[wp-hackers] WP Plug-in Manager

Jason goldsmith unteins at gmail.com
Fri Jun 25 14:49:48 UTC 2004


I don't really see a need for the extra RDF document.....as I pointed
out, ALL of the essential data is available in the existing plugin
header.

We could extend the plugin header with more information to support
richer functionality.

And as other developer's have pointed out, it is NOT a good idea to
copy the plugins to the central server, but rather let the central
server act as a directory to point people to the plugins on the plugin
author's pages. I want people to come to my blog to see the plugins. I
may or may not want to allow them to auto install from the plugin
manager because I want them to have to read my site, etc.

On Thu, 24 Jun 2004 23:44:46 -0700, Doug Daulton
<ddaulton at ursastudios.com> wrote:
> 
> A couple of thoughts ...
> 
> 1. This is a great idea.  It will greatly expand the usability of WP for
> the non-technical masses.
> 
> 2.  To the concern that the XML-RPC interface makes this spyware, the
> solution is very simple ... communication.  Making it very clear that if
> the Plugin Manager is enabled, it will sort through the DB to see which
> plugins you have and which could use an update.  Then, make it really
> simple to disable the Plugin Manger.  Then, the functionality exists and
> those that have privacy concerns can turn it off all together.
> 
> 3. Central tracking of plugin installs and regular usage is a good
> idea.  It gives hard metrics to the devs so they can make decisions
> about tuning the WP core to work well with the most popular plugins
> and/or pulling said plugins into the Core as a default or optional
> feature.  These metrics take the guess work out of the process.
> 
> 4. There is no need for central storage of the plugins.
> Plugin devs can maintain their distros on their own sites and provide
> the centralized DB a link to the source.  Then, the central plugin
> directory can pullover the code to the central server without the dev
> having to maintain the distro elsewhere.  The only thing required might
> be a common RDF document which is held in the devs downloads dir and
> describes each download and any pertinent data.  When registering a
> plugin with the central plugin DB, devs would provide a link to the RDF
> on their site.  The central plugin DB would parse the RDF and figure out
> what it needed.
> 
> Basically, what is being described is something similar to Windows
> Update or ROM/apt-get/emerge in the Linux/BSD world.  Obviously,
> everyone would have to agree on what that RDF should look like but
> common sense elements would include:
> 
> a. Plugin Name
> b. Version
> c. Author(s)
> d. Release Date
> e. Download URI
> f. Docs URI
> 
> I have some other, general thought on development practices, but I'll
> make that a separate post so as not to confuse the issue.
> 
> Doug
> 
> Stephen O'Connor wrote:
> 
> >Just to clarify, here's how I see the idea right now:
> >  1) A database of plugins that either contains the plugins themselves or
> >links to the plugins (as well as a wealth of other info such as
> >instructions, comments, etc).
> >  2) A new type of plugin who manages and downloads plugins.
> >  3) A feed from the database so the previously mentioned plugin could
> >search for and autodiscover new plugins directly from the admin interface.
> >
> >The problem with the wiki is that some people don't enjoy using them and can
> >quickly become horribly organized.
> >
> >I say it sounds like a great feature.
> >
> >- Stephen
> >
> 
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