documentation/content/developer/howtos/rdtraining/14_other_module.rst

.. _howto/rdtraining/14_other_module:

=======================================
Chapter 14: Interact With Other Modules
=======================================

In the :ref:`previous chapter <howto/rdtraining/13_inheritance>`, we used inheritance to modify
the behavior of a module. In our real estate scenario, we would like to go a step further
and be able to generate invoices for our customers. Odoo provides an Invoicing module, so it
would be neat to create an invoice directly from our real estate module, i.e. once a property
is set to 'Sold', an invoice is created in the Invoicing application.

Concrete Example: Account Move
==============================

.. note::

    **Goal**: at the end of this section:

    - A new module ``estate_account`` should be created
    - When a property is sold, an invoice should be issued for the buyer

    .. image:: 14_other_module/create_inv.gif
        :align: center
        :alt: Invoice creation

Any time we interact with another module, we need to keep in mind the modularity. If we intend
to sell our application to real estate agencies, some may want the invoicing feature but
others may not want it.

Link Module
-----------

The common approach for such use cases is to create a 'link' module. In our case, the module
would depend on ``estate`` and ``account`` and would include the invoice creation logic
of the estate property. This way the real estate and the accounting modules can be installed
independently. When both are installed, the link module provides the new feature.

.. exercise:: Create a link module.

    Create the ``estate_account`` module, which depends on the ``estate`` and ``account`` modules.
    For now, it will be an empty shell.

    Tip: you already did this at the
    :ref:`beginning of the tutorial <howto/rdtraining/03_newapp>`. The process is very similar.

When the ``estate_account`` module appears in the list, go ahead and install it! You'll notice that
the Invoicing application is installed as well. This is expected since your module depends on it.
If you uninstall the Invoicing application, your module will be uninstalled as well.

.. _howto/rdtraining/14_other_module/create:

Invoice Creation
----------------

It's now time to generate the invoice. We want to add functionality to the
``estate.property`` model, i.e. we want to add some extra logic for when a property is sold.
Does that sound familiar? If not, it's a good idea to go back to the
:ref:`previous chapter <howto/rdtraining/13_inheritance>` since you might have missed something ;-)

As a first step, we need to extend the action called when pressing the
:ref:`'Sold' button <howto/rdtraining/10_actions>` on a property. To do so, we need to create a
:ref:`model inheritance <howto/rdtraining/13_inheritance>` in the ``estate_account`` module
for the ``estate.property`` model. For now, the overridden action will simply return the ``super``
call. Maybe an example will make things clearer::

    from odoo import models

    class InheritedModel(models.Model):
        _inherit = "inherited.model"

        def inherited_action(self):
            return super().inherited_action()

A practical example can be found
`here <https://github.com/odoo/odoo/blob/f1f48cdaab3dd7847e8546ad9887f24a9e2ed4c1/addons/event_sale/models/account_move.py#L7-L16>`__.

.. exercise:: Add the first step of invoice creation.

    - Create a ``estate_property.py`` file in the correct folder of the ``estate_account`` module.
    - ``_inherit`` the ``estate.property`` model.
    - Override the ``action_sold`` method (you might have named it differently) to return the ``super``
      call.

    Tip: to make sure it works, add a ``print`` or a debugger breakpoint in the overridden method.

Is it working? If not, maybe check that all Python files are correctly imported.

If the override is working, we can move forward and create the invoice. Unfortunately, there
is no easy way to know how to create any given object in Odoo. Most of the time, it is necessary
to have a look at its model to find the required fields and provide appropriate values.

A good way to learn is to look at how other modules already do what you want to do. For example, one of
the basic flows of Sales is the creation of an invoice from a sales order. This looks like a good
starting point since it does exactly what we want to do. Take some time to read and understand the
`_create_invoices <https://github.com/odoo/odoo/blob/f1f48cdaab3dd7847e8546ad9887f24a9e2ed4c1/addons/sale/models/sale.py#L610-L717>`__
method. When you are done crying because this simple task looks awfully complex, we can move
forward in the tutorial.

To create an invoice, we need the following information:

- a ``partner_id``: the customer
- a ``move_type``: it has several `possible values <https://github.com/odoo/odoo/blob/f1f48cdaab3dd7847e8546ad9887f24a9e2ed4c1/addons/account/models/account_move.py#L138-L147>`__
- a ``journal_id``: the accounting journal

This is enough to create an empty invoice.

.. exercise:: Add the second step of invoice creation.

    Create an empty ``account.move`` in the override of the ``action_sold`` method:

    - the ``partner_id`` is taken from the current ``estate.property``
    - the ``move_type`` should correspond to a 'Customer Invoice'
    - the ``journal_id`` must be a ``sale`` journal (when in doubt, have a look
      `here <https://github.com/odoo/odoo/blob/f1f48cdaab3dd7847e8546ad9887f24a9e2ed4c1/addons/sale/models/sale.py#L534>`__)

    Tips:

    - to create an object, use ``self.env[model_name].create(values)``, where ``values``
      is a ``dict``.
    - the ``create`` method doesn't accept recordsets as field values.

When a property is set to 'Sold', you should now have a new customer invoice created in
Invoicing / Customers / Invoices.

Obviously we don't have any invoice lines so far. To create an invoice line, we need the following
information:

- ``name``: a description of the line
- ``quantity``
- ``price_unit``

Moreover, an invoice line needs to be linked to an invoice. The easiest and most efficient way
to link a line to an invoice is to include all lines at invoice creation. To do this, the
``invoice_line_ids`` field is included in the ``account.move`` creation, which is a
:class:`~odoo.fields.One2many`. One2many and Many2many use special 'commands' which have been
made human readable with the :class:`~odoo.fields.Command` namespace. This namespace represents
a triplet command to execute on a set of records. The triplet was originally the only option to
do these commands, but it is now standard to use the namespace instead. The format is to place
them in a list which is executed sequentially. Here is a simple example to include a One2many
field ``line_ids`` at creation of a ``test.model``::

    from odoo import Command

    def inherited_action(self):
        self.env["test.model"].create(
            {
                "name": "Test",
                "line_ids": [
                    Command.create({
                        "field_1": "value_1",
                        "field_2": "value_2",
                    })
                ],
            }
        )
        return super().inherited_action()

.. exercise:: Add the third step of invoice creation.

    Add two invoice lines during the creation of the ``account.move``. Each property sold will
    be invoiced following these conditions:

    - 6% of the selling price
    - an additional 100.00 from administrative fees

    Tip: Add the ``invoice_line_ids`` at creation following the example above.
    For each line, we need a ``name``, ``quantity`` and ``price_unit``.

This chapter might be one of the most difficult that has been covered so far, but it is the closest
to what Odoo development will be in practice. In the :ref:`next chapter <howto/rdtraining/15_qwebintro>`,
we will introduce the templating mechanism used in Odoo.