[wp-hackers] plugin standards

[Bjorn Wijers]

Hi,

I've been searching, but I cannot seem to find a document, except this 
'Writing a plugin' (http://codex.wordpress.org/Writing_a_Plugin) which 
is a pretty nice introduction into writting plugins, that goes into more 
details of writing plugins.

I would like to know if there is some kind of document or plugin which I 
can use to make sure my plugin (which allows shops to create a store 
locator) is adhering to the WP community standards.

Specifically I'm looking for:

1) How to include style information for my plugin's interface?

The plugin uses a form to add a shop's data to a newly created table. I 
would like to layout the form in such a way that it is easily upgraded 
with Wordpress and easily changed using themes. I'm now using inline 
styles per html tag, which is a pain to use and doesn't allow per theme 
modification. Any tips?

2) Howto submit a form with data to my plugin?

Form submitting now is done using the following:

<form name="addshop" action="$_SERVER[REQUEST_URI]" method="post">";

Is this the correct way to handle this? Or is there a better, preferred 
way of doing things a la Wordpress. Basically I want to be able to 
submit form data to my plugin and preferably to a specific function. Any 
   tips?

3) Howto show a status message a la Wordpress posts?

After a form submission, I would like to let the user know of his/her 
request status. Just like Wordpress does with posts. Because I'm not 
relying on posts nor pages I presume I cannot use any of those filters 
to create this behaviour. What would be the best way to achieve a 
similar effect?

I hope somebody on this list can point me in the right direction.

ps: I would like to add my questions and your answers to the codex so 
other developers can use it like a cookbook.

grtz
BjornW