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Getting Started with OpenCart Module Development
Getting Started with OpenCart Module Development

Getting Started with OpenCart Module Development: Master your OpenCart modules and code!

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Getting Started with OpenCart Module Development

Chapter 2. Describing The Code of Extensions

In this chapter we will cover most of the code that is used in OpenCart to perform different functions, which will be helpful in creating modules. We have used OpenCart Version 1.5.5.1.

Global library methods


OpenCart has many predefined methods that can be called anywhere, such as in the controller folder or in the model, and in the view template files. You can find system level library files at system/library/. The following shows the different methods, how they can be written, and what their functions are:

  • Affiliate: You can find most of the affiliate code under the affiliate section, and check the files at catalog/controller/affiliate/ and likewise at catalog/model/affiliate/. The following are the list of methods we can use for the affiliate library:

    • $this->affiliate->login($email, $password);

      This command ensures that the e-mail and password are passed to the method. If the username (e-mail) and password match among the affiliates, it logs into the affiliate section. You can find this code at catalog/controller/affiliate/login.php on the validate function.

    • $this->affiliate->logout();

      The affiliate is logged out. It means the affiliate ID will be cleared...

Detailed description of the Featured module


The Featured module highlights specific products so that they will be helpful in increasing the sales and lets users know which products are highlighted.

Configuring the Featured module in OpenCart 1.5.5.1

In this section, you will see how to configure the Featured module in OpenCart and likewise you can configure other modules as per the requirements:

  1. Log in to the Administrator dashboard, hover over the Extensions tab, and then click on Modules to see a list of modules. If the Featured module is not already installed, click on [Install].

  2. In order to configure a featured product, click on [Edit]. On clicking, the following screen is seen:

  3. Now start typing the name of the products, and it will auto complete and pop-out the list of the name of the products that matches the words with the product name. Choose the product that you want to show at the featured products, and it will show in the list.

  4. Now, to add another product, just type again and choose...

The Shipping module


OpenCart has many prebuilt shipping modules. Navigate to Admin | Extensions | Shipping, it lists out the Shipping module as shown in the following screenshot:

You have to install and configure it, and it will be shown at the frontend under Shipping Methods while performing a checkout.

As you already know, modules or extensions can be created by cloning an existing one that functions in a similar way to what you want. So, for Shipping, we will be cloning any one of them that fulfills our requirement. For example, if you want the shipping cost to be charged as per the total cost purchased, you can clone the weight-based shipping module; likewise, if you want to make DHL shipping rates module using the live rate, look up from the DHL site. You need to start with the existing UPS shipping extension.

Let's start to make the Shipping module that is based on the total cost purchased.

Changes made in the admin folder

In this section we will see the changes that are to be made in the...

The Payment module


Any module can be made by cloning an existing module with similar functionality as it will make coding very easy and fast. You can view the list of Payment modules by navigating to Admin | Extensions | Payments.

Now you can also make the Payment module similar to the Shipping module. While making the Payment module, we have to work out in the Payment folder.

Before starting to write a payment module, you need to know the on-site payment and off-site payment, which are the broad categories of the payment methods.

Off-site payment

Off-site payment means making payment to the payment service by redirecting to the payment service website and making the transaction; upon success or failure, they are returned back to the relevant pages. If payment is successful, it shows the success page, else it will show the failure message.

Some of the off-site payment modules are: PayPal Standard, Moneybookers, LiqPay, PayPoint, and so on.

If you are using the off-site payment, choose one of the...

The Order Total module


Order totals are those modules which affect the total price of the order. You can find the list of order totals at Admin | Extensions | Order Totals. Some of them are:

  • Coupon: This option allows the customer to apply the coupon discount

  • Store Credit: If you have store credit, it automatically decreases the total purchase cost with the available credit

  • Handling Fee: This option provides an additional fee for handling the product

  • Low Order Fee: This option provides extra cost if the customer orders the minimum specified quantity

  • Reward Points: Points are accumulated which can be used to buy reward points products

  • Sub-Total: This option shows the subtotal separately

  • Taxes: This option shows taxes separately

  • Total: This option shows the total amount to be billed

  • Gift Voucher: This option is used to gift credit to purchase the products

When they are applied, there is a change in the Total value, so they are placed on the Order Totals module. You will be able to see the Order...

