The plugin, written in PHP, has several well-documented examples of helpful WordPress plugin features.

See how the readme.txt maps to the hosted plugin pages and the 5 hosted screenshots.

The main code module dandyid-services.php has examples of:

• Creating a sidebar widget.
• Processing returned XML that is PHP4 and PHP5 compatible.
• Storing and retrieving wp-database options in an array.
• Embedding the plugin name and version-number into a <div> tag that appears on all blog pages that render the plugin. (useful for debugging — many versions of the plugin can be out there in the wild)
• Localization for international language support.
• Creating an options page for admin plugin configuration, including HTML that renders radio buttons and checkboxes.
• Caching the DandyID API results — on a busy blog, the plugin only calls the DandyID API once every 2 hours.
• A plugin activation hook that creates initialized, defaulted wp-database options.
• A plugin deactivation hook that cleanly removes the plugin wp-database options.

Here is the WordPress maintained repository that contains all of the DandyID Services Plugin files for the current release. It is packaged as a zipfile when it is downloaded from WordPress.

The PeoplePond WordPress Plugin retrieves “about me” information from PeoplePond, and creates (or refreshes once daily) the About page on a blog.

The main code module peoplepond.php has the following examples:

• Hooks the_content() with a filter hook, causing the plugin code to be called each time any page renders. If it’s the About page, the PeoplePond API is called (only once per day max) to update the About page content.
• Uses wp_insert_post() and wp_update_post() to create and update the content of blog posts.

Here is the WordPress repository that contains all of the PeoplePond Plugin files for the current release.

Thanks to Ryan Cook for organizing this Boulder Startup Week session.

#!/usr/local/php5/bin/php
<?php

/*****************************************************************************/
/* This demo was created by Neil Simon for Ryan Cooks PHP Hacking Session    */
/* Boulder Startup Week, 05/05/2010                                          */
/*****************************************************************************/
/* Module ........ get_forecast.php                                          */
/* Description ... (1) Uses PHP to create a command-line utility             */
/*                 (2) Passes arguments in from the command-line             */
/*                 (3) Calls the Weather Underground REST API (returns XML)  */
/*                 (4) Extracts the weather text from the returned XML       */
/* Usage ......... get_forecast.php {zip5}                                   */
/* Example ....... get_forecast.php 80304                                    */
/*****************************************************************************/

// First executable line, calls main()
main ($argc, $argv);

function main ($argc, $argv)
    {
    // Initialize to failure, set to 0 upon success
    $rc = 1;

    // Ex: $argv[0] get_forecast.php
    // Ex: $argv[1] 80304
    if ($argc != 2)
        {
        printf ("Usage ..... get_forecast.php {zip5}\n");
        printf ("Example ... get_forecast.php 80304\n");
        }
    else
        {
        // Extract option value
        $zip5 = $argv [1];

        // Get weather lines of text
        $weatherForecastLinesArray = array ();

        // Get lines of weather text
        if (getWeatherForecast ($zip5, $weatherForecastLinesArray) == 0)
            {
            // Display lines
            foreach ($weatherForecastLinesArray as $weatherForecastLine)
                {
                printf ("%s\n", $weatherForecastLine);
                }

            // Successful
            $rc = 0;
            }
        }

    // Returns status code to the operating system
    return ($rc);
    }

function getWeatherForecast ($zip5, &$weatherForecastLinesArray)
    {
    // Initialize to failure, set to 0 upon success
    $rc = 1;

    // Create a constant that points to the REST API
    define (WUNDERGROUND_API_URL,
    "http://api.wunderground.com/auto/wui/geo/ForecastXML/index.xml?query=$zip5");

    // Get the weather text -- returned as XML
    if (($wundergroundStr = file_get_contents (WUNDERGROUND_API_URL)) == FALSE)
        {
        printf ("ERROR: file_get_contents (WUNDERGROUND_API_URL) failed.\n");
        }
    else
        {
        // Create the XML array from the returned data
        $wundergroundXml = new SimpleXMLElement ($wundergroundStr);

        // Extract the text fields
        $forecastday = $wundergroundXml->txt_forecast->forecastday [0];
        $weatherForecastLinesArray [] = $forecastday->title;
        $weatherForecastLinesArray [] = $forecastday->fcttext . "\n";

        // Successful
        $rc = 0;
        }

    return ($rc);
    }

?>

Technologies come and go, but good working practices last forever.

The easiest mistakes to fix are the ones you don’t make.

• People like to work with people they like.
• A genuine smile and a positive attitude goes a long way.
• Respect everyone — you can learn from everyone.

Be Collaborative

• Work hard to build concensus among stakeholders.
• Be willing to compromise.
• If you don’t agree with an idea, suggest creative alternatives that can incorporate the idea in different ways.

Be a Great Listener

• What does the user really need?
• It’s not what you want — it’s what they want.
• Listen objectively. Ask open ended questions. Allow everyone the opportunity to speak.

Deliver Some Early Pieces Quickly

• Lets your user know you’ve been listening.
• Gives users an opportunity for feedback.
• Keeps the conversation going in a positive direction.