What happens behind the scenes when an extension or module is installed? Will there be some new data going into the DNN database of my website? Will there be some new files and/or directories created in my website diretory structure? Or both?
That's a great question but first...
Welcome to the DNN community! We're happy to have you here and hope to continue asking questions and seeing you around for many years to come. :)
Now, back to your question...
It really depends. Some modules don't need a data source for the functions they need to support, but most do. So, for the most part, you can generally assume installing a new module will probably make changes to the database. Most modules will add one or more tables, stored procedures, and views to help support various normal working operations.
Never install a module on a production website without first installing it somewhere else and testing it. You'll want to check for some of the very things you're asking about. You can get a head start on much of this information by using EVS as well. It is a free service that will inspect any extension package and output various details for you.
It's a tiny bit buggy though. So, you may find some false positives and false negatives here and there. Unfortunately, those are something you'll need to stumble across yourself. The community is unable to maintain that service. :(
https://evs.dnnsoftware.com/
I hope this helps!
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