Summary


In this chapter, we explored most of the system level libraries that OpenCart provides. We explored most of the extra code used in the Featured Product module by which you are now able to know the code flow of the OpenCart module. Likewise, we created a new Shipping module, which shows the shipping cost according to the total cost purchased by cloning the weight-based shipping. Similarly, we discussed the payment module of OpenCart and the ways to clone it. With this, you are able to start coding with OpenCart Extensions (Modules, Payments, and Shipping).

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Key benefits

  • Learn how to clone OpenCart modules
  • Develop and customize modules, pages, order totals, payments, and shipping extensions in OpenCart
  • Understand the Global Library methods used in OpenCart

Description

OpenCart is an online shopping tool which is free to use. It has become widely popular because of its support for custom extensions and module development. This book helps you understand how to use the features available in OpenCart using step-by-step instructions. Getting Started with OpenCart Module Development gives you step-by-step explanations and illustrations on how to clone, customize, and develop modules and pages with OpenCart. This book shows you how to create custom OpenCart modules and pages which are needed as per the requirements of the clients to manage custom data. It describes each and every code used to make a Hello World module, a feedback module, a tips module, an order total module, and a shipping and payment module. The book covers installing, configuring, and uninstalling modules as well as how to clone them. It also discusses all the available Global Library methods of OpenCart as well as ways to handle the files and folders of a shipping and payment module. At the end of the book, you will learn how to make custom pages to manage data by creating a feedback module and how to create the order total using a tips module. In Getting Started with OpenCart Module Development, you will learn everything you need to know to create custom OpenCart modules.

Who is this book for?

This book is for developers who want to develop OpenCart extensions and for those who want to learn more about the code workflow of OpenCart. Basic knowledge of OpenCart would be an added advantage.

What you will learn

  • Create custom modules using OpenCart
  • Learn how to clone OpenCart modules
  • Understand the Global Library methods used in OpenCart
  • Learn about the featured modules of OpenCart
  • Create order total modules using OpenCart
  • Install, configure, and uninstall modules
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Publication date : Oct 25, 2013
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ISBN-13 : 9781783280377
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Table of Contents

3 Chapters
Getting Started with OpenCart Modules Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Describing The Code of Extensions Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Creating Custom OpenCart Modules Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

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Vahrokh Vain Jan 23, 2014
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon 4
OpenCart is a very good e-commerce software written in the famous PHP language.It comes with a lot of features, it's free and open source, it's quick to deploy and to customize, it's relatively bug free, much cheaper to install, support and learn than blasoned competitors like Magento.It's the indie and small software house dream come true.OpenCart's major drawback is the scarce, terse and usually obsolete documentation. It's a real pain to create a "module" / extension / plug-in / add-on (yeah these things take many names!), one has to sit down, study a lot of old code and figure out how to implement their changes or their extensions.This book comes in to help the "software practicioneer". I am using this definition because I think it really describes the book in a nutshell.If you want to understand OpenCart in depth, if you want to explore it's inner design model, then you'll probably find little in this book.But if you need the job done, if you have contracted an extension and the clock is ticking, then this book could help you a lot.The big boon is, the book is updated to the latest OpenCart release and this is not a minor detail.It's also written in a simple, practical English, thus international developers (a major portion of OpenCart's developers community) will easily understand the book contents.Moreover, it takes a gradual approach. While it stays quite terse at explaining why a certain OpenCart feature works in a certain way, it shows you the code to implement a certain task. The first task is easy, the subsequent chapters show more and more advanced modules. The author does not spare you any nitty gritty details, so you are presented both with "functional" code and the boilerplate code OpenCart requires to include in its add ons. It goes a bit farter than the title says, it's not just a "Getting Started" but also a "Getting Done".At the end of the book, you will be able to create a quite advanced add on, even if you might not really know why it's been written in that way.Therefore I suggest this book to the seasoned or practitioneer PHP programmer. The former may understand how the whole mechanism works by reading at the provided, relatively simple code, the latter does not even truly want to understand everything, he's focused at getting the job done.To sum it up:Good:- Updated to the latest OpenCart release.- Gets quickly down to the code, without long theory sessions.- The provided code may directly be used almost as-is or extended for your own module.Less good:- It could have detailed a bit more about the design decisions and about how OpenCart works.- The learning curve is short but could be steep for a PHP beginner.
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P. Wright May 10, 2014
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Not very impressed with this - book? 95 pages (3 chapters) of do this do that instructions about cloning and modifying opencart modules. Most developers would get further than this under their own steam. Written in very poor English. Not much to say other than very few potatoes and no meat!
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