Design Your Module!

An often overlooked point is that the module should be designed before being coded. This will allow for far easier coding later on, and an understanding of how the module fits into the generic PostNuke module structure. Some of the points that should be considered are:

• What data does the module store? How should the module data best be stored? Is the data hierarchical or flat?

• What does the module do with the stored data? How is the data displayed, how much data is displayed at any one time? What options should the user have to view the data in different ways?

• How does the module interact with other modules? Does it compete directly with other modules? If so, does it make sense to follow their module API to allow for greater interoperability between similar modules? Can it use other modules for part of its functionality? Is it better written as an extension to a current module rather than starting again from scratch?