Throughout the WordPress ecosystem, adopting a freemium fashion is a prevalent means for promoting and monetizing commercial plugins. This system comes to releasing a fundamental style of the plugin without charge—most often for the duration of the WordPress plugin listing—and offering enhanced choices by means of a PRO style or add-ons, most often presented on the plugin’s internet web page.

There are 3 different ways to mix commercial choices within a freemium type:

1. Ship the ones commercial choices right through the loose plugin, and activate them most straightforward when the economic style is installed on the internet web page or a commercial license key’s supplied.
2. Create the loose and PRO permutations as independent plugins, with the PRO style designed to switch the loose style, ensuring that only one style is installed at any given time.
3. Arrange the PRO style alongside the loose plugin, extending its capacity. This requires every permutations to be supply.

Alternatively, the principle way is incompatible with the tips for plugins allocated by the use of the WordPress plugin record, as the ones rules prohibit the inclusion of choices which will also be restricted or locked until a value or enhance is made.

This leaves us with the remainder two alternatives, which give advantages and disadvantages. The sections underneath explain why the latter methodology, “PRO on top of loose,” is our best choice.

Let’s delve into the second selection, “PRO as choice of loose,” its defects, and why it’s after all not really helpful.

Because of this truth, we find intensive the “PRO on top of loose,” highlighting why it stands proud as the preferred variety.

Advantages of the “PRO as choice of loose” methodology

The “PRO as choice of loose” methodology is quite easy to implement given that developers can use a single codebase for every plugins (loose and PRO) and create two outputs from it, with the loose (or “standard”) style simply in conjunction with a subset of the code, and the PRO style in conjunction with the entire code.

For example, the undertaking’s codebase could be get a divorce into standard/ and skilled/ directories. The plugin would always load the standard code, with the PRO code being loaded conditionally, in accordance with the presence of the respective record:

// Main plugin report: myplugin.php

// Always load the standard plugin's code
require_once __DIR__ . '/standard/load.php';

// Load the PRO plugin's code only if the folder exists
$proFolder = __DIR__ . '/skilled';
if (file_exists($proFolder)) {
  require_once $proFolder . '/load.php';
}

Then, when generating the plugin by the use of a Steady Integration tool, we can create the two property myplugin-standard.zip and myplugin-pro.zip from the equivalent provide code.

If internet hosting the undertaking on GitHub and generating the property by the use of GitHub Actions, the following workflow does the task:

name: Generate the standard and PRO plugins
on:
  release:
    types: [published]

jobs:
  process:
    name: Generate plugins
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout code
        uses: actions/checkout@v3

      - name: Arrange zip
        uses: montudor/action-zip@v1.0.0

      - name: Create the standard plugin .zip report (aside from all PRO code)
        run: zip -X -r myplugin-standard.zip . -x **/src/skilled/*

      - name: Create the PRO plugin .zip report
        run: zip -X -r myplugin-pro.zip . -x myplugin-standard.zip

      - name: Upload every plugins to the release internet web page
        uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v1
        with:
          data: |
            myplugin-standard.zip
            myplugin-pro.zip
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets and techniques and strategies.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

Problems with the “PRO as choice of loose” methodology

The “PRO as choice of loose” methodology requires converting the loose plugin with the PRO style. As a finish consequence, if the loose plugin is distributed by the use of the WordPress plugin record, its “vigorous arrange” depend will transfer down (as it most straightforward tracks the loose plugin, not the PRO style), giving the affect that the plugin is far much less stylish than it in fact is.

This end result would defeat the purpose of using the WordPress plugin record inside the first place: As a plugin discovery channel where shoppers can learn about our plugin, download it, and arrange it. (After that, as quickly because it’s been installed, the loose plugin can invite shoppers to enhance to the PRO style).

If the vigorous arrange depend isn’t top, shoppers is probably not glad to place in our plugin. For example of how problems can transfer wrong, the householders of the Publication Glue plugin decided to take away the plugin from the WordPress plugin listing, since the low activation depend was once as soon as hurting the probabilities of the plugin.

Since the “PRO as choice of loose” methodology isn’t viable, that leaves us with only one variety: the “PRO on top of loose” methodology.

Let’s uncover the ins and outs of this method.

Conceptualizing the “PRO on top of loose” methodology

The idea is that the loose plugin is installed on the web site, and its capacity can be extended by means of putting in place additional plugins or addons. This could be by the use of a single PRO plugin or by the use of a lot of PRO extensions or addons, with each of them providing some explicit capacity.

In this scenario, the loose plugin does not care what other plugins are installed on the web site. All it does is to provide additional capacity. This way is versatile, bearing in mind expansion by means of every the original developers and third-party creators, fostering an ecosystem where a plugin can evolve in sudden directions.

