Table Of ContentMoodle 3.x Developer's Guide
Customize your Moodle apps by creating custom plugins,
extensions, and modules
Ian Wild
BIRMINGHAM - MUMBAI
Moodle 3.x Developer's Guide
Copyright © 2017 Packt Publishing
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the
publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.
Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the
information presented. However, the information contained in this book is sold without
warranty, either express or implied. Neither the author, nor Packt Publishing, and its
dealers and distributors will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to be caused
directly or indirectly by this book.
Packt Publishing has endeavored to provide trademark information about all of the
companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals.
However, Packt Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.
First published: June 2017
Production reference: 1270617
Published by Packt Publishing Ltd.
Livery Place
35 Livery Street
Birmingham
B3 2PB, UK.
ISBN 978-1-78646-711-9
www.packtpub.com
Credits
Author Copy Editor
Ian Wild Safis Editing
Reviewer Project Coordinator
Susan Smith Nash Ritika Manoj
Commissioning Editor Proofreader
Amarabha Banerjee Safis Editing
Acquisition Editor Indexer
Reshma Raman Tejal Daruwale Soni
Content Development Editor Graphics
Aditi Gour Jason Monteiro
Technical Editor Production Coordinator
Shweta Jadhav Melwyn Dsa
About the Author
Ian Wild is an experienced software developer, solutions architect, author, and educator
with over 20 years' experience in the field of software design and implementation.
Fifteen years working in private industry saw Ian specializing in the design and
development of access and learning aids for blind, visually impaired, dyslexic, and
dyscalculic computer users, while also working part-time as a tutor and lecturer. Teaching
only part-time meant not spending as much time with his students as he would have
wished and this, coupled with his background in the development of communication
technologies, and seeded his long-time interest in e-learning.
Ian is also, author of Moodle Course Conversion: Beginner’s Guide and Moodle Math. He was
also technical reviewer of Science Teaching with Moodle, Moodle Multimedia and Practical
XMPP.
About the Reviewer
Susan Smith Nash is involved in the design, development, and administration of e-learning
and m-learning programs for learners pursuing degrees, certification, credentialing, and
professional development. Her current research interests include the effective design of
competency-based education, knowledge management, knowledge transfer, and
leadership. Her articles and columns have appeared in magazines and refereed journals.
She received her PhD from the University of Oklahoma, and in addition to e-learning, Nash
has also been involved in international economic development training, interdisciplinary
studies, interdisciplinary petroleum geosciences programs, and sustainable business and
career training. Her book, Leadership and the E-Learning Organization, was co-authored with
George Henderson, and published by Charles Thomas and Sons. Her most recent books
include E-Learning Success: From Courses to Careers, and E-Learner Survival Guide, Texture
Press. Her edublog, E-Learning Queen has received numerous awards and recognition's.
www.PacktPub.com
For support files and downloads related to your book, please visit www.PacktPub.com.
Did you know that Packt offers eBook versions of every book published, with PDF and
ePub files available? You can upgrade to the eBook version at www.PacktPub.com and as a
print book customer, you are entitled to a discount on the eBook copy. Get in touch with us
at [email protected] for more details.
At www.PacktPub.com, you can also read a collection of free technical articles, sign up for a
range of free newsletters and receive exclusive discounts and offers on Packt books and
eBooks.
https://www.packtpub.com/mapt
Get the most in-demand software skills with Mapt. Mapt gives you full access to all Packt
books and video courses, as well as industry-leading tools to help you plan your personal
development and advance your career.
Why subscribe?
Fully searchable across every book published by Packt
Copy and paste, print, and bookmark content
On demand and accessible via a web browser
Table of Contents
Preface
1
Chapter 1: Getting to Grips with the Moodle 3 Architecture
7
Understanding Moodle 8
More on Moodle plugins 9
Running a local Moodle 9
Moodle architecture - the LAMP/WAMP stack 10
Installing WampServer 11
WampServer and Skype 11
Setting up an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) 11
Configuring the Eclipse IDE 12
Configuring remote debugging 12
Installing and configuring Moodle 14
Introducing the project 14
Planning is everything 15
Agile software development 15
Version control 16
Moodle Internals - Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) 16
An object-oriented philosophy 16
Types of APIs 19
Our first plugin - a custom string manager 19
The user story 19
The development process 20
Step 1: Understanding the problem 20
Step 2: Researching potential solutions 21
Moodle plugin directory 22
Moodle community forums 23
Moodle Tracker 24
String API 25
Step 3: Implementing the solution 26
Standard plugin features 27
Summary 32
Chapter 2: Moodle Plugins - What Can I Plug In?
33
Managing users 34
Authentication 34
Enrolment 39
Learner competencies 42
Managing courses 44
Course layout 44
Course content 46
Resources 46
Activities 47
Quiz plugins 47
Assignment plugins 48
Where to find course interaction plugins 49
Other important course plugin types 49
Blocks 50
Editor plugins 51
Text filters 51
Reporting and analytics 52
Look and feel 53
Other major plugin types 55
What cannot be done with plugins? 58
Summary 59
Chapter 3: Internal Interfaces
60
Adding configuration settings 61
Wireframing 62
Moodle application layers 63
Storing configuration data 64
Creating an admin settings page 67
Updating the get_string() function 73
Plugin language strings 74
System APIs 75
Events API 79
Plugin data and services 80
Form API 82
File Storage API 84
Cache API 87
Output renderers 88
Summary 88
Chapter 4: Course Management
89
Course formats 90
GPS location - background to the project 90
Obtaining device location 91
Device location - security issues 91
Configuring SSL on WampServer 91
Understanding renderers 98
[ ii ]
Finding a user's location with the Geolocation API 99
Including JavaScript 101
Specifying location settings 102
Displaying sections based on location 103
Try it yourself 108
Course blocks 108
Configuring the QR Code block 112
Including the QR Code library 114
Manipulating files with the File API 115
Serving files from the file store 119
Try it yourself 121
Text filters 122
Subscribing to a text changed event 125
Try it yourself 128
Summary 128
Chapter 5: Creative Teaching - Developing Custom Resources and
Activities
130
Teaching interactions 132
Developing a Resource plugin 136
Rendering a three-dimensional model 136
Module configuration 137
More on file handling 139
Plugin library callbacks 140
Rendering the Model 143
More on JavaScript 144
Asynchronous Module Definition (AMD) API 145
Reporting events 148
Other files 151
Installation scripts 152
XMLDB editor 154
Allowing user comments 155
More on file handling 157
Styling 160
Backup and Restore API 162
Backup API 162
Restore API 164
Roles and permissions 165
Preparing for release 165
Minimising JavaScript 165
[ iii ]
