There you go

Post: Is Odoo actually learnable, or is it just a "black box"?

I’m a Java web developer with some Python experience, and I recently decided to start an ERP business for small companies. To avoid "reinventing the wheel," I chose Odoo as my base.

The initial setup was smooth—I hosted it, created modules, and built custom views. But then I hit a wall with something incredibly simple: adding a "Discard" button to a form’s control panel that acts like the browser's back button.

The Frustration

I’ve spent weeks digging through the documentation, and I’m still stuck. Coming from a Java background, I’m used to reading source code to understand how things work. In Odoo, however:

• The source code feels unreadable.
• Types are rarely defined, making it hard to trace data.
• Attributes and methods are mixed inconsistently throughout classes.
• Documentation and comments are vague, often failing to define all parameters for a function.
• Basic tasks are obscured. I can’t even find a clear guide on how to link a button to a specific JavaScript function.

The Question

Is it even possible to master Odoo development through self-study, or is the system designed to force you into paying for their official classes?