Developing related modules

erwin

Hello,
After totaly stucked by the errors while I've try to write an Orders module derived from Assets module - wich is not that I want - I decided to derive my Orders module from the Sales Opportunities module cause is very similar and have also a report I need. OK, I copy the files and change the names everywere in the new files and file names accordingly. The new Orders module is working exactly like the Sales Opportunities. But now I want to attach a details page instead the notes which I don't need. In the details I want to insert several products from the Products module I had already made. Some fields gathered from the Products module will be insert in the details and other will be calculated, as the total value and put on the Orders main table. What should I do?

Thank you for help!
Best regards!
Tavi

ethnar

Hello,

I'd recommend to take a look at the modules/Premium/Projects and modules/Premium/Projects/Tickets modules.

Basically, you will need to link the Products to Orders by a field in Products. Then you will need to add a new addon in Orders, that displays all Products linked with displayed record. Check out the premium_projects_tickets_addon() method in Tickets main class for some reference on how to create such addon.

However, if the intent of the Products RecordSet is to hold general items that can be added to multiple orders, then it's getting slightly more complicated. The way we did this in Inventory Management module was to create another record set that holds the details for each order. Each details record holds ID of the order and ID of the product. Using calculated fields, you can display some of the information attached to products. Orders have an addon that displays related Details.

It's quite a lot of work and I'd suggest to check out our Inventory Management module - it may already provide everything you are looking for. Demo of this module is available here:
http://demo.epesibim.com/inventory/

Hope this helps,
Arek

erwin

Thank you, Arek! I know is a lot of work and I just scratched the surface... But I know what I need, I already developed more complicated programs in Foxpro.

I've insert the fields needed in the Orders table and a Product Name linked with the Products (the Items on Inventory Management). The select field is working OK but I have no addon method yet, nor the calculated fields. I taked out some of the original Sales Opportunity module wich I don't need but new errors appeared. I don't need multiselect on the Customers field - change that cause an error in method submit_orders (the code from submit_opportunity):

[quote:2drwg9je]
$cus = reset($values['customers']);
Type: 2
Message: reset() expects parameter 1 to be array, string given
[/quote:2drwg9je]

The Orders module must be simple and straight cause will be made most of the time with the cell phones, on route. I will try your other sugesstions.

Best regards!
Tavi

erwin

I've solved the reset issue by initialising $cus variable as a string and the other errors caused by the fields deleted from the original structure.

Best regards,
Tavi

erwin

When you say "addon" this is the little window with the current field's record data displayed over the main browse? In my Orders module the employee and the customer fields display this kind of windows, like in Sales Opportunity.

I had already a Product_addon method in the main class, but nothing appeared. Maybe something is wrong in the code?

    public function Products_addon($arg) {

        $rb = $this->init_module('Utils/RecordBrowser','crm_Products','crm_Products_addon');

        $rb->set_header_properties(array(

                'product_id'=>array('width'=>10),

                'category'=>array('width'=>10),

                'product_name'=>array('width'=>15),

                'active'=>array('width'=>7)

            ));

        $rb->set_defaults(array('crm_products'=>$arg['id']));

        $this->display_module($rb, array(array('crm_products'=>array($arg['id'])), array('crm_products'=>false, 'active'=>false), array('product name'=>'ASC')), 'show_data');

    }

Yes, on the Orders module I need a details module displayed like in the Projects & Tickets module. Where is the code regarding such display mode? I don't find the link in the Projects to the Tickets. How the Note works? No function call for this module, but appear everywere...? What I'm missing?

I saw the Inventory management, is too complicated for my customer's needs for now. Question: the E-commerce module include the Inventory Management at the same price or must buy it sepparately?
Best regards!

ethnar

Hello,

What I mean by an addon is that tabs that you can see when you're displaying a Contact (or other record), the one that allows you to view Contacts or E-mails or other information.

Defining the methods is only part of the work to have addons (including notes) added to Records. What you also need is to tell Record Browser to attach these addons. Tickets are doing this in the install() method:

Utils_RecordBrowserCommon::new_addon('premium_projects', 'Premium/Projects/Tickets', 'premium_projects_tickets_addon', 'Tickets');

The arguments are:
- RecordSet that will have the addon attached
- Main class of the module that will handle the addon
- method in the main class that displays the module
- Label for the addon

Notes addon is usually added using this method:

Utils_AttachmentCommon::new_addon('premium_projects');

You should include these calls in your install file, but if you want to avoid re-installing the module, you can also put these line in body() of your custom module, view the records and then delete these lines. Addons should then appear next time you view one of these records.

