[buddypress-trac] [BuddyPress] #2945: Don't hard-code the 'buddypress' plugin folder

[buddypress-trac at lists.automattic.com]

#2945: Don't hard-code the 'buddypress' plugin folder
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 Reporter:  cnorris23     |       Owner:
     Type:  defect (bug)  |      Status:  reopened
 Priority:  normal        |   Milestone:  Future Release
Component:  Core          |     Version:  1.6
 Severity:  normal        |  Resolution:
 Keywords:  needs-patch   |
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Comment (by foxly):

 Just a heads-up that allowing users to install Buddypress to "/my-awesome-
 folder-name" instead of "/buddypress" will make unit-testing *much* more
 complicated and potentially cause all sorts of unpredictable problems
 throughout the Wordpress installation.

 If you make this change, the unit test system will have to remap the
 Buddypress slug after loading the DB image, because IIRC Wordpress tracks
 activated plugins by their folder name in the plugins folder. We were
 hoping to avoid this in BP's unit test runner because it means manually
 creating a DB image on every upgrade, then figuring out the SQL commands
 needed to map it to the arbitrary folder name. It could also *double* test
 run time because, realistically, you're going to have to run the entire
 test panel twice ...once for the standard "/buddypress" folder path and
 once  for the "/my-awesome-folder" path.

 Allowing users to rename the Buddypress install folder introduces MASSIVE
 technical problems while offering ZERO benefit in any practical
 application.

 Some users on this ticket seem to be misinterpreting the WP codex article
 to mean "users should be able to rename an individual plugin's install
 folder".

 This is NOT what the codex says.

 The codex says "users should be able to rename the ROOT plugins folder and
 install their WP installation to an arbitrary location on the server".

 They're completely different things.

 Wordpress actually uses a plugin's install folder as a GUID and, amongst
 other things, checks for updates based on it. You can't just go
 arbitrarily renaming your plugin folder or you'll get collisions  ...for
 example, there is already another plugin that uses "/social" as its folder
 name: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/social/ ...which is the name the
 user requesting the change has set his BP installation folder to.

 I suspect the next time the author of the "social" plugin pushes an
 update, an update notice will appear on the user's dashboard; and if they
 click on it, Wordpress will replace Buddypress with the real "Social"
 plugin.

 In the interest of not causing EPIC debugging problems, I strongly
 recommend not implementing this change.

 -F

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Ticket URL: <https://buddypress.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/2945#comment:25>
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