[wp-hackers] Plugin dependency checking

[Stephen Rider]

On Jun 17, 2009, at 6:02 PM, Mike Schinkel wrote:

> When a plugin is *activated* WP core would inspect its header to  
> determine its interfaces and then retrieve its interfaces either via  
> web service or as defined locally if the web service is unavailable  
> and it would add the interfaces to a new global $wp_interfaces.  WP  
> core would then crawl the interfaces and would order the plugins in  
> dependency order for the 'active_plugins' option in the wp_options  
> table. WP core would also serialize $wp_interfaces to the wp_options  
> table.

If this only happens when plugins are activated, how do you keep up  
with plugins being updated? Auto-update doesn't run the activate  
hooks, and plugins are also frequently updated via good ol' FTP,  
without being deactivated at all.  Thus, the plugins need to check  
their own interface versions and requirements on **each  
load** ...unless I'm missing something.

> Development mode would be[...] enabled in a new admin menu in the  
> Settings area[...].

Heh.  You must be new here. ;-p  As for a new setting in Admin:  
fuggedaboudit.

This will have to work with a new Constant placed in wp-config.php or  
something.

Stephen

-- 
Stephen Rider
http://striderweb.com/