Please perceive how it doesn’t topic if the PRO extensions can be produced by means of us (i.e. the equivalent developers development the standard plugin), or by means of any individual else: The code to handle every is similar. As such, this is a excellent idea to create a foundation that doesn’t restrict how the plugin can be extended. This may occasionally once in a while make it possible for 3rd-party developers to extend our plugin in techniques we hadn’t conceived of.

Design approaches: hooks and service containers

There are two primary approaches to making PHP code extensible:

1. By way of the WordPress motion and filter out hooks
2. By way of a carrier container

The principle way is the commonest one in all WordPress developers, while the latter one is most well liked by means of the broader PHP neighborhood.

Let’s see examples of every.

Making code extensible by the use of movement and filter hooks

WordPress provides hooks (filters and actions) as a mechanism to modify behavior. Filter hooks are used to override values, and movement hooks to execute custom designed capacity.

Our primary plugin can then be “littered” with hooks in all places its codebase, allowing developers to modify its behavior.

A excellent example of this is WooCommerce, which has spanned a huge ecosystem of add-ons, with nearly all of them being owned by means of 3rd-party providers. This is possible on account of the in depth choice of hooks introduced by means of this plugin.

The developers of WooCommerce have purposefully added hooks, even supposing they themselves would not have them. It’s for anyone else to use. Perceive the great selection of “faster than” and “after” movement hooks:

• woocommerce_after_account_downloads
• woocommerce_after_account_navigation
• woocommerce_after_account_orders
• woocommerce_after_account_payment_methods
• woocommerce_after_available_downloads
• woocommerce_after_cart
• woocommerce_after_cart_contents
• woocommerce_after_cart_item_name
• woocommerce_after_cart_table
• woocommerce_after_cart_totals
• …
• woocommerce_before_account_downloads
• woocommerce_before_account_navigation
• woocommerce_before_account_orders
• woocommerce_before_account_orders_pagination
• woocommerce_before_account_payment_methods
• woocommerce_before_available_downloads
• woocommerce_before_cart
• woocommerce_before_cart_collaterals
• woocommerce_before_cart_contents
• woocommerce_before_cart_table
• woocommerce_before_cart_totals
• …

For example, report downloads.php comprises a lot of actions to inject further capacity, and the shop URL can be overridden by the use of a filter:

customer->get_downloadable_products();
$has_downloads = (bool) $downloads;

do_action( 'woocommerce_before_account_downloads', $has_downloads ); ?>



  

  

  



  <?php

  $wp_button_class = wc_wp_theme_get_element_class_name( 'button' ) ? ' ' . wc_wp_theme_get_element_class_name( 'button' ) : '';
  wc_print_notice( esc_html__( 'No downloads available however.', 'woocommerce' ) . ' ' . esc_html__( 'Browse merchandise', 'woocommerce' ) . '', 'perceive' );
  ?>

Making code extensible by the use of provider containers

A provider container is a PHP object this is serving to us arrange the instantiation of all classes inside the undertaking, normally introduced as part of a “dependency injection” library.

Dependency injection is a method that allows gluing all parts of the application together in a decentralized way: PHP classes are injected into the application by the use of configuration, and the application retrieves circumstances of the ones PHP classes by the use of the provider container.

There are lots of dependency injection libraries available. The following are stylish ones and are interchangeable as they all satisfy PSR-11 ( PHP standard recommendation) that describes dependency injection containers:

• Symfony’s DependencyInjection
• PHP-DI
• Pimple
• Container (Dependency Injection)

Laravel moreover comprises a carrier container that is already baked into the application.

The use of dependency injection, the loose plugin does not wish to know upfront what PHP classes are supply on runtime: It simply requests circumstances of all classes to the provider container. While many PHP classes are supplied by means of the loose plugin itself to satisfy its capacity, others are supplied by means of whichever addons are installed on the web site to extend capacity.

A excellent example of using a provider container is Gato GraphQL, which relies on Symfony’s DependencyInjection library.

This is how the carrier container is instantiated:

cacheContainerConfiguration = $cacheContainerConfiguration;

    if ($this->cacheContainerConfiguration) {
      if (!$record) {
        $record = sys_get_temp_dir() . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . 'container-cache';
      }
      $record .= DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . $namespace;
      if (!is_dir($record)) {
        @mkdir($record, 0777, true);
      }
      
      // Store the cache underneath this report
      $this->cacheFile = $record . 'container.php';

      $containerConfigCache = new ConfigCache($this->cacheFile, false);
      $this->cached = $containerConfigCache->isFresh();
    } else {
      $this->cached = false;
    }

    // If not cached, then create the new instance
    if (!$this->cached) {
      $this->instance = new ContainerBuilder();
    } else {
      require_once $this->cacheFile;
      /** @var class-string */
      $containerFullyQuantifiedClass = "GatoGraphQLServiceContainer";
      $this->instance = new $containerFullyQuantifiedClass();
    }
  }

  public function getInstance(): ContainerInterface
  {
    return $this->instance;
  }

