[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #6503: Random plugin structure should be deprecated

[WordPress Trac]

#6503: Random plugin structure should be deprecated
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 Reporter:  robertaccettura  |       Owner:  anonymous                
     Type:  defect           |      Status:  new                      
 Priority:  normal           |   Milestone:                           
Component:  General          |     Version:                           
 Severity:  minor            |    Keywords:  plugin, directory, update
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 == Current State ==
 Plugins are currently a bit of a mess.  They generally fall into a few
 categories:

 1.  A single file.  often wp-name.php
 2.  A handful of files.
 3.  A directory full of files, and perhaps a few subdirectories within
 that.

 There are several problems here:

 '''Namespace Collisions''' - each plugin potentially violates each other's
 namespace if they don't use unique filenames.  A good example of this is
 readme's.  Most are lost unless you rename them.  Potential for worse
 exists with common names "feed", "comment", etc.

 '''Management''' - uninstall isn't always easy since associated files
 aren't always clearly named.  This leaves potential files on the
 filesystem, and could be a potential security issues.

 '''Upgrades''' - I've already had one case where I didn't upload a plugin
 to the ideal location, and the one click update functionality failed.


 == Suggestion ==

 All plugins should have a parent directory.  For example:
 /wp-content/plugins/wp-mobile/wp-mobile.php
 /wp-content/plugins/wp-mobile/README.txt

 /wp-content/plugins/wp-super-cache/Changelog.txt
 /wp-content/plugins/wp-super-cache/plugins
 /wp-content/plugins/wp-super-cache/readme.txt
 /wp-content/plugins/wp-super-cache/wp-cache-base.php
 /wp-content/plugins/wp-super-cache/wp-cache-config-sample.php
 /wp-content/plugins/wp-super-cache/wp-cache-phase1.php
 /wp-content/plugins/wp-super-cache/wp-cache-phase2.php
 /wp-content/plugins/wp-super-cache/wp-cache.php

 By doing this, the entire thing is simplified.  All plugins can then be
 easily upgraded by replacing the directory, removed by removing the
 directory, etc.  Many plugins already do this on their own (such as wp-
 cache).

 My suggestion is that this methodology be encouraged, and eventually the
 old method of php's in the plugins directory require opt-in via a constant
 in wp-config.php perhaps in the 2.7 timeframe.

 This would remedy the above problems and provide a much cleaner plugins
 directory that's easier to manage.

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Ticket URL: <http://trac.wordpress.org/ticket/6503>
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