Custom hook implementations, Ctools plugins, or simply no extensibility at all. We’ve all faced the challenges that needed to be overcome in order to make Drupal modules extensible by others. Drupal 8 introduces the plugin system: a unified approach to discover and instantiate plugins, with a variety of options to customize your own plugin type using different discovery methods and plugin features. This presentation will show you: * How Drupal core and contributed modules use the plugin system * The available plugin discovery methods * Plugin instantiation * The available features plugin types can provide out of the box

1. THE DRUPAL 8 PLUGIN
SYSTEM: EXTENSIBILITY FOR
ALL
I am , , and .Xano @BartFeenstra http://mynameisbart.com

2. WHAT ARE PLUGINS?
Swappable extensions that provide logic for a specific (set of) task(s)
Uniquely identifiable
Metadata
Multiple instances can co-exist (reuse)

3. DRUPAL 7 PLUGINS
Hook discovery (core and most contributed modules)
File-based discovery (ctools)
Magic hooks/callbacks/includes
Some plugins are classed

4. SAY WHAT?

5. DRUPAL 8 PLUGINS
Are classed. Always.
Should implement interfaces.
Consistent API for discovering and instantiating plugins, regardless of
type.

6. NO MORE DARK MAGIC

7. JARGON, DO YOU SPEAK IT?

8. PLUGIN TYPE

9. PLUGIN (DEFINITION)

10. PLUGIN DISCOVERY

11. PLUGIN FACTORY

12. PLUGIN MANAGER
(DISCOVERY + FACTORY + ...)

13. PLUGIN INSTANCE

14. PLUGIN CONFIGURATION

15. RECREATING/CLONING
PLUGIN INSTANCES
Using Plugin type/manager, ID, and configuration through
ConfigurablePluginInterface.

16. DISCOVERY METHODS
Annotated class discovery (mostly different logic)
YAML discovery (mostly reused logic)
Static discovery (testing)
Hook discovery (deprecated)

17. FORMS

18. THERE'S A MODULE FOR
THAT
http://drupal.org/project/plugin

19. PLUGIN TYPE DISCOVERY

20. ADMINISTRATIVE OVERVIEW

21. CONFIGURATION SCHEMAS
plugin.plugin_configuration.*.*

22. TYPED PLUGIN DEFINITION
API
Now: PluginDefinitionMapperInterface
Future: PluginDefinitionInterface

23. PLUGIN SELECTORS

24. FIELD
TYPES/WIDGETS/FORMATTER
S

25. CONCLUSION
EXTENDING DRUPAL HAS NEVER BEEN EASIER.
Review this presentation at .http://slideshare.net/bartfeenstra
Find the Plugin module at .http://drupal.org/project/plugin
I am , , and .Xano @BartFeenstra http://mynameisbart.com
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS?
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