A Case For Builing Web Applications in WordPress

Slides for WordCamp Atlanta 2019.

In this presentation, I provide a case for why WordPress is a great option for web applications.

Transcript

1. A CASE FOR BUILDING WEB APPLICATIONS WITH WORDPRESS Tom McFarlin / https://tommcfarlin.com / @tommcfarlin / WordCamp Atlanta 2019 / #WCATL
2. INTRODUCTION “Why would you want to listen to someone not invested in the topic?”
3. PROFESSIONALLY • WebDevStudios,
 Senior Backend Engineer • Pressware, LLC,
 Custom Plugins and Applications • Blogging, Podcasting, and more. INTRODUCTION
4. TL;DR GETTING IN TO WORDPRESS • Started in 2005 with blogging • Theme & Plugin Development • Speaking at WordCamps and Meetups, too PROFESSIONALLY
5. PERSONALLY • Married • 3 kids, 2 dogs, 2 cats • Music, Fitness, Reading, Movies • And More. INTRODUCTION
6. ABOUT THIS TALK • No code will be shown. • But we’re talking about software development. • Please hold questions and comments until the end. INTRODUCTION
7. BUILDING WEB APPLICATIONS WITH WORDPRESS “Start thinking about using WordPress as a foundation for web applications.”
8. WAIT, IT’S A CASE? • Don’t dismiss what you already have. • It’s easy to get distracted with new utilities. • Why not look at WordPress? BUILDING WEB APPLICATIONS WITH WORDPRESS
9. IT’S A FOUNDATION; NOT A FRAMEWORK • Frameworks offer no functionality. • WordPress can be used immediately after installation. • WordPress exposes APIs for us. BUILDING WEB APPLICATIONS WITH WORDPRESS
10. WEB DEVELOPMENT: AN ABBREVIATED HISTORY • Web Site and Web Apps. What’s the difference? • Landing Pages, Blogs, Social Networks, and more. • The colloquial and the technical. BUILDING WEB APPLICATIONS WITH WORDPRESS
11. WHAT ARE SITES? • Presentation of Information • Styled with Markup • Behavior managed with JavaScript IT’S A FOUNDATION; NOT A FRAMEWORK
12. The presentation of fixed information. IT’S A FOUNDATION; NOT A FRAMEWORK
13. WHAT ARE APPLICATIONS? • Process User Input • Data Association • Session Management • Security • And more. IT’S A FOUNDATION; NOT A FRAMEWORK
14. A solution we apply to a problem. IT’S A FOUNDATION; NOT A FRAMEWORK
15. DEFINING THE DIFFERENCE IT’S A FOUNDATION; NOT A FRAMEWORK
16. Anything that presents data is a site. IT’S A FOUNDATION; NOT A FRAMEWORK
17. Anything that transmit information, saves it, and retrieves it is an application. IT’S A FOUNDATION; NOT A FRAMEWORK
18. ARCHITECTURE “How a web application is built on WordPress.”
19. SITES, REVISITED • Sites are made up of pages. • Pages are made up of data. • Data is described by markup. • Data is linked via anchors. ARCHITECTURE
20. APPLICATIONS, DETAILED • Functional Programming • Procedural Programming • Object-Oriented Programming • The latter two the most common in WordPress ARCHITECTURE
21. APPLICATIONS, DETAILED • The Front-End • The Back-End • The Application Layer • Submission of Information • Retrieval of Information ARCHITECTURE
22. PRACTICAL EXAMPLES “It’s easy to talk about, but what’s it look like?”
23. The idea of building a web application may imply the solution is a large piece of software. PRACTICAL EXAMPLES
24. This isn’t always the case. PRACTICAL EXAMPLES
25. WEB APPLICATIONS • A simple plugin • An extension of a plugin • Something that interfaces with mobile devices and WordPress PRACTICAL EXAMPLES
26. PLUGINS PRACTICAL EXAMPLES
27. A SMALL PLUGIN • Easier Excerpts • Dynamically changes the size of the excerpt field. • It responds to the amount of text. PLUGINS
28. A LARGER PLUGIN • Third-Party API • Read and Parse Data • Custom Post Types, Taxonomies, and Templates • Batch Processing PLUGINS
29. A LARGER PLUGIN, CONTINUED 1. An API Client 2. Reading Data 3. Batch Processing 4. Scheduling a Job 5. Notification System 6. Importing PLUGINS
30. AN IOS APPLICATION “An adventure with iOS, the REST API, and the WordPress application.”
31. A WORDPRESS WEB APPLICATION 1. Patients Mobile App 2. REST API 3. Physicians Web Application AN IOS APPLICATION
32. AN IOS APPLICATION • User Accounts • Authentication • Session Management • Data Serialization AN IOS APPLICATION
33. THE WORDPRESS REST API 1. Create the account 2. Allow the user to log in 3. Save Data 4. Retrieve Data 5. Notifications AN IOS APPLICATION
34. THE PHYSICIANS’ WEB APPLICATION 1. View Patient Information 2. Receive Notifications 3. Generate Reports AN IOS APPLICATION
35. IT’S HIGH-LEVEL “How WordPress can be used for web applications.”
36. BUILDING WEB APPLICATIONS WITH WORDPRESS • Web Development, An Abbreviated History • The Difference in Sites an Applications • Plugins, Small and Large • Web Applications IT’S HIGH-LEVEL
37. WAIT, IT’S STILL A CASE • Now that we’re on the same page... • It’s not a framework, it’s a foundation. • There are existing, powerful APIs. • Applying software development techniques within WordPress. • Why not look at WordPress? IT’S HIGH-LEVEL
38. THANK YOU! Tom McFarlin / https://tommcfarlin.com / @tommcfarlin / WordCamp Atlanta 2019 / #WCATL SOME IMAGES PROVIDED BY CREATIVE COMMONS VIA UNSPLASH.COM.