Filtering content in a single plugin or many?

Question

Due to some requests by a cliente, I had to filter certain "tags" (between curly brackets, like {invisible}content{/invisible}) via a content plugin.

In the last months, the list of tags has grown, and I have decided to filter them in the same plugin, but it is not very practical since it is tough to maintain and each time I update it with a new tag I could break it.

That's my main question, is it best to have it as a single plugin or make a plugin for each instance of the new tag requested?

Will many plugins slow down my site?

If it is best to do it in the same plugin, does anyone know of a good way to do it in the same plugin?

Answer 1

As with all performance issues the best way to check is to test.

Unfortunately, the native Joomla debugger doesn't profile plugins. That said, if the plugins are all similar bar the tags being used..

1. Code the plugins
2. Add time logging statements to the plugin code for each using the JLog class.

These messages can be written to file, or viewed when the Global Configuration > System option 'Debug System' option is enabled. Furthermore you can wrap this code as per this debug guide:

if(JDEBUG){
    //whatever debugging code you want to run
}

Answer 2

It is up to you, but a single plugin will be the best option. You can save 'tags' in the plugin's parameters, for example in the text field and comma separated. Then you can get them in the plugin using $this->params:

$tags = explode(',', $this->params->get('tags'));

You will get an array with tags.