As for the pricing on Inventory Manager and eCommerce - the eCommerce requires Inventory Manager to work and each of them cost 300 USD.
If you do not have a Inventory Manager License purchased, you will see the eCommerce price to be 600 USD - that price includes both of these packages.
If you were to buy Inventory Manager first, for 300 USD, you will see that the eCommerce price will then be only 300 USD - because you already have the required module.

Hope this explains the pricing and coding of addons.

Kind regards,
Arek

erwin

Thank you very much, Arek! I have the big picture now.

In the following days I will try to make a new Details addon for the Orders module. I wonder if I could save all data in a single recordset, separated in a header and a details addon even if it has redundancy?

Fortunately, my custumer has enough patience. Maybe next year he will agree to upgrade his old inventory application, the prices are OK, but there are many differences and requirements in order of economical laws and rules here in Romania, many of them is not compatible to the western economical systems.

Best regards,
Tavi

ethnar

Hello,

There's no redundancy in it and we fully support addons that store additional fields for the record. In certain situations the record can get so many fields that splitting them into pages is a necessity.

In this case, however, you don't explicitly add a new addon like the usual in RB, but instead you simply define a page split in the RecordSet fields. And example of this can be found in CRM/Contacts, the contact RecordSet, where Home address data is placed in a separate tab.

Kind regards,
Arek

erwin

Hello,

Thanks for your answer!
In my foxpro applications I used a single table for a document and the content of the header is duplicated on every details records of the document. This approach is simple than a separate related table for the details of the document. For the display and printing reports of the documents most of the fields are available in the table. I will try to make a page split but I need to discriminate when the user add a new document or a new row in the same document, when the header will be empty or a duplicate. In my application I had a validating button for save/terminate the document. Maybe it is not so complicated in EPESI?

Best regards!
Tavi

ethnar

Hello,

I'm not sure I'm getting the big picture here.

We usually approach the matter in one of two ways:
1) There are some additional details for each record (like Contact) and given record can only hold one value for each property. In such case we're using page split, as can be seen in Contacts and Home info.
2) A record can have certain values attached to it, but each property can have several values. In such case we're just using regular addon displaying records related to the main record. This can be seen in the Additional E-mail addresses addon in Contacts.

Depending what you need, one of these solution should be a good resolution.

Kind regards,
Arek

erwin

There will be many records holding details in the same table. The fields of the header can be duplicated on each details records, but when displayed the details I want to be displayed in a browse window, bellow the header like an addon. For the moment, i put the 'extra' => true on the details fields (your first example).

I don't find yet an example for a numeric calculated field. I want something like:

value = quantity * sale_price - at each details record
total_value = SUM(value) GROUP BY order_id

Another problem: there must be an automaticaly event in the calendar for each order (not for the each detail). For now I had no event in the calendar. After the order is processed the status of the event must be changed accordingly.

Thank you and best regards.

ethnar

[quote="erwin":1vbxwf7x]I don't find yet an example for a numeric calculated field. I want something like:[/quote:1vbxwf7x]
There is a special field type "calculated". All of this is described on the wiki:
http://www.epesi.org/index.php?title=Ut ... Properties

[quote:1vbxwf7x]Another problem: there must be an automaticaly event in the calendar for each order (not for the each detail). For now I had no event in the calendar. After the order is processed the status of the event must be changed accordingly.[/quote:1vbxwf7x]What you need to have your events displayed on the calendar is to attach a new Calendar handler, like meetings:

CRM_CalendarCommon::new_event_handler(_M('Meetings'), array('CRM_MeetingCommon', 'crm_calendar_handler'));

Once you register the handler and crate respective methods, your records can be represented (in many ways) on the calendar.

Check out the method CRM_MeetingCommon::crm_calendar_handler for more details.

Kind regards,
Arek

erwin

Hello,
Unfortunately, there is no example on the tutorial. I've try to make a calculated field but errors appear. I need an example to understand the syntax. In epesi other calculated field has other type of data, I don't find any with currency or float type. As I said, I had no previous experience in PHP so is difficult to me to guess what to do. The things is more different as Foxpro/DOS. Learning developing Epesi modules is sort of a reverse engineering for me. So, thank you for your patience and further help!

