So what is a module?
By the very name module you would think that it is a type of extension which it is and it isn’t.
I can’t think of one way just to describe a module because there so flexible.
Modules are tied into the Joomla template system at design time by adding a module tag to your template.
Modules are put into the template and can even be put into the content via a Joomla Plug-in at run time.
They can render content from components a good example is the core menu system for Joomla renders the menu via a module.
They can get outside information like RSS feeds. The list of options can be very long.
But you should start to see that modules are very flexible.
All the circled areas are all modules.
Module Chrome
Module Chrome or a better word to describe module chrome is a wrapper.
Why? Because all module data that’s outputted can be surrounded by HTML in possibly two ways.
1. The Module Data itself most of the time has some type of HTML structure for the information its going to output.
2. Joomla itself adds an HTML wrapper that surrounds the module output.
What are the types of module chrome or wrappers available by default?
Joomla modules are added to your Joomla template with is type of tag.
<jdoc:include type="modules" name="top" style="none" />
The parameters for the module chrome or wrappers are set via style=”none” parameter above is an example of what a tag looks like.
The default tags options chart and there sample wrapper output are below.
Joomla Modules styles meaning CSS styles are a little tricky at first I will cover them later on.
Parameter style name
Example chrome wrapper HTML output
none
table
horz
xhtml
outline
Custom
Add your Chrome Wrapper will be added later