Module development and code questions

Well I had a guy make a digital menu system that was ok but it was added a blank link to the links section of every node and so I'm considering scrapping it bc that annoys me so much.

Anyways I'd like for a paying customer to post a menu node and then subsequent menu item nodes that will belong to the parent node. Then there would be a page that brings it all together in one pretty layout.

I have a node type (something like story) where I can describe hospitals all over the country, but that single node should be tied up with groups of images, and I can put many photos inside a single group:
1. photos of doctors in a particular hospital
2. various photos of a hospital

I'm struggling with this problem for a while... can you give me a clue, please?
What's the best way to make these things done? CCK? Flexinode? Taxonomy?

I created a new complex node type. It represents an aggregate object, which consists of several sub-objects, so the data is spread over several tables in the database. I construct my node object in hook_load like this:

function myNode_load($node)
{
	// switch database
        db_set_active('myDB');

        // create my object
        $myObject = db_fetch_object( db_query( ... ) );
        $myObject->subObject1 = db_fetch_object( db_query( ... ) );
        $myObject->subObject2 = db_fetch_object( db_query( ... ) );
        ...

        // switch back database
        db_set_active('default');

        // append myObject to node-object, and return the node
        $node->myObject = $myObject;
	return $node;
}

Note, that I return $node instead of $myObject. This way $myObject is not flattened into a set of properties an merged with $node, but it remains as an object that is attached to $node. This way I can use the object in other following hooks like I constructed it. For instance in hook_form:

$form['myObject']['subObject1']['latitude'] = array
(
    '#type' => 'textfield',
    '#title' => t('latitude'),
    '#default_value' => $node->myObject->subObject1->latitude
);

My problem is now, that $myObject is lost after submiting the form. As far as I understand, node_form_submit($form_id, $edit) in node.module creates a new node-object out of the data submited in the form elements. Therefore $myObject is lost and not attached to the $node object which is passed to hook_validate, hook_update and so on... The following doesn't work:

I am updating my module from 4.6 to 4.7. It was stable at 4.6 and fully functioning.

Now, using 4.7 platform and i've updated the module, but when I go to add a "node" using this module, I see the form, but when it comes to submitting it:
- The confirmation doesn't recognise the content type: "Your was created."
- The data is not added to the module's tables
- In "node" table, the row is added but for "type" field it says "0" (zero)

It shouldn't be the database issue because my other similar modules work, after update.

Any ideas?

I sent a mail to Cas Nuy, the developer of the Drupal/Moodle Integration module and requested him to update it to work with Drupal 4.7.3.

Guess what he does? He takes 2 days but sends me an email with the updated code. I am attaching it to this post.

I have seen several posts where people have been asking for an updated module. Please donate to Cas Nuy (cas@nuy.info) if you find this module useful.

I want to know if it is possible to extend the comment module the same way a module can extend a node. The alternative is writing my own comment module when all I want to do is have my module add a field to the comment form.