Almost another WordPress Plugin:
Custom Post Types and Taxonomy Widgets
cpt-tax-widgets
A little plugin that wants so much more.
( purposal for new WordPress widgets )
This plugin illustrates how certain relevant aspects of custom post types and custom taxonomies could be integrated with existing default WordPress features.
This plugin provides default WordPress like widgets that handle Custom Post Types and Custom Taxonomies: if they exist.
If Custom Post Types and Custom Taxonomies do not exist, the widgets act exactly like the default WordPress widgets
* DOWNLOAD : cpt-tax-widgets.zip
Example of custom post type and custom taxonomies integration
contents:
- cpt-tax-widgets.php
- readme.txt (the entry you are currently reading in plain text format)
The three widgets this plugin provides is:
- Categories ( * Tax / Categories )
- Tag Cloud ( * Tax / Tag Cloud )
- Recent Posts ( * PT / Recent Entries )
For ease of use, some naming conventions were changed from the existing WordPress widgets so as to work in parallel with the existing default widgets – However, this example actually is a proposal for updating the current default WordPress widgets.
IF these widgets were the default WordPress widgets > then one instance could be used for the post Categories & in another instance the same widget could be used for a different hierarchical taxonomy / as desired / and so on…
Like you can easily have Recent Posts,
and use the same widget for Recent “any post type you want” – etc.
This little example SHOULD serve to illustrate functionality that is actually MUCH MUCH WIDER IN SCOPE
The attached plugin, or something like it (with improvements), is not actually intended to be a plugin – but rather introduces code that symbolizes how different areas of WordPress could be updated to integrate certain aspects of custom post types and custom taxonomies into default WordPress operations. Also illustrated is how IF nothing new and/or relevant is registered (there are no custom post types or custom taxonomies) THEN the WordPress feature (in this case, some widgets) behaves as it does in default mode.
Considering Custom Post Types and Custom Taxonomies in the whole scope of things within WordPress > support is lacking in general / and such would be easy enough to bring the WordPress core up to the task / including widgets…
I see no impedance to updating the core as to create a sensitivity that could handle many aspects of custom post types and taxonomies, once they’re created – just as the core handles posts, pages, attachments, menus – everything is there – we just need to open it a slight bit wider…
AND TA-DA – FULLY FUNCTIONAL & INTEGRATED CUSTOM POST TYPES AND TAXONOMIES THE MOMENT THEY ARE CREATED . . .
As it exists now, I can easily imagine at least 40,000 individuals all spending around 25 hours each (THAT’S A MILLION HOURS !!!), trying to figure out custom post types and taxonomies – looking up code, hunting for plugins, and so on – I’m sure some finally just gave up…
Currently, to work with custom post types and taxonomies, once registered a user needs to jump through hoop after hoop to get the custom post types and taxonomies to integrate properly with the public side of an install / all the way from template creation and/or alteration, to creating navigation menus – where either coding is needed or extensive plugin hunting (along with trial-&-error testing)
what i am saying is: it does not need to be like this – nor should it be like this…
specifically – MOST aspects of the default wordpress install can be set to AUTOMATICALLY handle aspects of custom post types and taxonomies > just as it currently handles built_in post-types and built_in taxonomies.
Basically -all that’s needed is :
- integrating into the core a mere test to first see if custom post types or taxonomies have been registered
- then: open the default features up that are for the built_in post types and built_in taxonomies to also be directly used by custom post types and custom taxonomies > where such features logically apply
With the above tasks, each feature (widgets, templates, etc.) would “know” exactly which custom post type and/or custom taxonomy it can handle AND WHEN it should handle it.
squeeky