Plugin Development

# Overview

SITS CMS provides a flexible plugin system that allows developers to extend core functionality. This guide explains how to create and integrate custom plugins.

# Plugin Directory Structure

Create your plugin with the following structure in the plugins/ directory:

    your-plugin-name/
    ├── database/
    │   └── migrations
    |       └── create_your_plugin_name_table.php
    ├── helpers/
    │   └── helpers.php
    ├── resources/
    │   └── views/
    |       ├── details.blade.php
    |       ├── index.blade.php
    |       ├── single.blade.php
    |       └── table-details.blade.php
    ├── routes/
    │   └── web.php
    ├── src/
    │   ├── Http/
    |   |   └── Controllers/
    |   |       └── YourPluginController.php
    │   ├── Models/
    |   |   └── YourPluginModel.php
    │   └── Providers/
    |       └── YourPluginServiceProvider.php
    └── plugin.json
    

Key components of a plugin include:

• database/ - Database migrations
• resources/ - Views
• routes/ - Route definitions
• src/ - Core plugin code including controllers, models, and service providers
• plugin.json - Plugin metadata and dependencies

Each plugin must have a plugin.json file that provides essential information for auto-loading and plugin management. This file includes details like the plugin name, description, author, and version.

Plugins are registered to the system's autoloader automatically when installed. The service provider in each plugin bootstraps the plugin's components and registers its services with the application container.

# Step-by-Step Plugin Creation

1. Create plugin.json
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       {
           "id": "YourVendor/your plugin name",
           "name": "Your Plugin Name",
           "namespace": "YourVendor\\YourPlugin",
           "provider": "YourVendor\\YourPlugin\\Providers\\YourPluginServiceProvider",
           "author": "Your Name",
           "url": "https://yourdomain.com",
           "version": "1.0",
           "description": "Description of your plugin",
           "require":{
               "plugins" :[
                   {
                       "id":"YourVendor/plugin name",
                       "name" : "Plugin Name",
                       "version":"1.0"
                   }
               ]
           }
       }
       

   The key fields in plugin.json are:

   • id - Unique identifier for the plugin
   • name - Display name of the plugin
   • namespace - PHP namespace used by the plugin
   • provider - Service provider class that bootstraps the plugin
   • author - Plugin author/organization name
   • version - Plugin version number
   • description - Brief description of plugin functionality
   • require – This is optional. Use it only if your plugin depends on another plugin or package that needs to be activated or installed. Otherwise, you can leave it out.

   Example: blog/plugin.json

   
2. Create Service Provider

   Create YourPluginServiceProvider.php in the src directory:

   The service provider is the main bootstrapping class for your plugin. It handles tasks like:

   • Loading routes, views, migrations and other resources
   • Publishing assets and configuration files
   • Registering services with the application container
   • Setting up event listeners and hooks

   Example: blog/src/Providers/BlogServiceProvider.php

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       namespace Sits\Blog\Providers;
   
       use Illuminate\Support\ServiceProvider;
       use Illuminate\Routing\Events\RouteMatched;
       use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Event;
       use Sits\Base\Traits\LoadAndPublish;
   
       class BlogServiceProvider extends ServiceProvider
       {
           use LoadAndPublish;
   
           public function boot()
           {
               $this->loadRoutes()
                   ->loadViews('sits/blog')
                   ->loadMigrations()
                   ->publishMigrations('sits-blog-migrations');
   
               # Register Dashboard Menu 
               Event::listen(RouteMatched::class, function () {
                   dashboard_menu()->registerMenu([
                       'id'    => 'blogs',
                       'title' => "Blogs",
                       "icon"  => "fa fa-blog",
                       "type"  => "plugin",
                       "url"  => '#',
                       "route_name" => "admin.blogs",
                       "sub_menus" => [
                           (object) [
                               'id'    => 'blog-categories',
                               'title' => "Category",
                               "icon"  => "fa fa-blog",
                               "route_name"  => "admin.blogs.categories",
                               "url"   => url('admin/blogs/categories')
                           ],
                           (object) [
                               'id'    => 'blogs',
                               'title' => "Posts",
                               "icon"  => "fa fa-hammer",
                               "route_name"  => "admin.blogs.posts",
                               "url"   => url('admin/blogs/posts')
                           ],
                           (object) [
                               'id'    => 'blog-tags',
                               'title' => "Tags",
                               "icon"  => "fa fa-tags",
                               "route_name"  => "admin.blogs.tags",
                               "url"   => url('admin/blogs/tags'),
                           ],
                       ],
                   ]);
               });
           }
       }
       

3. Add Routes

   Define your plugin routes in routes/web.php:

   Example: blog/routes/web.php

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       Route::middleware(['web', 'auth:admin'])->prefix('admin/blogs/posts')->name('admin.blogs.posts.')->group(function () {
           Route::resource('/', BlogController::class)->parameters(['' => 'blog']);
           Route::post('bulk_delete', [BlogController::class, 'bulk_delete'])->name('bulk_delete');
           Route::post('bulk_restore', [BlogController::class, 'bulk_restore'])->name('bulk_restore');
           Route::post('bulk_permanent_delete', [BlogController::class, 'bulk_permanent_delete'])->name('bulk_permanent_delete');
           Route::post('restore/{id}', [BlogController::class, 'restore'])->name('restore');
           Route::delete('permanent-delete/{id}', [BlogController::class, 'permanent_delete'])->name('permanent_delete');
       });
       

4. Required Resource Files

   The resources directory of the plugin must contain the following Blade view templates: details.blade.php and table-details.blade.php. These templates are utilized for rendering the detailed view.

# Development Guidelines

• Use proper namespacing to avoid conflicts with other plugins
• Follow Laravel's coding standards and conventions
• Implement proper validation and error handling
• Create comprehensive documentation for your plugin
• Test your plugin thoroughly before deployment
• Keep plugin dependencies minimal and documented