I’m working on a project that requires building a dynamic navigation menu to list every course available on my Moodle site. I need guidance on how to fetch all the courses using PHP or by leveraging Moodle’s built-in functionalities. I’m particularly interested in understanding if there is a recommended method or API for retrieving this information efficiently. Any detailed explanation or sample code that demonstrates a reliable approach would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your help!
hey, i used moodle’s core_course_get_courses api for a similar task. its pretty straight forward once auth is set up right. might be buggy on older versions tho, so keep an eye on that. good luck with your project!
I’ve worked with Moodle’s course retrieval mechanisms on several occasions and have found that while the core_course_get_courses API is generally reliable, there may be scenarios where it falls short, especially with older Moodle versions or very large installations. In such cases, I explored crafting custom database queries using Moodle’s $DB object, which allowed me to fine-tune performance. However, caution is needed to maintain compatibility with future Moodle updates. My recommendation would be to start with the built-in API, ensure proper authentication and caching, and only resort to custom queries if you encounter significant performance issues.
Hey everyone, I wanted to share another perspective that might be useful. I’ve experimented a bit with utilizing Moodle’s web services directly to retrieve course information, especially when you need something a bit more customized. Instead of relying solely on the core_course_get_courses function, I set up a dedicated web service endpoint that calls a custom function on the server. This way, you can tweak the data retrieval logic perfectly to your needs—filtering or even reformatting the data before it hits your dynamic menu.
I found this approach beneficial when my project had specific performance tweaks and data formatting requirements that the standard API didn’t quite cater to. You can also put in caching logic right into your custom function, which saves a lot of time if your Moodle instance hosts a ton of courses.
Has anyone else tried building their own web service endpoints for this? I’m curious about your experiences, especially any pitfalls you encountered or tips you picked up along the way. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! 
hey, i tried doing direct db queries like $DB->get_records(‘course’) and it worked well when the api was slow. remember to cache results and check permissions. might be a simpler alternative if you need quick access
In my experience, combining Moodle’s native APIs with a caching strategy can result in a more robust solution. I used the core_course_get_courses function alongside a simple caching layer to mitigate performance overhead on larger sites. This approach ensures that your navigation menu stays current while reducing redundant calls to the server. I also recommend reviewing Moodle’s documentation on secure token management to avoid potential security pitfalls. The balance between the built-in API and caching provides both reliability and efficiency when dealing with frequent course updates.