REDCap External Module Development Guide

This site is a guide to the development of software extensions to Vanderbilt University's Research Electronic Data CAPture (REDCap) using REDCap's External Module framework. Added to REDCap in the Fall of 2017, the external module framework has proven to be an effective and popular way to change REDCap's behavior to meet the needs of specific sites and projects. This guide provides an introduction to external modules and guidance in creating a team and plan for developing modules for one's own needs and the broader REDCap community.

The audience for this guide is REDCap Admins who want to understand module development, REDCap Admins who aspire to developers, and software developers who want to develop for REDCap but have little to no background in REDCap administration. The guide is split into 4 sections to address the different audiences.

1. REDCap External Module Development for REDCap Admins and Developers provides the background every audience needs to work together to create and share a module with the REDCap community.
2. EMD-101: Building a REDCap Development Environment provides instructions for building a REDCap development and testing environment. It is targeted at REDCap Admins, but could provide valuable insight into REDCap development even for a seasoned developer.
3. EMD-102: A tour through REDCap as an Admin is a guide to REDCap for a new REDCap Admin or a software developer. It provides a tour through the features a REDCap Admin commonly uses that aren't covered in the REDCap Project's video library. It shows new admins and developers features they need to understand to run a REDCap, converse with Admins, and develop modules.
4. REDCap External Module Development for Developers guides developers and aspiring developers to the right development tools, suggests resources for module development and offers coding exercises to create simple modules that make use of the various tools at the disposal of an External Module developer.