Developer Documentation

List of documents for application developers as well as developers of skins and extensions.

On this page:

Application Developer Topics

Topics for normal users that want to develop Foswiki applications.

Reference

ReferenceManual: Documentation for webmasters, system administrators, project managers, team leaders, and all other users of Foswiki

Background on core functionalities

CommandAndCGIScripts: These scripts are located in the bin and tools directories. This topic describes the interfaces to some of those scripts
DataForms: Data forms allow you to add structured data to topics. The data stored in the form fields can be used to search and filter topics. The combination of structured data and search queries are the base for building database applications
FormattedSearch: Foswiki's inline search feature allows flexible formatting of search result. This is a key feature for most Foswiki applications
FormatTokens: Description of the format tokens such as $n, $quot, $percent etc used in FormattedSearch and a few other macros.
IfStatements: The %IF% construct gives Foswiki the power to include content in topics based on the value of simple expressions
IncludeTopicsAndWebPages: Include Topics and Web Pages Using %INCLUDE{...}% Macro
QuerySearch: Query searches help you search the contents of forms attached to your topics, as well as the values of other meta-data attached to the topic using simple query language
RegularExpression: A short introduction to regular expressions
SearchHelp: An introduction to searching
SkinTemplates: Skin templates are used when composing the output from all actions, such as view, edit, and preview. This allows you to change the look and feel of all pages by editing just a few template files. This topic describes the special template directives. Both for Skin developers and for advanced wiki application development.
TemplateTopics: Template topics are topics that define the default text for new topics. A basic feature is most wiki applications.
WebTemplateTopics: A brief introduction to topic template and a list of templates in this web

Extensions, working with extensions

JQueryPlugin: JQueryPlugin enables the use of the jQuery Javascript library in wiki applications and is used by many plugins to create the user interfaces
AutoViewTemplatePlugin: This plugin enables using special view and edit templates depending on the data form used on the topics
CommentPlugin: Comment Plugin lets users quickly post comments to a page without an edit/preview/save cycle. The comment forms can be customized and form very advanced user interface for application development
CommentPluginTemplate: This topic is used by the CommentPlugin as a template file
EditRowPlugin: Edit tables using edit fields, date pickers and drop down boxes
JSCalendarContrib: Enables smart Javascript calender for text entry fields. Users can add calendar directly in their own hand-built forms, without having to write any code.
PlainSkin: The plain skin is used to get the rendered topic text without any page decoration such as side, top or bottom bars. The text is shown without any markup styles. It can be used to display topic content inside an IFRAME.

Utilities

CountryList: List of countries used in the UserForm. Can also be used in Foswiki applications
DocumentGraphics: This is a Foswiki icon library. The graphics can be used in topics and by web applications
HierarchicalNavigation: Navigation block that displays the current topic, its parent and children (if any). This is intended to be included in other topics, for example in a side navigation bar
InstalledPlugins: List of the plugins currently installed and enabled in this Foswiki site

Example topics and applications

Creating applications with DataForms: A simple example of a Foswiki application using data forms and a submission page made with an HTML form
ExampleTopicTemplate: An example used in TemplateTopics illustrating how to create a new topic based on a specific template topic
SearchPatternCookbook: A cookbook with many examples how to use the powerful SEARCH feature in wiki applications. See examples of both regular expression searches, query searches, and the use of formatted output
WebLeftBarExample: This topic defines the default left bar in PatternSkin. Each web has its own left bar. If you need to change it please read in PatternSkin how to tailor the bars so they do not get overwritten when you upgrade Foswiki

Core, Skin, and Extensions Developer Topics

Topics for programmers that which to design new skins and develop new extensions for Foswiki.

Reference

ReferenceManual: Documentation for webmasters, system administrators, project managers, team leaders, and all other users of Foswiki
DevelopingPlugins: An introduction to developing Plugins
Contribs: A short introduction to Contribs. Contribs are Extensions to Foswiki that are not plugins
ContributedAddOns: A short introduction to Add-Ons. Add-Ons add functionality with extensions that are not based on the Foswiki scripts
Skins: An introduction to skins and skin development
PerlDoc: This topic is a helper topic that enables displaying the inline documentation of the Foswiki perl modules. It is used in the DevelopingPlugins topic

Background on functionalities

AppendixCascadingStyleSheets: Listing of CSS class names emitted from Foswiki core code and standard extensions
JavascriptFiles: Foswiki Javascript support comprises a number of base Javascript files, attached to this topic, that provide support for features in the basic screens, and are used by most skins.
SkinTemplates: Skin templates are used when composing the output from all actions, such as view, edit, and preview. This allows you to change the look and feel of all pages by editing just a few template files. This topic describes the special template directives. Both for Skin developers and for advanced wiki application development.
MetaData: Additional data, Foswiki-generated or from forms, may be embedded in the topic text using META: macros
ClassMethod: A ClassMethod is a method that must be called relative to the containing class object
ObjectMethod: An ObjectMethod is a method that must be called relative to a previous constructed object of the class type
StaticMethod: A StaticMethod is a method in a package that can be called without reference to an object of the package type

Utilities

InstalledPlugins: List of the plugins currently installed and enabled in this Foswiki site. Developers can see any code errors in the plugins which is very useful during development
LanguageSelector: Language selection dropdown. To be included where a language selection is needed, for instance in the top bar or left bar

Skins and extensions

PatternSkin: This is the default skin that Foswiki is shipped with. This topic is the entry point for selecting themes and doing tailoring of how your Foswiki installation looks like
PatternSkinCss: This page is a reference for all CSS classes used in PatternSkin.
PatternSkinCssCookbook: Cookbook for how to alter the appearance of PatternSkin using CSS. This includes how to change the color scheme, hide the left bar, change the height of the top bar, removing the top bar, etc.
PatternSkinCustomization: How to customize the apperance of PatternSkin using templates. This includes how to change the site logos, how to change the features of the top and side bars, and how to hide certain user interface elements depending who the user is.
PatternSkinElements: This topic shows the most common elements that you can change in the PatternSkin. Use this topic to see the result of your changes to CSS.
PrintSkin: The print skin, used for printable pages with a small footer. Other skins, such as PatternSkin, may introduce their own print skin.

Other

TopicDoesNotExistViewTemplate: This template topic defines the look of the page shown when the user has tried to view a topic that does not exist

More in-depth developer documentation can be found in the supplemental documentation.

Really detailed documentation, includigng how to get started as a core developer, can be found on the Foswiki developer site.

Developer Documentation

Application Developer Topics

Reference

Background on core functionalities

Extensions, working with extensions

Utilities

Example topics and applications

Core, Skin, and Extensions Developer Topics

Reference

Background on functionalities

Utilities

Skins and extensions

Other

Related Topics