Since its origin in the year 2003,
WordPress has come a long way. In the beginning only normal blogs were created
by WordPress. At present WordPress is used not in a limited manner. Big &
reputed companies’ websites are now based on WordPress. Many Ecommerce sites
are created on WordPress. Next generation web apps’ platforms are now based on
WordPress.
Many web developers are now building
complex websites & web apps based on WordPress. Growing size of projects
are posing problems in respect of dependencies. To synchronise different
dependencies of a given project become a difficulty. Plugin versions came out
of synchronisation as a project is handled by different developers & they
use different versions of WordPress over a period of time. This soon led an out
of control situation as various bases of codes were used & probability of
errors also increased.
To maintain uniformity across dependencies apt
developers efficiently use composer of dependency-management tool to streamline
the processes of development & to hold on the synchronisation of
dependencies across various teams of development reliably & consistently.
This article will follow a planned way
which is as follows:
We
shall give a brief introduction of dependency management; depict its importance
& advantages of the process.
Then we shall give a definition of Composer
& how it is helpful in managing the dependencies.
Dependency-what
is it?
In simplest form we can define it as a
library or a framework. Dependency is normally delivered by a third party.
Functionalities of your websites depend on them. For example an entire
framework can be a dependency or it can also include a simple library of
date-conversion.
Several libraries are worked upon for a
single website. Each of these libraries delivers its unique in-built
functionalities. You create your codes based on them. These libraries are
integral parts of the base of codes of a website. For successful delivery of a
website it is crucial that all developers work with sets of dependencies that
are identical & that too every time.
To simplify it we must define a formal
process to manage these libraries or frameworks. Often a central tool is used
to control this process of managing various dependencies. This tool tracks
different versions of packages implemented in a particular project.
In
respect of WordPress where does dependency stand?
Several dependencies comprise a WordPress
project. These are included by the following components:
Plugins:
We all know
that plugins increase functionalities of a WordPress project.
Themes:
Parent themes could be implemented through
dependencies.
Core
of WordPress: Websites could not function without
this core framework.
Most often little attentions are paid to
manage these crucial dependencies reliably & consistently. A large team of
developers can generate a situation where different members would use different
dependencies installed.
Take a simple example: a project is using
ACF or Advanced Custom Fields plugin. Developer A & B are working on it. The
website’s functionality depends upon versions of this plugin. Suppose developer
A needs to add new features which are unfortunately absent in the version of
the plugin used by the developer. So he downloads the newest version (if
available) & installs it. This solves his problems in quicker time. Sadly
developer B is unaware of this development & continues to work with the
earlier version. This will generate a complex problem as dependencies of the
same project changed with the change in the code base.
In contrast smaller teams with a good
inter-communication system are apt to solve such problems more easily. In
distributed & large teams such problems can easily get out of hand &
may also increase the probability of errors added into the code base of the
project. Such errors may cause major headaches in particular on the day of
website launch.
Advantages
of a tool for dependency-management
Your life can be made a lot easier by
implementing processes & tools to manage the dependencies in particular if
you are in a big team based project development.
The benefits are as follows:
Consistency:
Specific versions have specific
dependencies that ensure everyone is developing from similar platforms.
Visibility:
In a single place all dependencies are
defined thus making it visible at a single place by all developers &
designers.
Ease
of utility:
A single tool is used to handle dependency
management. This will streamline & simplify the processes of installation
& update.
Composers allow us to establish dependent
libraries for our projects. Those dependent libraries’ installations are
automated by Composers.
Composer
being used to manage dependencies
We can use Composer for PHP tool to use
benefits of actual dependency management. Most of the coding languages have
their own dependency management systems for example Ruby’s Bundler. PHP’s offer
is Composer. Recently it has established itself as the tool for dependency
management.
Adoption of the concept of “packages” or
distinct groups of codes can be described through the manifestation of files
that include meta-data about every package (in addition of its own
dependencies).
Conclusion
WordPress development services
are using Composers to better manage large scale projects. Many possibilities
associated with them are needed to be explored further. Go ahead & using
Composers manage your WordPress dependencies quickly & efficiently.
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