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| Geeklog Documentation - Plugin Development |
Geeklog is becoming more and more popular each day and we, the Geeklog developers, are amazed at some of the great hacks people have made to extend their Geeklog installation to fit their own needs. At the same time, the Geeklog development team is continually adding new features that make Geeklog even better. We have realized the need for Geeklog to support two threads of development: core geeklog code and plugin-code. By building in the infrastructure needed to extend Geeklog's functionality through plugins we can make a clean seperation between the Geeklog codebase and plugin code so that we can concentrate on making Geeklog's core code better while others can develop plugins so that Geeklog fits their needs. With that said, Geeklog now has a Plugin application program interface (API).
At the highest level, the Geeklog Plugin API is generic code that is called in strategic places in the Geeklog codebase that allow function of plugins to be called. This will allow your plugin the following features:
The below functions are what you need to write your own plugin including any extra parameters that you need to pass in. Towards the end of the page, there is also a Description of the API, just incase you need it to help understand in the plugin process.
Note about <plugin name>: You will see references to <plugin name> in all the functions below. The <plugin name> values will come from you the name of your plugin tarfile. All plugin tarfiles have a strict naming convention that they must follow and it is:
<plugin name>_<plugin version>_<geeklog version>.tar.gz
e.g. photos_1.0_1.3.tar.gz
First note that there are limitations in the current Geeklog codebase that will force you to name your plugin tables used for submission in a specific manner. All moderated Geeklog items such as stories and links are comprised of two tables. The first is a main table where all visible items are stored. The second is a submission table where submitted user items sit until an administrator approves them. When approved the item is moved from the submission table to the main table. So for example, if you are writing a book review plugin that allows users to submit book reviews then we will pick bookreviews for your main table (this MUST also be your plugin name you pick) and then your submission table MUST be named bookreviewssubmission. Why force the names? Because in the geeklog code the submission table for all stories is coded as <main name>submission. So since we picked bookreviews for our main table (and plugin name) the submission table must be named bookreviewssubmission.
If you want your plugin to be moderated like Geeklog stories and links then you must implement these functions.
| Function | Description of Function |
|---|---|
| plugin_submit_<plugin name> | Shows the submission form for your plugin. |
| plugin_itemlist_<plugin name> | Shows any items needing moderation for your plugin on moderation.php |
| plugin_savesubmission_<plugin name> | Saves submitted item from a user in <plugin name>submission table |
| plugin_moderationdelete_<plugin name> | Takes an ID into <plugin name>submission table and deletes it |
| plugin_moderationapprove_<plugin name> | Takes an ID into <plugin name>submission and moves it to the main table called <plugin name> |
| plugin_moderationvalues_<plugin name> | Returns the primary key column name, the main table name (called <plugin name>) and the list of fields from that table that you'd like to have show up on the moderation page. |
If you want your plugin to effect the Admin and User Function blocks that show up on every Geeklog page then you must implement these functions.
| Function | Description of Function |
|---|---|
| plugin_adminoptions_<plugin name> | Will show options under the Admin Functions block for your plugin |
| plugin_getuseroption_<plugin name> | Will show options under the User Functions block for your plugin |
| plugin_adminedit_<plugin name> | Shows the links at the top of admin/plugins/<plugin name>.php for New and Admin Home. This is for consistency sake only |
| plugin_submissioncount_<plugin name> | Shows the number of submissions pending for you plugin. This is usually just "dbcount(<plugin name>submission);" |
| plugin_cclabel_<plugin name> | Returns array of your plugin image and a label for your plugin. This is called to show your plugin in the command and control block on moderation.php |
If you want your plugin to be searchable, implement these functions.
| Function | Description of Function |
|---|---|
| plugin_getsearchtypes_<plugin name> | You will probably want to add a new type in the Type drop down on search.php. This function prints the option tags needed. make sure that the value tag is <plugin name> |
| plugin_dopluginsearch_<plugin name> | Takes the search criteria and lets you build search results for your plugin. This returns a string array of table rows, one row for each record returned by your search. |
If you want your plugin to support comments and use the Geeklog comment engine, then you need to implement these functions in your plugin functions.inc file
| Function | Description of Function |
|---|---|
| plugin_commentsupport_<plugin name> | This function does not take any parameters but simply returns true if this plugin supports comments. This call is made in Geeklog code (example article.php) to determine if it should redirect handling to the plugin |
| plugin_handlecomment_<plugin name> | This function expects a parameter for the comment id and operation. The operation parameter is either 'save' or 'delete'. This function will update the plugin record with the total number of comments for this plugin item and the then redirect the user back to the plugin instead of the main site page |
| plugin_commentform_<plugin name> | This function expects a number of parameters and is called from Geeklog article.php and comment.php. Parameters are: comment_id (primary key), comment_mode (nested, flat, threaded, none, order (Ascending or Descending) and reply (Was the reply submit button used on the comment bar). Only comment_id is mandatory. |
| plugin_commentparent_<plugin name> | Optional function which can be called from your plugin_commentform function to also display the plugin parent above the comments. This is how Geeklog articles are displayed with the story and then the comment bar and associated comments. |
If you want your plugin to show up on the stats page then you must implement this function.