  /**
   * If the container is not cached, then acquire it and cache it
   *
   * @param CompilerPassInterface[] $compilerPasses Compiler Pass devices to test in on the container
   */
  public function maybeCompileAndCacheContainer(
    array $compilerPasses = []
  ): void {
    /**
     * Acquire Symfony's DependencyInjection Container Builder.
     *
     * After compiling, cache it in disk for potency.
     *
     * This happens most straightforward the principle time the web site is accessed
     * at the moment server.
     */
    if ($this->cached) {
      return;
    }

    /** @var ContainerBuilder */
    $containerBuilder = $this->getInstance();
    foreach ($compilerPasses as $compilerPass) {
      $containerBuilder->addCompilerPass($compilerPass);
    }

    // Acquire the container.
    $containerBuilder->acquire();

    // Cache the container
    if (!$this->cacheContainerConfiguration) {
      return;
    }
    
    // Create the folder if it does no longer exist, and check it was once as soon as a good fortune
    $dir = dirname($this->cacheFile);
    $folderExists = file_exists($dir);
    if (!$folderExists) {
      $folderExists = @mkdir($dir, 0777, true);
      if (!$folderExists) {
        return;
      }
    }

    // Save the container to disk
    $dumper = new PhpDumper($containerBuilder);
    file_put_contents(
      $this->cacheFile,
      $dumper->unload(
        [
          'class' => 'ServiceContainer',
          'namespace' => 'GatoGraphQL',
        ]
      )
    );

    // Business the permissions so it can be modified by means of external processes
    chmod($this->cacheFile, 0777);
  }
}

Please remember the fact that the provider container (to be had underneath PHP object with class GatoGraphQLServiceContainer) is generated the principle time that the plugin is finished and then cached to disk (as report container.php in a system temp folder). It’s as a result of generating the provider container is a pricey process that would possibly most likely take a lot of seconds to complete.

Then, every the main plugin and all its extensions outline what products and services to inject into the container by means of a configuration record:

services and products:
  _defaults:
    public: true
    autowire: true
    autoconfigure: true

  GatoGraphQLGatoGraphQLRegistriesModuleTypeRegistryInterface:
    class: GatoGraphQLGatoGraphQLRegistriesModuleTypeRegistry

  GatoGraphQLGatoGraphQLLogLoggerInterface:
    class: GatoGraphQLGatoGraphQLLogLogger

  GatoGraphQLGatoGraphQLServices:
    helpful useful resource: ../src/Services/*

  GatoGraphQLGatoGraphQLState:
    helpful useful resource: '../src/State/*'

Keep in mind that we can instantiate devices for explicit classes (very similar to GatoGraphQLGatoGraphQLLogLogger, accessed by the use of its contract interface GatoGraphQLGatoGraphQLLogLoggerInterface), and we can moreover indicate “instantiate all classes underneath some record” (very similar to all services and products underneath ../src/Services).

Finally, we inject the configuration into the carrier container:

isCached()) {
      return;
    }

    // Initialize the ContainerBuilder with this module's provider implementations
    /** @var ContainerBuilder */
    $containerBuilder = App::getContainer();
    $loader = new YamlFileLoader($containerBuilder, new FileLocator($dir));
    $loader->load($serviceContainerConfigFileName);
  }
}

Services injected into the container can be configured to be initialized always or most straightforward when requested (lazy mode).

For instance, to represent a custom designed publish shape, the plugin has class AbstractCustomPostType, whose initialize means executes the common-sense to initialize it consistent with WordPress:

initCustomPostType(...)
    );
  }

  /**
   * Take a look at within the publish shape
   */
  public function initCustomPostType(): void
  {
    register_post_type($this->getCustomPostType(), $this->getCustomPostTypeArgs());
  }

  abstract public function getCustomPostType(): string;

  /**
   * Arguments for registering the publish shape
   *
   * @return array
   */
  protected function getCustomPostTypeArgs(): array
  {
    /** @var array */
    $postTypeArgs = [
      'public' => $this->isPublic(),
      'publicly_queryable' => $this->isPubliclyQueryable(),
      'label' => $this->getCustomPostTypeName(),
      'labels' => $this->getCustomPostTypeLabels($this->getCustomPostTypeName(), $this->getCustomPostTypePluralNames(true), $this->getCustomPostTypePluralNames(false)),
      'capability_type' => 'post',
      'hierarchical' => $this->isAPIHierarchyModuleEnabled() && $this->isHierarchical(),
      'exclude_from_search' => true,
      'show_in_admin_bar' => $this->showInAdminBar(),
      'show_in_nav_menus' => true,
      'show_ui' => true,
      'show_in_menu' => true,
      'show_in_rest' => true,
    ];
    return $postTypeArgs;
  }

