Module Widgets

Since LORIS 23.0, LORIS incorporates a concept of "widgets" which modules can use to dynamically display graphical widgets in other modules when installed and activated. This is a powerful way to extend the capabilities of other modules within a new module.

Widgets are can be used by implementing the getWidgets method on a Module module descriptor class. The first parameter of getWidgets is a string representing the widget type, allowing modules to define their own widget types in a loosely coupled manner. However since the interface is abstract enough to be flexible there must be an implied contract between what options and their returned values that are not enforced by PHP's typing system.

Widget types currently implemented by LORIS and its default modules are:

Dashboard

• The 'dashboard' type displays a widget on the dashboard (default landing page) of LORIS. No options are passed and the return of getWidgets is expected to be an array of \LORIS\dashboard\Widget elements.
• The 'usertasks' type widget gets added to the LORIS dashboard in the 'My Tasks' panel to display outstanding user tasks. No options are passed and the return value is expected to be an array of \LORIS\dashboard\TaskWidget elements (usually created by \LORIS\dashboard\TaskQueryWidget which generates the widget from an SQL query).

Candidate Profile

• The 'candidate' type displays a widget on the candidate_profile page. The options passed include a 'candidate' key which is a \Candidate object. The return value is expected to be an array of LORIS\candidate_profile\CandidateWidget; which each get displayed in their own card of the page.
• The 'candidateinfo' type displays extra information in the 'Candidate Info' card of the profile. The options passed are the same as for the 'candidate'. The return value is expected to be an array of LORIS\candidate_profile\CandidateInfo elements consisting of terms to render into the existing card and the value of the term.