Where to start?

[shyest]

So I have been around since 2007 with IPS and seen many changes come and go. The question I have is where would you start to understand how to develop your own content/plugins for your own site and secondly where would you start when you want to understand pages and the capability it has with custom code. I know about php code and such but not fluent. 

Thanks for reading. 

[BN_IT_Support]

I've just done my first two plugins partly as an attempt to learn the IPS framework and I agree that it is slightly tough to get off the starting blocks with it. Personally I started with this tutorial:

... and then read some of the other articles in this section.  There are also some great guides buried in the forums like this one from @HeadStand :

After that I started to go through some of the files like /system/helpers/form and /system/members to try and understand some of the classes a little bit better.

Things like the css framework are also good for specific details:

https://invisionpower.com/4guides/themes-and-customizations/css-framework/

Hope that is of some help.

[shyest]

So just out of curiousity can you use the css framework within pages app? 

 

[Aiwa]

2 hours ago, shyest said:

So just out of curiousity can you use the css framework within pages app? 

 

Absolutely.

[shyest]

Going along same lines of I have some custom JavaScript without devmode is there a way to add it to the site/page without actually having an external file to upload? 

16 hours ago, Edward Shephard said:

I've just done my first two plugins partly as an attempt to learn the IPS framework and I agree that it is slightly tough to get off the starting blocks with it. Personally I started with this tutorial:

... and then read some of the other articles in this section.  There are also some great guides buried in the forums like this one from @HeadStand :

After that I started to go through some of the files like /system/helpers/form and /system/members to try and understand some of the classes a little bit better.

Things like the css framework are also good for specific details:

https://invisionpower.com/4guides/themes-and-customizations/css-framework/

Hope that is of some help.

Thanks @Edward Shephard for your answer. 

 

3 minutes ago, Aiwa said:

Absolutely.

Thanks @Aiwa

[BN_IT_Support]

20 minutes ago, shyest said:

Going along same lines of I have some custom JavaScript without devmode is there a way to add it to the site/page without actually having an external file to upload? 

Yes:

For CSS, if you are using the main editor in a page or block, then you can press the source button and add any html that you like.

[Florent Cadet]

$_COOKIE and database queries are the key. Invision documentation is a shame.

[shyest]

11 hours ago, Florent Cadet said:

$_COOKIE and database queries are the key. Invision documentation is a shame.

The key to what? 

[Florent Cadet]

To develop new features in PHP without IPS documentation

My custom members map and weather widget are for example based on a Localisation profile field. I just used JS/PHP and this $_COOKIE var.

 

I tried the developer mode enabled in ACP, a lot of bugs with a lot of fatal errors which cost a lot of time. I gave up and I decided to find a workaround to develop.

With the $_COOKIE PHP variable and proper SQL query, you can retrieve member information and you can do you what you want.

Use JS/Template Sources to add features to existing IPS pages.

[shyest]

Just now, Florent Cadet said:

To develop new features in PHP without IPS documentation

My custom members map and weather widget are for example based on a Localisation profile field. I just used JS/PHP and this $_COOKIE var.

 

Ah ok thanks. 

[Aiwa]

1 hour ago, Florent Cadet said:

To develop new features in PHP without IPS documentation

My custom members map and weather widget are for example based on a Localisation profile field. I just used JS/PHP and this $_COOKIE var.

 

I tried the developer mode enabled in ACP, a lot of bugs with a lot of fatal errors which cost a lot of time. I gave up and I decided to find a workaround to develop.

With the $_COOKIE PHP variable and proper SQL query, you can retrieve member information and you can do you what you want.

Use JS/Template Sources to add features to existing IPS pages.

You uploaded the development tools released in the MP, right? Without those IN_DEV doesn't work. 

[Florent Cadet]

Of course I did it and developement mode in ACP was working, But sometimes you add an element (just adding a row in developer center tab module for example, nothing else) and the forum crashs with a fatal error, you can't do nothing except disabling DEV_MODE. Disable it, enable it again, and error is gone with your developpement plugin still activated, I call that a bug and I can't develop in these conditions.

 

[Aiwa]

5 minutes ago, Florent Cadet said:

Of course I did it and developement mode in ACP was working, But sometimes you add an element (just adding a row in developer center tab module for example, nothing else) and the forum crashs with a fatal error, you can't do nothing except disabling DEV_MODE. Disable it, enable it again, and error is gone with your developpement plugin still activated, I call that a bug and I can't develop in these conditions.

What version was that?  I've never had that issue... Unless it was something in my code that broke it  

[Florent Cadet]

I had not yet written a single line of code, I just added a pre-existing element in developement center mode to have this behaviour...

It was a few weeks ago, I don't remember what was number version.

[Aiwa]

Getting a bit off topic, but what you experienced is not normal. Next time you try, if this occurs, bring the error to the developers forum and we'll help you identify what's wrong. 

[Florent Cadet]

You're right but do you know why didn't report it?

Because IPS documentation related to 4.x is so poor and even if development center is working well, I can't work efficiently.

I usually use frameworks of any languages but they are properly documented...