Creating an Extension - Inform custom email address on submission

Question

I've never created an Addon before I'm finding it a little daunting, any pointers would be much appreciated.

Here's what I am trying to achieve.

I have a Channel Form in the front end that site's users submit to request approval for passing a skill. In the form they choose the name of the instructor that helped them. When they submit the form I would like the instructor chosen to be notified by email (passed along in the form) that User X submitted an entry and provide the instructor with a link to review, approve or deny that entry.

By the looks of it I need to use the entry_submission_end hook. I don't need any extension settings or to store anything in a custom table.

Answer 1

The functionality you require can actually be handled by the Postmaster add-on ($65) or possibly the MX Notify Control add-on (free).

However, if you are still interested in pursuing add-on development, as a starting point you might want to try creating a simple 'hello world' plugin first to get a sense of how add-ons interact with EE, and then perhaps once you feel comfortable with that look at how to create extensions that make use of hooks.

pkg.io is a nice tool to use that will give you a basic template for use in making your first add-on, though you might also just want to go step-by-step through the process in the EE docs here: http://ellislab.com/expressionengine/user-guide/development/plugins.html

If it all seems daunting at first, just remember to do things as simply as possible at first, make a lot of stripped-down examples and tests, and keep on building from what you learn.