Tutorial: using a custom module to add an entityΒΆ
In this tutorial we are going to kill two birds with one stone, by introducing the code required for supporting a new database entity in the warehouse and using a custom module to do this. The Indicia data model is focused on the core requirements of the majority of online recording surveys and is intentionally kept fairly lightweight, as this makes it easier to program against as well as giving better querying performance in general. It is not uncommon, therefore, to come across requirements which necessitate extending the data model with new database tables. When doing this we could
enhance the core code, but that increases the complexity of the data model so is only beneficial when most online surveys will make use of the change.
change the core code but keep the changes only on our local warehouse, but that means that future updates to warehouse code could overwrite our local changes making the upgrade process almost impossible to manage.
write an optional module which adds support for the new database entity.
The latter approach is obviously the way to go since the module can be kept separate from the core warehouse code and can be enabled only on the warehouses which need the additional functionality, therefore keeping the core both lightweight and efficient. Fortunately, the Kohana framework has built in support for extension modules.
