Plugin System Guide

A basic page builder system. Currently, in Stage 1 - foundational implementation.

Current Status: Functional but rudimentary. Allows creation of custom pages by dropping PHP files into /plugins/ directory.

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How It Works (Stage 1)

The Two Critical Pieces

1. Filename: Becomes the page URL slug
2. Hook name: Must match filename pattern

Example:

• File: /plugins/hello_world.php
• Hook: plugin_content_hello_world
• URL: plugin.php?t=hello_world

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Basic Structure

<?php
/**
 * Plugin Name: My Page
 * Version: 1.0.0
 * Description: Description here
 * Author: Your name
 */
 add_action('plugin_content_my_page', function() {
    ?>     <div class="card">
    		  <div class="card-body">
    		  	<h1>Your content here</h1>         
    		  </div>     
    	   </div>     
<?php
});

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What's Available

• Database connection: global $conn;
• Current user: global $currentUser;
• Bootstrap 5 styling (site-wide)
• Site header/footer automatically included

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Examples

View Members

<?php
add_action('plugin_content_latest_news', function() {
    global $conn;
    
    $users = $conn->query("SELECT name, forum_about FROM users LIMIT 5");
    ?>
    
    <div class="card shadow-sm mb-4">
        <div class="card-body">
            <h3>Recent Members</h3>
            <?php if ($users->num_rows > 0): ?>
                <ul class="list-group">
                    <?php while ($row = $users->fetch_assoc()): ?>
                        <li class="list-group-item">
                            <strong><?= htmlspecialchars($row['name']) ?></strong><br>
                            <small class="text-muted"><?= htmlspecialchars($row['forum_about']) ?></small>
                        </li>
                    <?php endwhile; ?>
                </ul>
            <?php endif; ?>
        </div>
    </div>
    
<?php
});
?>

Show Forum Categories

<?php
add_action('plugin_content_latest_news', function() {
    global $conn;
    
    $forum = $conn->query("SELECT name, description, slug FROM forum_categories ORDER BY created_at DESC LIMIT 6");
    ?>
<div class="row">
    <?php if ($forum->num_rows > 0): ?>
        <?php while ($row = $forum->fetch_assoc()): ?>
            <div class="col-md-4 mb-4">
                <div class="card shadow-sm h-100">
                    <div class="card-body">
                        <h5 class="card-title"><?= htmlspecialchars($row['name']) ?></h5>
                        <p class="card-text"><?= substr($row['description'], 0, 100) ?> ...</p>
                        <a href="<?= htmlspecialchars($row['slug']) ?>" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Read More</a>
                    </div>
                </div>
            </div>
        <?php endwhile; ?>
    <?php endif; ?>
</div>

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Limitations

• No activation/deactivation toggle
• No settings page per plugin
• No hooks in existing pages yet
• No plugin dependencies
• No update system

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Future Development

Stage 2 and beyond may include:

• Hooks in existing pages (do_action() / apply_filters())
• Plugin settings/configuration
• Multi-file plugin support
• Asset management (CSS/JS)
• Inter-plugin communication

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Support

Issues or questions visit the Development Discussion forum.

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