DAMB

DAMB stands for Dolibarr Advanced Module Builder, unlike dolibase, DAMB don't need any dependencies & integrates with dolibarr as a regular module.

Features

Simple & easy to use.
Integrates with native modules.
Supports old versions of Dolibarr (starting from 3.8.x).
Outputs clean & structured code (less boilerplate).
Brings advanced building options.

Pros

Simplicity over complexity

DAMB comes with multiple libraries containing simple separated functions to allow an easy integration with the other modules, example:

To include the module library, copy the module.lib.php file to your module lib folder, then in your module class simply include the library as below:

dol_include_once('mymodule/lib/module.lib.php');

Now, you can call any function that you want to use from this library.

Note: When using DAMB to create a new module, it will automatically include all the files/libraries required by your module. However, some libraries like the debug library still need to be included manually.

Flexibility

In libraries, every function is surrounded by an if condition which verifies its existence before implementing it, so if you are not satisfied with a function behavior, just override it! Example:

To override print_header function of the page library, create a page_overrides.lib.php file then include it before the page library inclusion like this:

dol_include_once('mymodule/lib/page_overrides.lib.php'); // just before the main lib inclusion
dol_include_once('mymodule/lib/page.lib.php');

All you have to do now is to write your new function(s) inside page_overrides.lib.php.

Exception: This may not work as expected for module & widget libraries, because dolibarr's default behavior on modules & widgets list pages is to include all the module classes at once, so your override(s) may be overrided by functions having the same name but from other modules.

Solution: Just change the overrided function(s) name, example: name your function my_module_function instead of my_function.

Easy debugging

There is a debug library compatible with the debugbar module that you can use to easily debug your modules, example:

To print a debug message use:

dol_include_once('mymodule/lib/debug.lib.php');

debug('my message');

To measure execution time:

dol_include_once('mymodule/lib/debug.lib.php');

start_time_measure('my_measure', 'Execution time of my code');

// Write some code...

stop_time_measure('my_measure');

Known Cons

Lib files are not centralised

Instead of that they are duplicated/cloned on each new module you create. This can be considered as a good point too, since you don't need any additional module, framework or dependency to handle libraries separately. Also, you still have the choice to update them manually whenever you want.

Installation

Download the latest release from Dolistore.

Documentation

Find the documentation here. You can improve it by sending pull requests to this repository.

Contributing

Read contributing guidelines.

License

DAMB is licensed under the GPL license.

DolibarrLabs / damb