Phpbb Primetime

So how do we create a module for phpbb primetime any way? Well, it's easier than you might think. But first, let's take a brief step back to find out how phpbb primetime actually works. Phpbb primetime relies on phpbb3's module system, which is really not a hook system but rather a fairly smart way to have specially defined php classes to work together, wrapped up in a menu system that relies on Modified Preorder Tree Traversal technique, and uses phpbb3's permission system to decide which modules to display or not to display. This system is mainly used in the user control panel (ucp), moderator control panel (mcp), and the administrative control panel (acp) in a vanilla phpbb installation. Phpbb Primetime modules are only an extension of this system, and so we talk about phpbb3's module system first.

Creating a phpbb3 module

A typical phpbb3 module would have an info file that provides information such as the module's parent, class, mode, language variables, permission requirements, etc, and the module class that's executed when that module is called. A typical phpbb3 module's info file will look like this:

includes/acp/info/acp_foo.php

Code: Select all

class acp_foo_info
{
   function module()
   {
      return array(
         'filename'   => 'acp_foo',
         'title'      => 'ACP_FOO',
         'version'   => '1.0.0',
         'modes'      => array(
            'foo_mode'   => array('title' => 'ACP_FOO_MODE_TITLE', 'auth' => 'acl_a_foo_auth', 'cat' => array('')),
         ),
      );
   }

   function install()
   {
   }

   function uninstall()
   {
   }
}

Where:

• acp - module class
• filename - the php file to be executed
• title - title of the module
• version - the module version (not really used)
• modes - the module's modes
  • title - the language variable representing the module modes' title
  • auth - module modes' permission
  • cat - the module modes' parent category
• Install/Uninstall functions - Not currently used in phpbb3

While a typical module's php main file (in this example acp_foo.php specified in the info file) will look like this:

includes/acp/acp_foo.php

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class acp_foo
{
   var $u_action;

   function main($id, $mode)
   {
      switch($mode)
      {
         case 'foo_mode':
            // code here
         break;
      }

      $this->page_title = 'ACP_FOO';
      $this->tpl_name = 'acp_foo';
   }
}

Where:

• $this->page_title - the page title
• $this->tpl_name - the name of the template file used by the module

Note that a language file (holding the value of ACP_FOO, and ACP_FOO_MODE_TITLE variables), and a template file to display the module kept in styles/<style>/template/ folder. You can view a full tutorial on creating a phpbb module here.