Your First Odoo Application

Developing in Odoo usually means creating our own modules. In this chapter, we will create our first Odoo application and learn the steps needed to make it available to Odoo and install it.

We will get started by learning the basics of the development workflow—we'll create and install a new module, and update it to apply the changes we make throughout the development iterations.

Odoo follows a Model-View-Controller (MVC)-like architecture, and we will go through the different layers to implement a library application.

In this chapter, we will cover the following topics:

• Creating a new module, where the features will be implemented
• Adding an app's characteristic features, the top menu item, and security groups
• Adding automated tests that will initially fail, but should run with success before we finish
• Implementing the model layer, defining the app's data structures, and corresponding access security definitions
• Implementing the backend view layer, describing the internal user interface
• Implementing the business logic layer, supporting data validation and automation
• Implementing the web layer, describing the user interface for visitors and external users

With this approach, you will be able to gradually learn about the basic building blocks that make up an application and experience the iterative process of building an Odoo module from scratch.