{"id":785,"date":"2008-04-11T23:18:34","date_gmt":"2008-04-11T21:18:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/planetozh.com\/blog\/?p=785"},"modified":"2008-04-11T23:18:34","modified_gmt":"2008-04-11T21:18:34","slug":"4-checkpoints-to-make-sure-plugin-update-notices-in-wordpress-will-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/planetozh.com\/blog\/2008\/04\/4-checkpoints-to-make-sure-plugin-update-notices-in-wordpress-will-work\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Checkpoints to Make Sure Plugin Update Notices in WordPress Will Work"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the mostest ubercoolest feature in WordPress is its ability to warn you about an outdated plugin you might be running on your blog, so you can upgrade in a snap and as soon as a new version gets off the press (assuming this plugin is hosted on wp.org\/plugins<\/a>)<\/p>\n

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The thing is: it's cool… when it works. After updating my own plugins recently to make them WordPress 2.5 friendly, I noticed that my "Manage Plugins" page was not warning me about new versions. Me. Their very genitor. What a shame. After a bit of testing and abusing the API server from wordpress.org, I realized that there are a few innocent things you can do, both as a plugin coder and a user, that will prevent the update system from working as intended.<\/p>\n

I found four checkpoints<\/strong> to make sure everything will work as expected:
\n<\/p>\n

Consistency is the word<\/h2>\n

OK, "Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative" (Oscar Wilde) but we're talking about making things work here. So, let's try to be unimaginative :) The key is to ensure consistency between the following 4 properties:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. the plugin's name in its readme.txt<\/li>\n
  2. the plugin's name in the PHP plugin header<\/li>\n
  3. the plugin's directory name in the repository<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. the plugin's directory name on your own server, within wp-content\/plugins\/<\/em>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Let's say for example you have been approved for a plugin named "Joe's Super Stuff" which will be located at http:\/\/wordpress.org\/extend\/plugins\/joe-super-stuff\/<\/em>. From what my tests have taught me, the plugin updater will fail upon one (or more) of the following:<\/p>\n