[Phpwebsite-developers] The plugin feature

[Matt M. <mcn...@ap...>]

With today's (hopefully) tarball, we will include the beginnings of the
the plugin module. You will notice that this is not version 0.8.0
however for the reason that we want feedback on its functionality.

Here is a summary of how it works before you go into the code.

First, there is a new table entitled 'plugins'.  Here is the structure:

|  plug_id  |  name  |  source_file  |  img   |  plug_dir  |  block_pos 
|  block_file |

|  admin_only  |  user_only  |  admin_inc  |  about  |

This structure is open to change and suggestions.

plug_id: The index of the plug-ins
name: The name of the plug-in. Appears in the admin menu.
source_file: name of the the one file that is in the root of your web
directory.
img: The icon for your plugin. Appears in the admin menu.
block_pos: If the plugin fills in a block, this is where it appears.
1=left, 2=top center, 3=right, 0=not at all
block_file: name of the file that fills in the data of the plug in box.
admin_only: if = 1, block only appears for the admin
user_only: if = 1, block only appears for users
admin_inc: the include function sent to source_file that points it to
the administrative functions for that plugin.
about: information about the author(s) and the plugin

phpWeather
I used an existing program to make a plugin. It is named phpweather and
written by Martin Geisler at gim...@gi....

Now the short coming of me using a rather simple program (simple in its
implementation, not its coding =-) ) is that I may have overlooked
problems down the road with plugins. We shall see after you guys and
gals test it.

There are a few components to a plugin.
1) weather_setup.php - The setup file. I am staying away from forcing
users to perform SQL imports by telnet or command line. This program
inserts itself into the plugins table and creates a new table named
'metar' for its operation. I had some problems getting this file to run
from the /webdir/plug-ins/phpweather/ directory. You could run a file
from its plug-in directory but holding the theme in the setup page
caused problems. In that case, your plugin setup page would chuck the
css just for the install. I like the setup the way I have it because you
have to login as an admin to get it to function. It has been suggested
that the page automatically search for new plugins and lead you through
the install. The downside to this I see is that it has to do a file
search everytime the admin logins in. You could chron job but that is
IMHO a waste of cycles. Of course, I may be overlooking something and
you can give me information on another way to do this. Again, it needs
to be web-based and simple.

2) weather_admin.php - This is an idea Adam came up with. One file, in
the main directory, with all the function includes. So, here is that
file. It is the file pointed to by the icon in the admin menu.
phpweather did not have admin functions so I wrote this quick and dirty
file to perform some of the tasks I wanted to have in its display. It
moves the box around and decides who gets to see it. This 'admin' file
could do anything. It doesn't have to move a box around, these are just
examples.

3) phpweather directory - We want all the other pages in their own
directory. I need some feedback of whether all folders should sit under
a central 'plug-ins' directory or just under the root. I prefer this
way.

The install
So the user gets the plugin and unzips/untars it. It should write the
main file in the root along with the install file. It will also create
the phpweather directory under the plug-ins directory. You can then
either start the SQL install or FTP it.
Now they need to login as the admin and type in the name of the install
file. It takes them through a confirmation and then it writes the
database info. That's it. If they run the file again, they get an error.
Now the weather should appear for Boone, NC. I did not do multiple city
setup, because this is an example ONLY. If someone wants to make a full
featured weather plugin, then by all means =) If you want to change it,
just look in phpweather.php, it is easy to change.
On the admin side, phpWebSite will find the SQL record and put up the
icon for the plugin. Clicking on the icon takes you to the setup screen.
Some things not included but considered: an uninstall file, a function
to automatically delete the setup file.

Conclusion
I have tried to make this plugin ability as clean and easy as possible.
Again, you are free to suggest modifications or ideas to make it better.
We would like to finalize a standard by version 0.8.0.

Thanks for the help from everyone supporting this product, the
developers that want to join us, the great group I work with, and
finally PHPPLUGIN which is the code I stole and then just slapped my
name on. ;-)

Matthew McNaney