Joomla3 component add additional registration fields

Question

I am currently creating a shop-like component for Joomla 3. For this component, I will need some additional user-fields (Address) for the processing of the order.

My question is as follows:

What would in your opinion be the best way to achieve this:

1. Edit the Joomla Login component and add the required fields to the database
2. Use an other already existing component for user management
3. Implement an own registration part in my component and create the login-module myself

Which of these possibilities would you suggest and why? Or would you even choose an other solution, then tell me ;)

Answer 1

1. Never edit core files or tables, doing so prevents you from being able to upgrade to the latest security releases without loosing all of your work, and constant security updates is one thing Joomla is very proactive about.

2. Looking at using extended profiles, but remember that other extension also include profile plugins.

3. Most existing e-commerce, community or social network extensions extend the base user details by using a second table where records are linked by the core user ID, this way they can extend as much as require while still retaining the benefits of Joomla upgrades and authentication mechanisms.

4. Typically in e-commerce solutions you only need the extended information when the user has filled their cart and are in the process of "checking out" this is a low impact point to ask the user for those extra details if you don't find them already stored by Joomla or your component.