wordpress as an application framework
TRANSCRIPT
WordPress as an
Application Framework
Dustin Filippini Developer @ WebDevStudios
@dustyf dustyf.com
WWhat Makes a Framework Good?
• Easy
• Well Supported
• Extensible
EASYIt does workfor you
WellSupportedWe are here to help!
ExtensibleAdd on More Dogs
A Real World ExampleCreate a billing/invoicing system using WordPress!
Think… FreshBooks
“I need an easy, reusable way to store, access, and categorize structured data”
Custom Post Types & Custom Taxonomies.
function register_invoice() { $args = array( 'public' => true, 'label' => 'Invoices' ); register_post_type( 'invoice',$args ); } add_action(‘init','register_invoice');
function create_invoice_status() { register_taxonomy( 'status', 'invoice', array( 'label' => ‘Invoice Status', 'rewrite' => array( 'slug' => ‘invoice_status' ), 'hierarchical' => false, ) ); } add_action( 'init', ‘create_invoice_status' );
“I need to store data related to my structured
data and users.”
Post Meta and User Meta.
update_post_meta( $post_id, ‘purchase_order_number’, $value );
update_user_meta( $user_id, ‘job_title’, $value );
“I need users to be able to access
data and limit access to
different users”
Create users and assign roles and capabilities to access different parts of
your application.
Built-in User Management panel and ability to manipulate through your code.
ADD A NEW ROLE
add_role( ‘client', ‘Client', array( 'read' => true, 'edit_posts' => true, ) );
ADD A CAPABILITY TO THE ROLE
$role = get_role( ‘client' ); $role->add_cap( ‘view_invoices’ );
RESTRICT ACTION
if ( current_user_can( ‘view_invoices’ ) { // Do Something
}
“I need to create custom views for different
types of data"
Templating through WordPress Theme API.
Allows you to define different templates for different types
of content and views.
BASIC WORDPRESS PAGE LOOP
get_header(); if (have_posts()) : while (have_posts()) : the_post(); the_content(); endwhile; endif; get_sidebar(); get_footer();
TEMPLATE FILE NAMING
single-invoices.php - Single Invoice View archive-invoices.php - Archive of Invoices
LOADING CUSTOM TEMPLATES
get_template_part( 'loop', 'index' );
will do a PHP require() for the first file that exists among these, in this priority:
wp-content/themes/themename/loop-index.php wp-content/themes/themename/loop.php
“I need to customize
default actions of my app”
WordPress has hooks for nearly everything that happens.
Use ‘add_action’ to do execute custom code at a certain time.
Use ‘add_filter’ to change default values.
function email_invoice( $post_id ) { $to = ‘[email protected]’; $subject = get_the_title( $post_id ); $message = get_the_permalink( $post_id );
wp_mail( $to, $subject, $message ); } add_action(‘save_post’,‘email_invoice’);
function mod_title( $title, $post_id ) { if ( ‘invoice’ == get_post_type($post_id) &&
has_term( ‘paid’, ‘invoice_status’, $post_id
) { $title = ‘PAID: ‘ . $title;
} return $title;
} add_filter( ‘the title’, ‘mod_title’, 10, 2 );
“I need easy, secure, access
to the database”
The wpdb class provides easy, secure database
interaction for those times you need it.
global $wpdb;
$results = $wpdb->get_results( 'SELECT * FROM wp_options WHERE option_id = 1');
$wpdb->insert( ‘payments_made', array( 'client' => 'Apple', ‘invoice_num' => 123 ), array( '%s', '%d' ) );
// PROTECT FROM SQL INJECTION
$metakey = ‘purchase_order_num’; $metavalue = ‘12345’; $wpdb->query( $wpdb->prepare( "INSERT INTO $wpdb->postmeta ( post_id, meta_key, meta_value ) VALUES ( %d, %s, %s )", 10, $metakey, $metavalue ) );
“I need to have a reliable way
to rewrite URLs”
WordPress rewrites posts, pages, taxonomies, and
custom post types by default. But, you can use the Rewrite API to make
custom rules.
function custom_rewrite() { add_rewrite_rule('^invoice/([0-9]+)/?', 'index.php?page_id=$matches[1]', 'top'); } add_action(‘init','custom_rewrite');
Now, you can access the same page as http://example.com/invoice/95
“Different app instances for
different users/clients/
companies.”
WordPress multisite allows you to create multiple site/app instances. Each can share or have different
functionality, views, settings, userbases, and more.
Add the following to your wp-config.php and follow the instructions in wp-admin under Settings > Network Setup
define( 'WP_ALLOW_MULTISITE', true );
Use Case: Each company using this invoice system can have their own instance at their own url…
google.example.com or example.com/google
“I need to be able to connect with third-party
services”
Built in HTTP API supports multiple transport methods
for your HTTP requests because different hosting
environments support different things.
$response = wp_remote_post( $url, array( 'method' => 'POST', 'timeout' => 45, 'redirection' => 5, 'httpversion' => '1.0', 'blocking' => true, 'headers' => array(), 'body' => array( 'username' => 'bob', 'password' => '1234xyz' ), 'cookies' => array() ) );
$response returns a nice array
AlSO: wp_remote_request() wp_remote_get() wp_remote_post() wp_remote_head() wp_remote_retrieve_body() wp_remote_retrieve_header() wp_remote_retrieve_headers() wp_remote_retrieve_response_code() wp_remote_retrieve_response_message()
“I need to improve
performance by limiting requests”
Transients allow you quickly store data with an expiration
for quick access.
Get more in depth with caching plugins.
set_transient( ‘special_query’, $special_query, 60*60*12
);
get_transient( 'special_query' );
//EXAMPLE
if ( false === ( $special_query = get_transient( 'special_query' ) ) ) {
$special_query_results = new WP_Query( 'cat=5&order=random&tag=tech&post_meta_key=thumbnail' );
set_transient( 'special_query', $special_query, 4 * HOUR_IN_SECONDS
); }
- get_transient - set_transient - wp_cache_set - wp_cache_get
“I need to be able to open
my application to third parties”
Create an API for your app using the XML-RPC API or the new JSON REST API
JSON REST API will be in WP Core soon, but is now available in a stable plugin.
Out of the box provides:
• Endpoints for retrieving, creating, editing, and deleting all built-in post types and registered custom post types
• Also, media, users, taxonomies and meta
• Can be extended to support your other types of data
“I don’t want to create things that have been done
hundreds of times before”
Thousands of WordPress Plugins both free and
premium. Also, feel free to use other PHP Libraries.
35,000+ Free Plugins at wordpress.org/plugins/ and many great premium plugins. BuddyPress - Social Network BBPress - Forums BadgeOS - Award Achievements CMB2 - Custom Fields and Metaboxes Gravity Forms - Form Building Posts 2 Posts - Relational post linking WooCommerce - eCommerce Events Calendar Pro - Calendar
Or build your own to use over and over (or to share or sell!)
MOAREXAMPLES
WordPress is being used as an application framework all
over the web.
Reactor by AppPresser (http://reactor.apppresser.com/) WP Powered application that builds mobile applications from your WP site.
DesktopServer 4.0 (http://serverpress.com/) Desktop application to create local development sites.
ManageWP (http://managewp.com/) Upgrade, perform backups, monitor, track statistics, and manage multiple WP sites.
YMCA Y-MVP App (http://www.ymcanyc.org/association/pages/y-mvp) iPad application used as a kiosk at YMCA to allow members to scan card and log exercise activities.
Frito-Lay Project Management (http://liftux.com/portfolio/frito-lay-creative-project-management-app/) Custom project management app.
Easy
WellSupported
Extensible
