Creating the Hello World module [Getting Started with OpenCart Modules]

We assume that you already know PHP and have installed OpenCart, and are familiar with the OpenCart backend and frontend, as well as you have some coding knowledge of PHP.

You are going to create the Hello World module which just has one input box in the admin settings for the module, and the same content is shown on the frontend. The first step to creating a module is using a unique name, so that there will not be a conflict with other modules. The same unique name is used to create the filename and classname to extend the controller and the model.

There are generally six to eight files that need to be created for each module, and they follow a similar structure. If there is an interaction with the database tables, we have to create two extra models. The following screenshot shows the hierarchy of files and folders of an OpenCart module:

So now you know the basic directory structure of OpenCart module. The file structure is divided into two sections admin and catalog. The admin folders and files deal with the setting of the modules and data handling, while the catalog folders and files handle the frontend.

Let's start with an easy way to make a module. You are going to make the duplicate of the default Google Talk module of OpenCart and change it to the Hello World module. We are using Dreamweaver to work with files.