J3.x:Developing an MVC Component/Developing a Basic Component

2013-06-03T08:15:57Z

4yn4a:

{{:Developing a Model-View-Controller Component/3.0}}

= Developing a Basic Component =

This page goes through the basic steps required to make the simplest possible component that will output ''Hello, world!'' to the [[Site (Application)|front-end]] of a Joomla! {{JVer|{{CurrentSTSVer|minor}}}} website.

== Main Output ==

First set up the basic public output for this component. Create <code>yoursite/components/com_helloworld/helloworld.php</code> with the following contents:

<source lang="php">
<?php

echo 'Hello world';
</source>

== Manifest file ==

Every extension needs a [[manifest files|manifest file]] that specifies installation and configuration information for the extension. The manifest file is named <code>''componentname''.xml</code>. For a simple component we need only include a minimal number of the possible elements in this XML file.

Create <code>helloworld.xml</code> in the same directory as your <code>helloworld.php</code> above, with the following contents:

<source lang="xml">
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<extension type="component" version="3.1" method="upgrade">
<name>Hello World!</name>
<administration > </administration>
<files>
<filename>helloworld.php</filename>
</files>
</extension>
</source>

Note that the <code>name</code> element is actually optional, but it makes for easier identification in the next step.

== Installation ==

Next, we need to tell Joomla! to 'discover' this new component, so that it can be installed and used. This is done by going to the ''Extension Manager -> Discover'' and clicking 'Discover' in the toolbar. This will scan the <code>components</code> directory (amongst others), looking for components that have not yet been installed.

The new component should be listed in the resulting table, and to install it you just select it (with the checkbox) and click 'Install' in the toolbar.

Note: Don't worry about the message ''"Component Install: The XML file did not contain an administration element"'', as our component does not yet have any [[Administrator (Application)|administration]] features. We'll add these later in the tutorial.

== Hello, world! ==

You can now see the basic component in action, by navigating to <code><nowiki>http://localhost/joomla/index.php?option=com_helloworld</nowiki></code> (replacing <code>localhost/joomla</code> with your own installation location).

<noinclude>[[Category:Component Development]] [[Category:Joomla! 3.0]] [[Category:Joomla! 3.1]]</noinclude>

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J3.x:Developing an MVC Component/Developing a Basic Component