# Loading Plugins

A number of Zend Framework components are pluggable, and allow loading of dynamic functionality by specifying a class prefix and path to class files that are not necessarily on the include_path or do not necessarily follow traditional naming conventions. Zend_Loader_PluginLoader provides common functionality for this process.

The basic usage of the PluginLoader follows Zend Framework naming conventions of one class per file, using the underscore as a directory separator when resolving paths. It allows passing an optional class prefix to prepend when determining if a particular plugin class is loaded. Additionally, paths are searched in LIFO order. Due to the LIFO search and the class prefixes, this allows you to define namespaces for your plugins, and thus override plugins from paths registered earlier.

## Basic Use Case

First, let's assume the following directory structure and class files, and that the top level directory and library directory are on the include_path:

    application/
        modules/
            foo/
                views/
                    helpers/
                        FormLabel.php
                        FormSubmit.php
            bar/
                views/
                    helpers/
                        FormSubmit.php
    library/
        Zend/
            View/
                Helper/
                    FormLabel.php
                    FormSubmit.php
                    FormText.php

Now, let's create a plugin loader to address the various view helper repositories available:

    $loader = new Zend_Loader_PluginLoader();
    $loader->addPrefixPath('Zend_View_Helper', 'Zend/View/Helper/')
           ->addPrefixPath('Foo_View_Helper',
                           'application/modules/foo/views/helpers')
           ->addPrefixPath('Bar_View_Helper',
                           'application/modules/bar/views/helpers');

We can then load a given view helper using just the portion of the class name following the prefixes as defined when adding the paths:

    // load 'FormText' helper:
    $formTextClass = $loader->load('FormText'); // 'Zend_View_Helper_FormText';

    // load 'FormLabel' helper:
    $formLabelClass = $loader->load('FormLabel'); // 'Foo_View_Helper_FormLabel'

    // load 'FormSubmit' helper:
    $formSubmitClass = $loader->load('FormSubmit'); // 'Bar_View_Helper_FormSubmit'

Once the class is loaded, we can now instantiate it.

In some cases, you may use the same prefix for multiple paths. Zend_Loader_PluginLoader actually registers an array of paths for each given prefix; the last one registered will be the first one checked. This is particularly useful if you are utilizing incubator components.

Paths may be defined at instantiation

You may optionally provide an array of prefix / path pairs (or prefix / paths -- plural paths are allowed) as a parameter to the constructor:

    $loader = new Zend_Loader_PluginLoader(array(
        'Zend_View_Helper' => 'Zend/View/Helper/',
        'Foo_View_Helper'  => 'application/modules/foo/views/helpers',
        'Bar_View_Helper'  => 'application/modules/bar/views/helpers'
    ));

Zend_Loader_PluginLoader also optionally allows you to share plugins across plugin-aware objects, without needing to utilize a singleton instance. It does so via a static registry. Indicate the registry name at instantiation as the second parameter to the constructor:

    // Store plugins in static registry 'foobar':
    $loader = new Zend_Loader_PluginLoader(array(), 'foobar');

Other components that instantiate the PluginLoader using the same registry name will then have access to already loaded paths and plugins.

## Manipulating Plugin Paths

The example in the previous section shows how to add paths to a plugin loader. What if you want to determine the paths already loaded, or remove one or more?

- getPaths($prefix = null) returns all paths as prefix / path pairs if no `$prefix` is provided, or just the paths registered for a given prefix if a `$prefix` is present.

- clearPaths($prefix = null) will clear all registered paths by default, or only those associated with a given prefix, if the `$prefix` is provided and present in the stack.

- removePrefixPath($prefix, $path = null) allows you to selectively remove a specific path associated with a given prefix. If no `$path` is provided, all paths for that prefix are removed. If a `$path` is provided and exists for that prefix, only that path will be removed.

## Testing for Plugins and Retrieving Class Names

Sometimes you simply want to determine if a plugin class has been loaded before you perform an action. isLoaded() takes a plugin name, and returns the status.

Another common use case for the PluginLoader is to determine fully qualified plugin class names of loaded classes; getClassName() provides this functionality. Typically, this would be used in conjunction with isLoaded():

    if ($loader->isLoaded('Adapter')) {
        $class   = $loader->getClassName('Adapter');
        $adapter = call_user_func(array($class, 'getInstance'));
    }

## Getting Better Performance for Plugins

Plugin loading can be an expensive operation. At its heart, it needs to loop through each prefix, then each path on the prefix, until it finds a file that matches -- and which defines the class expected. In cases where the file exists but does not define the class, an error will be added to the PHP error stack, which is also an expensive operation. The question then turns to: how can you keep the flexibility of plugins and also address performance?

Zend_Loader_PluginLoader offers an opt-in feature for just this situation, a class file include cache. When enabled, it will create a file that contains all successful includes which you can then call from your bootstrap. Using this strategy, you can greatly improve the performance of your production servers.

Using the PluginLoader class file include cache

To use the class file include cache, simply drop the following code into your bootstrap:

    $classFileIncCache = APPLICATION_PATH . '/../data/pluginLoaderCache.php';
    if (file_exists($classFileIncCache)) {
        include_once $classFileIncCache;
    }
    Zend_Loader_PluginLoader::setIncludeFileCache($classFileIncCache);

Obviously, the path and filename will vary based on your needs. This code should come as early as possible, to ensure that plugin-based components can make use of it.

During development, you may wish to disable the cache. One method for doing so is to use a configuration key for determining whether or not the plugin loader should cache.

    $classFileIncCache = APPLICATION_PATH . '/../data/pluginLoaderCache.php';
    if (file_exists($classFileIncCache)) {
        include_once $classFileIncCache;
    }
    if ($config->enablePluginLoaderCache) {
        Zend_Loader_PluginLoader::setIncludeFileCache($classFileIncCache);
    }

This technique allows you to keep your modifications to your configuration file rather than code.