Architecture

This page provides information on VuFind®'s overall design, including big-picture design discussions as well as explanations of nitty-gritty details.

These specifications should be useful to most VuFind® developers and will help with an understanding of the overall system:

• Authorization - Information on how VuFind® handles user authorization.
• Caching - Notes on VuFind®'s use of caching.
• Cookies - Notes on VuFind®'s use of cookies.
• Customizing VuFind® - How to change VuFind®'s behavior.
• Data Model / Key Concepts - Key ideas in the VuFind® architecture.
  • Record Driver Method Master List - A reference to get methods used by record drivers.
• Database Schema
• Directory Layout
• Laminas - Information about the MVC framework used in VuFind®.
• Language / Localization Support
• Lightbox Functionality (Bootstrap themes)
• Real-Time Availability Status
• Search Service
• Solr Index Schema
  • Authority Index Schema

See also the plugins page for details on how to extend various aspects of VuFind®'s functionality.

These notes are of less general interest but will be useful when the referenced subsystems are being worked upon:

• Advanced Search Templates - Notes on how the advanced search UI operates in VuFind® 2.4.1 and newer.
• jsTree - Notes on the Javascript library used for rendering hierarchies in VuFind®.
• LESS - Notes on how the bootstrap3 / bootprint3 themes use LESS to generate CSS