Module Variables

PostNuke can store variable for a module in it's registry. We dont need to concern ourselves with any data access as we have three standardised calls which will get, set and delete values.

pnModSetVar()

pnModSetVar($module, $name, $value)

One would normally initialise module variables in the modules initialisation script pninit.php. This is done at module installation time only and registers the variables with the PostNuke registry.

// pninit.php

function helloworld_init()

{

    pnModSetVar('helloworld', 'myname', 'Fred Bloggs');

    pnModSetVar('helloworld', 'myage', 32);

    return true;

}

pnModGetVar()

pnModGetVar($module, $name)

Back to our 'hello world' module lets add a function greetings to pnuser.php

// pnuser.php

function helloworld_user_greetings()

{

    // get the variable 'myname' which belongs to the module 'helloworld' from the registry

    $myname = pnModGetVar('helloworld', 'myname');

    // get the variable 'myage' which belongs to the module 'helloworld' from the registry

    $myage= pnModGetVar('helloworld', 'myage');

    $greeting = "Hello World.  My name is $myname and I am $myage";

    // function returns to PostNuke Application Framework.

    return $greeting;

}

Do not rely on the return value! If the module variable does not exist, pnModGetVar() returns false. If your module var is likely to hold a boolean, you might get into trouble. Better store such data as 'on' for true and 'off' for false to avoid problems.

pnModDelVar()

pnModDelVar($module, $name)

This function would normally be used during the uninstall of a module in pninit.php It removes the variables from the registry.

// pninit.php

// function to uninstall module

function helloworld_remove()

{

    pnModDelVar('helloworld', 'myname');

    pnModDelVar('helloworld', 'myage');

    // delete all module vars in one step

    pnModDelVar('helloworld');

    return true;

}