
Overview, requirements, intro to your tutor and some housekeeping.
So we can supply a mix of PDF & source code, the files are available at http://thewebsitesupportdesk.com/udemy-creating-wordpress-plugins-course-materials-download/
A quick overview on installing Apache, mySQL and PHP all in one convenient package for Windows, providing a self-contained development server environment that's superb for development and testing. Get it from http://www.wampserver.com/en/
Internet Explorer 10 causes Apache to crash. Add this to the bottom of Apache.conf as per the screen cast:
# Fix IE crashing Apache AcceptFilter http none AcceptFilter https none
A quick overview on installing Apache, mySQL and PHP all in one convenient package for Mac OS, providing a self-contained development server environment that's superb for development and testing. Get it from http://www.mamp.info/
Get a sneak peak in to the future and see what it is we are going to build
First step is to create the plugin header that allows WordPress to 'see' the plugin and display its details in the plugin admin screen.
Having got the plugin registered in the system, we add in the shortcode functionality and inform WordPress of its presence.
In this step we add in the code to receive parameters from the shortcode entry for customisation of the output.
A little protection goes a long way in such a vast eco-system like WordPress - wrap your code in a class to ensure you play nicely with other plugins & themes.
Merge our shortcode code in to the class structure and we are all set for the next steps.
We take away the hard coded default and save & retrieve it as a WordPress option.
Now appearing no the left hand side of the admin section, our very own entry in the settings menu!
Here we divert mainly in to HTML land where we use the exact same code base that WordPress uses to display our settings page.
We round off by providing some JavaScript validation of our settings entry.
Just a quick overview of what we achieved!
You will get a through grounding in the fundamentals of creating WordPress plugins and be shown some of the not-so-obvious techniques that the master coders use.
Delivered by screen casts, you get to see a plugin being built up step by step from scratch with all the source code available for you to download to tinker with it and extend for your own plugin design. The shortcode section is recorded on Mac OS, the followup sections are on a mix of Windows 7 and Mac - development is entirely cross platform as you will see.
There is not a whole heap of complexity in the actual code base, it's all clear and straightforward, so you don't need PhD level PHP. The WordPress admin side isn't rocket surgery either. Most of the course outlines the structures & how things fit together, so you won't be bamboozled by complex arcane code that will leave you baffled.
The best bit is you get access to source code that is tried & tested and can act as the starting point for your own plugin - all free of charge and free to use for open source or commercial projects as you wish.
In theory you could blast through the shortcode module in just a morning and then refer to the videos as you create your own plugin in the afternoon - imagine, just one day to go from Joe Dev to WordPress Plugin Pro.
The course leader, Nick McCloud, from TheWebsiteSupportDesk.com and a few other places, is an entrepreneurial programmer with over 35 years coding experience (pre-internet, pre-Windows, pre-iPod, pre-running water) and 20 years running his own businesses.
Come on board, cover the materials and ask questions. Questions will create FAQ's which create more videos! One of the team will pop by a couple of times a week to make sure questions are answered.