Plugin Review

[esm]

This is my review of the INDEXU plugin system. It will be a work in progress. And I promise not to compare it to any other plugin systems, similar or not.

Since MODs no longer qualify for the monthy contests, I decided to take a look at plugins since they do qualify. inspireme gave us his view of plugins back in June. see plugin system.

Outside of the INDEXU programmers inspireme knew INDEXU code better than anyone. Whatever knowledge I have of INDEXU, it is based primarily on v3. inspireme learned v5. In the post above he discussed his views on the recently added plugin system. I've been looking at the plugin system and my initial reaction, as you would expect, is that it is one really complicated feature. I also think that after I conclude looking at the plugin system I will still see it as one really complicated feature. But I promise to keep an open mind.

to use an emoticon to describe my reaction: and then

The first thing I did was to look at a plugin created by an INDEXU programmer. I looked in the plugin folder and chose the feedback plugin. No particular reason other than I feel that feedback is almost never done. So it caught my eye, so to speak.

If you want to follow along, go to the feedback folder in the plugin folder and select the feedback.php file. Now you understand my . Like I said, one really complicated feature. Want confirmation? Take a look at the ajax.feedback.php file. Now look at the feedback.js file in the js folder. Is that jquery programming...???

While I consider myself somewhat knowledgeable about PHP and pretty good with understanding INDEXU code, there is abosolutely no way I could create something like the feedback plugin. No way. No how. No plugin. Not like that.

My assessment so far is that you need to be a PHP programmer with highly developed javascript and ajax skills.

I know of no one here at the INDEXU forum, including myself and inspireme, who could have created the feedback plugin.

So, is all hope lost...? Maybe not entirely. Take a look at the banned words plugin. It still takes moderate PHP skills but I could probably do. It is a simple plugin. I thought the feedback plugin would be simple but boy was I mistaken.

Will any of us here on the INDEXU forum be able to create any of the plugins suggested here: Plugin suggestions...? If the feedback plugin is any indicator, then I would doubt it.

To fully understand the complexity of the plugin, take a look at the other plugins in the plugin folder. While they are not as complex as the feedback plugin, they are all considerably more complex than the banned words plugin.

While it really was random luck that I selected the feedback plugin to look at initially, I would have still come to the same conclusion about plugins being complex if I had looked at it last. The WOW factor would have still been there.

to be continued...



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[FSGDAG]

I agree ESM... Infact, now that you have said it, I dont feel quite as bad! LOL

I knew my PHP skills weren't great, but after looking over some of the code in the current plugins, I just knew it was way over my head. Then when Inspireme said he felt lost with it too, and now you... It just reconfirms my initial thoughts on it.

I'm not complaining at all, but unless someone who really knows how to do it will educate us smaller fokes, I pretty much be limited to the plugins NiceCoder or others make. In 5.4 I was able after a while to start compiling my own from current blocks that came with 5.4... I even got braisen and wrote my first block from scratch for the bidding mod I just wont be able to do the same as of right now, with the plugin system.

All hope is not lost... I'm sure something will come around soon

[Bruceper]

As I said, a manual was released about two weeks ago that includes info on how to make plugins. Not one single person has said anything about it though.

[esm]

Content visible to License Owner only.

well, you really don't want to go there at least on the plugins section. The plugin section is 3 pages long (a fourth pages shows a graphic) and deals with the mechanics of creating a plugin. With almost no knowledge of plugins I had figured out almost all of the mechanics prior to reading the manual.

As it turns out the plugin section uses the feedback plugin. Personally, I would use an existing plugin as a guide to create a new plugin rather than use the plugin manual. The mechanics of a plugin are in an existing plugin.

While it may not be the best way to describe the plugin section of the manual but one way is to say that it provides the functions to be used much like PHP.NET describes the PHP functions to be used in a writing PHP programs.

One last thing. Take a look at the link.class.php or users.class.php files and you will understand there things about the plugin feature are not explained in the plugin manual



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[Bruceper]

There are plans to expand the plugin section of the manual, but nothing has been done as of yet.