Best regards,
Tavi

ethnar

Calculated field is its own type. There's no distinction between calculated field that displays number or currency or contact. All that calculated field does is display a string that you create in the display method.

It is true there aren't many great examples of the calculated fields in the released code, but all you really need to do is to create a field like this:

            array('name' => _M('Field Name'), 'type'=>'calculated', 'extra'=>false, 'display_callback'=>array($this->get_type().'Common','display_field_name')),

And then add method display_field_name($record) in the Common part of your file and you're set. What you display there is completely up to you.

Kind regards,
Arek

erwin

Thank you, Arek.
I have few questions:
- What is "_M" ?
I got this error:

Fatal: Call to undefined function _M() in /home/burginfa/public_html/atena/modules/Premium/Orders/OrdersInstall.php on line 123

Finaly I manage to display the calculated field, but I want the Value to be type 'currency' - it is actualy 'text' type with left align. So, how to write the display_callback method?

the field definition:

	array('name'=>'Value',

		'type'=>'calculated',

		'param'=>Utils_RecordBrowserCommon::actual_db_type('currency'), 

		'required'=>false,

		'visible'=>true,

		'extra'=>true,				

		'display_callback'=>array($this->get_type().'Common','display_value')),

the method:

	public static function display_value($v, $nolink=false) {

		$val = $v['price'] * $v['quantity'];

		$val = Utils_CurrencyFieldCommon::format($val);

		return $val;

Kind regards,
Tavi

erwin

On the mobile version of my Orders module calling Edit event cause this error I could not get any clue:

Type: 8

Message: Undefined variable: form

File: /home/burginfa/public_html/atena/modules/Utils/RecordBrowser/RecordBrowserCommon_0.php

Line=2672

error backtrace:

File: /home/burginfa/public_html/atena/modules/Utils/RecordBrowser/RecordBrowserCommon_0.php

    line 2672

    function called: handle_epesi_error(8, "Undefined variable: form", "/home/burginfa/public_html/atena/modules/Utils/RecordBrowser/RecordBrowserCommon_0.php", 2672, Array (#35))

[PHP core called function]

    function called: mobile_rb_edit("premium_orders", "1")

File: /home/burginfa/public_html/atena/mobile.php

    line 50

    function called: call_user_func_array(Array ("Utils_RecordBrowserCommon", "mobile_rb_edit"), Array ("premium_orders", "1"))

File: /home/burginfa/public_html/atena/mobile.php

    line 135

    function called: go()

I had no variable "form" anywhere in the code. Please help.

Thanks!
Tavi

ajb

As I can see your using old version of EPESI. There was a bug in those lines in RecordBrowserCommon_0.php file I highly recommend to update EPESI. If you can't for some reason, you should look at mentioned file and replace $form with $qf in several places around line no 2672, but i can't guarantee, that it will be ok.

erwin

Thank you, ajb!
Your suggestion worked. The error is gone but in the mobile version after add a new record the save don't work, eventualy a required "customer" select field doesn't appear on the screen. I don't know why. In the browser version the module is OK, no errors.

The update of the "Status" in the applet don't change the status, nothing happened.

I will upgrade to 1.4 version soon, I'm still in development mode and there are no relevant data in the system.

A list with all the methods and purppose of them with a short description of the parameters is wellcome. It's a time consuming task to learn by try&error.

Best regards,
Tavi

ajb

Yes, I must agree that lack of documentation is major disadvantage. We are working on that. There are some phpdoc comments, but sometimes is hard to figure out how to start or do something. My way to speed up my coding is to use Netbeans. When I know what module I want use, there is autocomplete list of all methods with parameters. When parameter name is not obvious Ctrl-b and i'm in method declaration. It's hard work sometimes, but without autocompletion it's a lot harder.

Another approach is to find usage in other modules. (e.g. find string "function applet(" - you should find enough examples)

Here you can read how i've set my netbeans to work well viewtopic.php?f=22&t=1333#p4626

Also I recommend to review our wiki developers tutorial, because we are working and updating some articles.
especially last added functionality to 1.4 is RBO.

erwin

Hello,
I used the search examples in other modules. I find how to use some functions by search methods in the RecordBrowserCommon and figure out what the SQL statements do, cause I know well the Foxpro SQL. Unfortunately, I don't know yet how to use Eclipse or Netbeans.

Indeed, the new version has a lot of improvements. Thank you very much for help!

Best regards,
Tavi.

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