A question for vB Coders

[Plugin Pete]

Hi All,

After 10 years using vBulletin and building forums I finally decided to get off of my rear, get involved, and start building mods and add-ons. Sometime this week I hope to release my first vB add-on to beta. To that end I have a question.

What are some of the best practices to follow when releasing a vB add-on?

Thanks in advance!

Pete

[BirdOPrey5]

I would say-

Mark something you haven't tested for long as Beta

Include good documentation in a text file on how to use it

Include an option to disable the mod in the mod options. It should truly disable just about all code by putting everything in a conditional that only runs if enabled.

Whenever possible use one of the built-in error checks for each input field.

I like to have mods inside a folder, the folder inside a zip file, so I can just drag the folder out of the zip file after I've downloaded it.

[Zachery]

Always use a custon naming scheme for your fields/tables in the database.

So you've made the best gallery mode ever? Don't call the table gallery, what if vBulletin adds a stock gallery feature? The user wont be able to upgrade.
What if you want to add a thread count to the user table? Dont call it threadcount or threads.

When we (GeekyDesigns) to stuff, we almost always try to use gd_name that way we shouldn't normally run into conflicts with name spaces.

[Plugin Pete]

Originally Posted by BirdOPrey5

I like to have mods inside a folder, the folder inside a zip file, so I can just drag the folder out of the zip file after I've downloaded it.

Joe,

Thanks for your feedback and insight. Based on your last comment, I'm wondering if I made a mistake.

The add-on I'm about to release to beta is on the large side. It has a folder structure for the add-on to house class files, css files, images, cache files, etc. The primary php file itself resides in the forum root. Is that a no-no?

Thanks!

--------------- Added [DATE]1310589806[/DATE] at [TIME]1310589806[/TIME] ---------------

Originally Posted by Zachery

Always use a custon naming scheme for your fields/tables in the database.

So you've made the best gallery mode ever? Don't call the table gallery, what if vBulletin adds a stock gallery feature? The user wont be able to upgrade.
What if you want to add a thread count to the user table? Dont call it threadcount or threads.

When we (GeekyDesigns) to stuff, we almost always try to use gd_name that way we shouldn't normally run into conflicts with name spaces.

Thanks, Zachery. I did my best to try to avoid naming conflicts on all levels. I even did a fairly exhaustive search to make sure my main php file name has not been used by another add-on.

Cheers, and thanks for the input.

[BirdOPrey5]

Originally Posted by Plugin Pete

Joe,

Thanks for your feedback and insight. Based on your last comment, I'm wondering if I made a mistake.

The add-on I'm about to release to beta is on the large side. It has a folder structure for the add-on to house class files, css files, images, cache files, etc. The primary php file itself resides in the forum root. Is that a no-no?

Thanks!

You can definitely put your main php file in the forum root. I'm not talking about after the files have been uploaded, I'm talking about when they are downloaded.

I prefer a structure like

ZIP File -> Name of Mod Folder -> UPLOAD -> All files and folders to upload relative to forum root
ZIP File -> Name of Mod Folder -> All XML and TXT files

It's not a requirement just my preference. Check out any of my mods if you want to see what I mean.

[Adrian Schneider]

Anything inside the forum directory should be placed inside an 'upload' directory. That is pretty standard practice.

Other than that, I'm obviously a huge advocate of VDE to help organize in preparing that package and keeping updates consistent.

[Plugin Pete]

Okay, got it. Thanks, guys. Yes, I do have everything organized under an 'upload' folder.

Adrian, I started playing w/ VDE a while ago and love it. I will use it for all future releases.

Pete