{"id":291,"date":"2010-04-06T19:49:04","date_gmt":"2010-04-06T23:49:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ocwordcamp.com\/?p=291"},"modified":"2010-04-06T19:49:04","modified_gmt":"2010-04-06T23:49:04","slug":"pimp-your-wordpress-plugin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oc.wordcamp.org\/2011\/pimp-your-wordpress-plugin\/","title":{"rendered":"Pimp Your WordPress Plugin"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"WordPressMost WordPress Plugins are little more than small utilities but there are a growing number of them that can dramatically<\/em> augment the way WordPress behaves or give WordPress advanced new features.<\/p>\n

Platform Modifying Plugins<\/strong><\/p>\n

I like to refer to these plugins as Platform Modifying Plugins<\/em> (PMPs or Pimps)<\/strong> because even though they exist in the same repository with all these other smaller, utility plugins, they are more substantial with more features. A few examples of PMPs include BuddyPress<\/a> (and my own lighter-weight alternative — Mingle<\/a>), NextGEN Gallery<\/a>, WPTouch<\/a>, Pretty Link<\/a> and Formidable<\/a>. Many of these PMPs have also become platforms themselves sporting their own hooks and APIs — with other 3rd party plugins in the repository that alter their<\/em> behavior.<\/p>\n

In my presentation at OC WordCamp, I’m going to show you an effective way to develop your own PMPs using a Model View Controller (MVC)<\/strong> approach with some additional tips and tricks that I’ve learned from coding and supporting two different PMPs.<\/p>\n

Model View Controller<\/strong><\/p>\n

Even though there is no right or wrong way to program a WordPress plugin (as long as it works and doesn’t blow up the user’s website) — when writing a PMP, special thought should be given to how your it will be structured. One common design pattern to create a robust web app is MVC. Many other development environments across several other languages such as Spring<\/a> (a Java Web Development Framework), Struts<\/a> (another Java Framework), Ruby on Rails<\/a> (an outstanding framework that I’ve used on many other projects), Cake<\/a> (a pure PHP framework based on Rails) and even the iPhone Development Framework<\/a> utilize an MVC approach.<\/p>\n

I’ve found using a very lightweight, MVC approach in my development efforts has helped me to handle the complexity that can come in when writing a PMP.<\/p>\n