ugh,, I’m going to bed!
MODX Staff
Quote from: rthrash at Aug 22, 2005, 12:55 PM
What if the modules could be tied to events? According to Raymond the only difference is a minor table structure...
...and functionality - lol
Some people use plugins and modules interchangeably so the name is what I think is causing the problem. As Jason suggest we should perhaps change the name. If not then we can consider merging the two but this might lead to an inefficient structure.
Here are some other names to consider replacing plugins with:
* Hooks
* Triggers
* Handles
* Event handler
* Extenders
MODX Staff
OK... so I’m going to toss another one in the ring that isn’t totally clear cut and very similar to snippets/chunks. Sorry to repeatedly bang on trying to make the system come across as simpler, but still allowing developers to see that it has a lot of depth.
Why don’t we stop trying to figure out how to explain the subtle and pretty murky differences between plugins and modules and just merge the two into moduels. Modules would then be defined as extending the core functionality and can be as simple as a simple plugin-type application wiht no interface to as complex as a full blown application running inside the manager itself. This would then give us what I think we’ve reached consensus on as our "Tattoo Lexicon":
Tattoo 101
Manager or Control Panel
Where you control content and configuration of the entire software install.
Templates
The centerpiece of MODx around which most things associated with pages revolve. The central gatekeeper almost with the exception of special applications.
There needs to be a simple and direct way for people to quickly create different types of content, like a shopping cart products page, a blog, etc. Do we need sub-templates, or content templates, or content settings?
Content
What end users interact with in Tattoo/MODx, typically a web page. This can also be a CSS file, a javascript include, downloadable document, etc.
[*Content Fields*]
You can have as few or as many content fields associated with a page in Tattoo/MODx as you’d like. They can be simple text fields, WYSIWYG text editors for complex data entry, pop-up lists, radio button options, etc. [*Content*] is automatically defined for every page that is created in Tattoo/MODx.
Intermediate Tattoo
[[Snippets]]
Blocks of text, HTML or code that may contain application logic, that are typically reused multiple times in a site. For example, a Snippet can be the static footer on a website, or a dynamic block of code that generates the site navigation menu as pages are added, moved or removed.
Widgets
Small Tattoo/MODx API extensions/behaviors that take a piece of text or data and transforms it into (typically) more complex elements with dynamic interaction. For example, Rich Text Editors, pop-up list input boxes, display grids and more.
It might be really cool to use a way to define Widget behavior, and the recently introduced Front End Editing, with a modifier on content fields. That way they could even be chained. For example: [*content:editalbe,datagrid*]
Tattoo Grad School
[+Placeholders+]
Undefined system resources that are generated on the fly by code to represent various pieces of data. Need an easy to understand example here.
Modules
Alter or extend the way the core system behaves across the board. Can be as simple as a single file performing a very spefic override to a manager API call (with no interface) or as complex as a full-blown application integration with an integrated management interface.
When can we start using this term and fade out the old term which is really confusing to understand?
[[Snippets]]
Blocks of text, HTML or code that may contain application logic, that are typically reused multiple times in a site. For example, a Snippet can be the static footer on a website, or a dynamic block of code that generates the site navigation menu as pages are added, moved or removed.