XOOPS Glossary

Comprehensive glossary of XOOPS-specific terminology and concepts.

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A

Admin Framework

The standardized administrative interface framework introduced in XOOPS 2.3, providing consistent admin pages across modules.

Autoloading

The automatic loading of PHP classes when they are needed, using PSR-4 standard in modern XOOPS.

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B

Block

A self-contained content unit that can be positioned in theme regions. Blocks can display module content, custom HTML, or dynamic data.

// Block definition
$modversion['blocks'][] = [
    'file'      => 'myblock.php',
    'name'      => 'My Block',
    'show_func' => 'mymodule_block_show'
];

Bootstrap

The process of initializing XOOPS core before executing module code, typically through mainfile.php and header.php.

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C

Criteria / CriteriaCompo

Classes for building database query conditions in an object-oriented manner.

$criteria = new CriteriaCompo();
$criteria->add(new Criteria('status', 1));

CSRF (Cross-Site Request Forgery)

A security attack prevented in XOOPS using security tokens via XoopsFormHiddenToken.

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D

DI (Dependency Injection)

A design pattern planned for XOOPS 4.0 where dependencies are injected rather than created internally.

Dirname

The directory name of a module, used as a unique identifier throughout the system.

DTYPE (Data Type)

Constants defining how XoopsObject variables are stored and sanitized:

• XOBJ_DTYPE_INT - Integer
• XOBJ_DTYPE_TXTBOX - Text (single line)
• XOBJ_DTYPE_TXTAREA - Text (multi-line)
• XOBJ_DTYPE_EMAIL - Email address

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E

Event

An occurrence in the XOOPS lifecycle that can trigger custom code through preloads or hooks.

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F

Framework

See XMF (XOOPS Module Framework).

Form Element

A component of the XOOPS form system representing an HTML form field.

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G

Group

A collection of users with shared permissions. Core groups include: Webmasters, Registered Users, Anonymous.

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H

Handler

A class that manages CRUD operations for XoopsObject instances.

$handler = xoops_getModuleHandler('item', 'mymodule');
$item = $handler->get($id);

Helper

A utility class providing easy access to module handlers, configurations, and services.

$helper = \XoopsModules\MyModule\Helper::getInstance();

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K

Kernel

The core XOOPS classes providing fundamental functionality: database access, user management, security, etc.

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L

Language File

PHP files containing constants for internationalization, stored in language/[code]/ directories.

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M

mainfile.php

The primary configuration file for XOOPS containing database credentials and path definitions.

MCP (Model-Controller-Presenter)

An architectural pattern similar to MVC, often used in XOOPS module development.

Middleware

Software that sits between the request and response, planned for XOOPS 4.0 using PSR-15.

Module

A self-contained package that extends XOOPS functionality, installed in the modules/ directory.

MOC (Map of Content)

An Obsidian concept for overview notes that link to related content.

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N

Namespace

PHP feature for organizing classes, used in XOOPS 2.5+:

namespace XoopsModules\MyModule;

Notification

The XOOPS system for alerting users about events via email or PM.

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O

Object

See XoopsObject.

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P

Permission

Access control managed through groups and permission handlers.

Preload

A class that hooks into XOOPS events, loaded automatically from preloads/ directory.

PSR (PHP Standards Recommendation)

Standards from PHP-FIG that XOOPS 4.0 will fully implement.

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R

Renderer

A class that outputs form elements or other UI components in specific formats (Bootstrap, etc.).

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S

Smarty

The template engine used by XOOPS for separating presentation from logic.

<{$variable}>
<{foreach item=item from=$items}>
    <{$item.title}>
<{/foreach}>

Service

A class providing reusable business logic, typically accessed via the Helper.

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T

Template

A Smarty file (.tpl or .html) defining the presentation layer for modules.

Theme

A collection of templates and assets defining the site’s visual appearance.

Token

A security mechanism (CSRF protection) ensuring form submissions originate from legitimate sources.

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U

uid

User ID - the unique identifier for each user in the system.

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V

Variable (Var)

A field defined on an XoopsObject using initVar().

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W

Widget

A small, self-contained UI component, similar to blocks.

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X

XMF (XOOPS Module Framework)

A collection of utilities and classes for modern XOOPS module development.

XOBJ_DTYPE

Constants for defining variable data types in XoopsObject.

XoopsDatabase

The database abstraction layer providing query execution and escaping.

XoopsForm

The form generation system for creating HTML forms programmatically.

XoopsObject

The base class for all data objects in XOOPS, providing variable management and sanitization.

xoops_version.php

The module manifest file defining module properties, tables, blocks, templates, and configuration.

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Common Acronyms

Acronym	Meaning
XOOPS	eXtensible Object-Oriented Portal System
XMF	XOOPS Module Framework
CSRF	Cross-Site Request Forgery
XSS	Cross-Site Scripting
ORM	Object-Relational Mapping
PSR	PHP Standards Recommendation
DI	Dependency Injection
MVC	Model-View-Controller
CRUD	Create, Read, Update, Delete

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🔗 Related Documentation

• Core Concepts
• API Reference
• External Resources

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#xoops #glossary #reference #terminology #definitions