Creating a plugin
In order to function, a plugin must do the following:
- Reside in "application/plugins" folder.
- Plugin folder name must contain only lower case letters, numbers and underscores, no other characters are allowed.
- Contain "manifest.php" and "install.php" files.
manifest.php file contains information about the plugin such as its name, description, version, etc. For example:
$params = array(
'name' => 'Articles', // Your desired name of the plugin
'description' => 'Users can write and post articles.', // Description
'author' => 'VLD Interactive Inc.', // Developer name
'website' => 'http://www.vldinteractive.com', // Developer website
'version' => '1.0.0', // Plugin version
'requirements' => array(
'system' => '1.1.4' // Optional, minimum software version required to install and run this plugin
)
'config' => true, // Optional, display a 'settings' link on the 'plugins' page to quickly access/change plugin settings once installed
);
install.php file contains code system may run for you when user installs, updates and uninstalls the plugin. For example:
class Plugins_Articles_Install extends Plugins
{
public function __construct($manifest = array())
{
parent::__construct($manifest);
}
public function update()
{
if ( version_compare('1.0.1', $this->manifest['version_current']) == 1 )
{
// optional php code
}
return true;
}
public function install()
{
return true;
}
public function uninstall()
{
return true;
}
}
Note that installation class name must extend "Plugins" class, and must contain the name of your plugin in its name "Plugins_Articles_Install" (does not have to be lower case though).