  /**
   * Labels for registering the publish shape
   *
   * @param string $name_uc Singular name uppercase
   * @param string $names_uc Plural name uppercase
   * @param string $names_lc Plural name lowercase
   * @return array
   */
  protected function getCustomPostTypeLabels(string $name_uc, string $names_uc, string $names_lc): array
  {
    return array(
      'name'         => $names_uc,
      'singular_name'    => $name_uc,
      'add_new'      => sprintf(__('Add New %s', 'gatographql'), $name_uc),
      'add_new_item'     => sprintf(__('Add New %s', 'gatographql'), $name_uc),
      'edit_item'      => sprintf(__('Edit %s', 'gatographql'), $name_uc),
      'new_item'       => sprintf(__('New %s', 'gatographql'), $name_uc),
      'all_items'      => $names_uc,//sprintf(__('All %s', 'gatographql'), $names_uc),
      'view_item'      => sprintf(__('View %s', 'gatographql'), $name_uc),
      'search_items'     => sprintf(__('Search %s', 'gatographql'), $names_uc),
      'not_found'      => sprintf(__('No %s came upon', 'gatographql'), $names_lc),
      'not_found_in_trash' => sprintf(__('No %s found in Trash', 'gatographql'), $names_lc),
      'parent_item_colon'  => sprintf(__('Father or mom %s:', 'gatographql'), $name_uc),
    );
  }
}

Then, the class GraphQLCustomEndpointCustomPostType.php is an implementation of a custom designed publish shape. Upon being injected as a provider into the container, it’s instantiated and registered into WordPress:

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

namespace GatoGraphQLGatoGraphQLServicesCustomPostTypes;

class GraphQLCustomEndpointCustomPostType extends AbstractCustomPostType
{
  public function getCustomPostType(): string
  {
    return 'graphql-endpoint';
  }

  protected function getCustomPostTypeName(): string
  {
    return __('GraphQL custom designed endpoint', 'gatographql');
  }
}

This class is supply on the loose plugin and other custom designed post-type classes, in a similar fashion extending from AbstractCustomPostType, are supplied by means of PRO extensions.

Comparing hooks and service containers

Let’s assessment the two design approaches.

On the plus side for movement and filter hooks, it is the more practical means, with its capacity being part of WordPress core. And any developer running with WordPress already is acutely aware of how you can care for hooks, due to this fact the learning curve is low.

Alternatively, its not unusual sense is connected to a hook name, which is a string, and, as such, would possibly lead to bugs: If the hook name is modified, it breaks the common-sense of the extension. Alternatively, the developer may not remember the fact that there is a problem given that PHP code however compiles.

As a result, deprecated hooks tend to be saved for a very long time inside the codebase, possibly even forever. The undertaking then accumulates stale code that can’t be removed for worry of breaking extensions.

Once more to WooCommerce, this case is evidenced on report dashboard.php (know how the deprecated hooks are saved since style 2.6, whilst the prevailing contemporary style is 8.5):

<?php
  /**
   * My Account dashboard.
   *
   * @since 2.6.0
   */
  do_action( 'woocommerce_account_dashboard' );

  /**
   * Deprecated woocommerce_before_my_account movement.
   *
   * @deprecated 2.6.0
   */
  do_action( 'woocommerce_before_my_account' );

  /**
   * Deprecated woocommerce_after_my_account movement.
   *
   * @deprecated 2.6.0
   */
  do_action( 'woocommerce_after_my_account' );

The use of a provider container has the drawback that it requires an external library, which further supplies complexity. A lot more, this library will have to be scoped (using PHP-Scoper or Strauss) for worry {{that a}} different style of the equivalent library is installed by means of another plugin on the similar web site, which would possibly produce conflicts.

The use of a provider container is undoubtedly tougher to implement and takes longer development time.

On the plus side, provider containers handle PHP classes and not using a wish to couple not unusual sense to a couple of string. This results in the undertaking using further PHP perfect practices, leading to a codebase that is easier to maintain in the long run.

Summary

When creating a plugin for WordPress, it’s a good idea for it to improve extensions to allow us (the creators of the plugin) to supply commercial choices and in addition anyone else so that you can upload further capacity and, hopefully, span an ecosystem centered around the plugin.

In this article, we explored what are the problems regarding the construction of the PHP undertaking to make the plugin extensible. As we discovered, we can choose between two design approaches: using hooks or using a provider container. And we in comparison every approaches, working out the virtues and weaknesses of each.

Do you plan to make your WordPress plugin extensible? Let us know inside the comments segment.

The publish Architecting a WordPress plugin to strengthen extensions appeared first on Kinsta®.

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