This is the name of a future feature which will supersede both modules and wiki plugins. All modules and wiki plugins will become "Gadgets". This could be done in Tiki14 or Tiki15 Tiki20 or eventually, after the Bootstrap (4) transition is complete. or Tiki25 as soon as possible.
Reason: there is increasing overlap between the two features.
Modules and plugins are bad names because people think it refers to plugins/modules/extensions in other Web apps.
Naming
Code name for this feature: The Fluffy Project (aka fluffies) on the basis that's a totally random name and better than plugin.
Other possibilities discussed were:
- Gadget
- Widget
- Component
- Macro
Structure
- Abstract
Base class to contain common code, such as parameters, permissions, profile info etc - DOM Element
Fluffies with a DOM element representation
Basically the current {div} plugin - so all other fluffies will have common parameters such as width, class etc - Content Body
Fluffies that can have content, with a mechanism to have conditional content block with an {ELSE} such as the {group} plugin and others
Wishes
- Use the new Bootstrap classes
- Alternate behaviors for print/mobile/small screen/etc.
- All optional (like plugins are but modules aren't)
- Possible to have permissions for use
- Usable in text area (like plugins) and in Smarty Templates (like modules)
- Self-contained in a zip (for custom gadgets)
- For modules to be converted to gadgets (doable via Database Schema Upgrade
- For plugins to be still functional
- Perhaps Gadget alias concept, like we have for plugin alias
- So the old plugin {listpages} is an alias of a new gadget