| Function | Description of Function |
|---|---|
| plugin_showstats_<plugin name> | This function takes a showsitestats flag. If set to 1, this function shows the overall stats for your plugin in the site statistics box. If it is set to 2 it shows the statistic blocks for you plugin (similar to Top Ten Viewed Stories and Top Ten Commented Stories). |
If you want to give your plugin the ability to uninstall itself then you must implement this function.
| Function | Description of Function |
|---|---|
| plugin_uninstall_<plugin name> | This function does not take any parameters. The plugin should try and uninstall itself, especially removing all its tables and data structures from the database. The function should return true if the uninstall succeeded and false if it failed. |
The Geeklog Plugin API is just that an API. You obviously have to write all your plugin code yourself. We have put stubs in place to link to you Admin Interface. You admin page(s) will be in http://yourgeeklogdomain/admin/plugins/<plugin name>/
The first page of your administration interface must be named <plugin name>.php and it must be in the above directory. Whether or not you use more that one page for you Admin interface is completely up to you.
Please note that the location of your admin page isn't optional. For organizational purposes it is important that you follow the standards outlined in this document.
All Geeklog plugin tarfiles must use the following naming convention:
<plugin name>_<plugin version>_<geeklog version>.tar.gz
The organization of your tarfile is standardized as well. For each directory and file a description is given. Your base plugin directory when you create the tarfile should be <plugin name>. Under there you will have the following:
REPLACE INTO plugins (pi_name, pi_version, pi_gl_version, pi_homepage,
pi_enabled) VALUES ('photos', '0.1', '1.2.2', 'http://www.tonybibbs.com',
1);Note: Up until Geeklog version 1.3.4, there was an automatic install procedure for plugins. This, however, caused too many problems and support issues and has been removed from later versions. The manual install as outlined below is now the recommended way to install a plugin and should work for both old and new versions of Geeklog.
For details, you should always refer to the README that comes with the plugin. In general, however, a plugin will be installed like this:
Because Geeklog Plugins can affect a Geeklog installation and the users filesystem, our policy is we will not endorse third party plugins unless they have been tested by the Geeklog Development team. Why? We will make sure that your plugin installs successfully and doesn't have any adverse behavior. Assuming your plugin checks out, we will put your tarfile on our site where it can be downloaded by Geeklog users. You can sumbit your plugin to our site at http://geeklog.sourceforge.net
This is the function reference for the Geeklog Plugin API, as contained in the plugins.php file. This is provided strictly for reference sake. You, as a Geeklog Plugin Developer, will not need to modify these functions nor make calls to them as that has already been handled in the Geeklog codebase. We do, however, encourage suggestions on how you think we can make this API better.
These are the functions used to allow your plugin to access the moderation system.
| Function | Description of Function |
|---|---|
| SubmitPlugin | This function loops through all enabled plugins and calls the plugins plugin_submit_<plugin name> method so that a plugins submission form is shown to the user. |
| GetPluginModerationValues | Responsible for calling the plugin_moderationvalue_<plugin name> method so that the plugin specific values can be set so that moderation can occur. |
| ShowPluginModerationLists | Loops through all enabled plugins and call itemlist() so that all items needing moderation for the plugin shows up in moderation.php |
| ShowPluginModerationOptions | Loops through all enabled plugins and calls the plugin_cclabel_<plugin name> method so the plugin shows in the command and control center. |
| SavePluginSubmission | Loops through all enabled plugins and calls the plugin_savesubmission_<plugin name> method so that the plugin submission for a specified plugin gets saved. |
| DoPluginModerationDelete | Calls the plugin_moderationdelete_<plugin name> method of a specifid plugin so that a submission is deleted |
| DoPluginModerationApprove | Calls the plugin_moderationapprove_<plugin name> method of a specified plugin so that the submission is approved. |
These are the functions used to allow your plugin to access the admin and user system
| Function | Description of Function |
|---|---|
| ShowPluginAdminOptions | Loops through all enabled plugins and calls their plugin_showadminoption_<plugin name> so that the plugin shows any option(s) they need under the Admin block. |
| ShowPluginUserOptions | Loops through all enabled plugins and calls their plugin_showuseroptions_<plugin name> so that the plugin shows any option(s) users need in their User Functions block |
| HandlePluginAdminEdit | Calls the plugin_adminedit_<plugin name> method so that the "new <plugin name> | Admin Home" links show up at the top of admin/plugins/<plugin name>.php. This is implemented strictly for consistency of the UI |
| GetPluginSubmissionCounts | Loops through all enabled plugins and calls their plugin_submissioncount_<plugin name> method so that the number of submissions for plugins gets displayed |
These are the functions used to allow your plugin to access the search system
| Function | Description of Function |
|---|---|
| GetPluginSearchTypes | Loops through all enabled plugins and calls their plugin_getsearchtypes_<plugin name> method to get any plugin specific values that need to show up in the Type drop down on search.php |
| DoPluginSearches | Loops through all enabled plugins and submits the search criteria to the plugin_dopluginsearch_<pluginname> method so that the plugin can perform it's own search |
These are the functions used to allow your plugin to access the stats system:
| Function | Description of Function |
|---|---|
| Show Plugin Stats | Loops through all enabled plugins and calls the plugin's plugin_showstats_<plugin name> method so that statistics can be reported for the plugin |
| The Geeklog Documentation Project All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective owners. GeekLog is copyleft. |