Getting Started Developing

Programming in MODX Revolution¶

MODX Revolution is an object-oriented framework built around the database ORM xPDO.

3rd-Party Components (3PCs)¶

A 3rd-Party Component (3PC) is any collection of MODX objects you ship as a unit: Snippets, Plugins and Chunks, a single Snippet, or just files. Components are usually delivered as Transport Packages.

core/components and assets/components¶

Keep files that must not be web-accessible (PHP, config) under:

core/components/myname

Keep files that must be web-accessible (CSS, JS, images) under:

assets/components/myname

Both paths use the component name in place of myname. Standard locations let other developers find your files.

Snippets¶

Snippets are PHP scripts executed on a page or another Element.

Plugins¶

Plugins are PHP code attached to system events: during a page request, and in the Manager. Where a Snippet runs where you place it, a Plugin runs where its event fires.

Properties and Property Sets¶

Properties are named arguments on an Element (Snippet, Plugin, Chunk, TV, Template). A Property Set is a named group of Properties you assign to several Elements at once.

Custom Manager Pages (CMPs)¶

A Custom Manager Page is a page in the Manager that you build for your Extra, without modifying the core.

Using MODX Externally¶

To load MODX from your own script:

require_once '/absolute/path/to/modx/config.core.php';
require_once MODX_CORE_PATH.'model/modx/modx.class.php';
$modx = new modX();
$modx->initialize('web');
$modx->getService('error', 'error.modError');

The script loads MODX in the web Context; its access policies apply to everything you do next. To work in another Context, pass its name to initialize() instead.

In 3.x the canonical class names are namespaced (MODX\Revolution\modX, MODX\Revolution\modChunk, …). The old global names (modX, error.modError, …) still work through deprecated class aliases, on by default — new code should use the namespaced names.