Module development and code questions

I am creating a new module which I need to extend product. Can anyone point me in the right direction to get started. i thought I couold just create a modu;le that would insert a new record in the node table & the ec_product table, then insert it into the ec_cart table. I expected the ec_)cart table to simply have a reference to the ec_product tables id of the product i am adding to the caert, but I found a bunch of text in the data column. I have no idea how this is generated.

Hi all,
So i'm switching from Joomla to Drupal. So far i'm loving drupal but i've run into a small problem. For some reason, After i uploaded the gallery module into sites/default/modules i don't see it in the administration->modules page to active it. I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions?

Thanks!
Eyez

Maybe I'm missing something in Drupal...

I've got a lot of modules installed in my drupal installation.. I use a different set for different sites.. they all work great, occasionally the odd glitch, and usually an update fixes the problem.

Is there a way to check for updates to the current version of your drupal modules, all at once? Or is my approach of "fix as you find the bug" the only way?

Thanks in advance :-)

How easy/possible is it to create extra layouts for the Panels module?

I'd like to add one with extra 'boxes' in the middle column and looking at threecol_25_50_25_stacked.inc it seems doable, but I wouldn't really know where to start.

(I'm new) and finding conflicting examples around the site for what arguments are used in node hook functions.

The 4.7 documentation on api.drupal.org shows ($node) for hook_validate, hook_submit, etc. Here's an example from http://api.drupal.org/api/4.7/function/hook_validate

Hi,

I'm sure my issue is really simple but regardless I am totally stuck.

I have been working on a really basic module that has a few simple form fields and checkboxes. The next step is allowing images to be added to the node and later use the imagecache module to resize on the fly.

My question is: what is the best way to use the image module (if that) with the form api? Is there a way to use the hook_form method to add an image upload field?

Just need a simple "Add image" field that is handled as the other fields are.

Thanks!

Pete