


Write The Code

Developing module is simpler than developing component. For the start, you just need one file to store your PHP code. So, create a new folder called mod_comment under modules folder inside your Joomla! root folder.

Then, create a new file inside your new folder and name it mod_comment.php. With this file, we're going to display a random comment from guestbook including the sender name and the sending date.

<?php<br />## NO DIRECT ACCESS ##<br />defined('_JEXEC') or die("Restricted access.");<br /><br />## GET THE DATABASE OBJECT ##<br />$db=JFactory::getDBO();<br /><br />/*** THE MODIFIED CODE STARTS HERE ***/<br />if($params->get("start_date", "")!="" && $params->get("end_date", "")!=""){<br /> $queryCount="SELECT COUNT(*) FROM #__guestbook WHERE DATE(datetime) BETWEEN '".$db->getEscaped($params->get("start_date", ""))."' AND '".$db->getEscaped($params->get("end_date", ""))."'";<br /> $querySelect="SELECT name, comment, datetime FROM #__guestbook WHERE DATE(datetime) BETWEEN '".$db->getEscaped($params->get("start_date", ""))."' AND '".$db->getEscaped($params->get("end_date", ""))."'";<br />}<br />else{<br /> $queryCount="SELECT COUNT(*) FROM #__guestbook";<br /> $querySelect="SELECT name, comment, datetime FROM #__guestbook";<br />}<br />/*** THE MODIFIED CODE ENDS HERE ***/<br /><br />$db->setQuery($queryCount);<br />$total=$db->loadResult(); <br />$start=rand(0, ($total-1));<br /><br />$db->setQuery($querySelect, $start, 1);<br />$row=$db->loadObject();<br />?><br /><div style="margin-left:5px"><br /> <?php<br /> if($row!=null){<br /> ?><br /> <div style="font-weight:bold"><?php echo $row->name ?></div><br /> <div style="margin-left:10px"><br /> <div style="font-style:italic">"<?php echo $row->comment ?>"</div><br/><br /> <div style="text-align:right;font-size:10px"><?php echo JHTML::Date($row->datetime) ?></div><br /> </div><br /> <?php<br /> }<br /> else{<br /> ?><br /> <i>No comment to be displayed.</i><br /> <?php<br /> }<br /> ?><br /></div>
Run It

Now, open your Joomla! web, you will got a randomize comment displayed on your module. You can refresh your page to see if it works. You can also manage its placement from the Joomla! administration page.