Installed the VPN Search WordPress plugin (and widget) that I wrote for the VPN website. It searches the external VPN poetry database and displays the results within WordPress. The PHP code is fully documented.

These guides, from the WordPress site, are especially useful for writing a WP plugin:

• Writing a Plugin
• Plugin API
• Filter Reference
• Action Reference
• Widgets API

The readme.txt file that comes with the plugin:

=== VPN Search ===
Requires at least: 3.0
Tested up to: 3.1

Provides an interface to search the external Victorian Poetry Network database.

== Description ==

VPN Search provides an interface to search the external Victorian Poetry Network database, via a standalone search form and results page.

Usage once installed (see below) is simple. You can either use the widget that comes with the plugin to place the form in one of your widget-enabled areas (the recommended way), or place this code wherever you want the search form to appear (for example, in the sidebar): <?php echo getVpnSearchForm(); ?>

Use as you would a normal search engine. The search engine has support for boolean operators. See this Google page for more info: http://www.google.com/support/websearch/bin/answer.py?answer=136861

== Installation ==

1. Upload the vpn-search directory to your '/wp-content/plugins/' directory
2. Modify the database connection variables in the 'config.php' file in the vpn-search directory
3. Active the plugin through the 'Plugins' menu in WordPress
4. Copy vpn-search-results.php and vpn-single-record.php from the plugin directory to your theme's directory and modify to suit. These templates show search results and single records respectively
5. To options for using:
   A: wherever you want the search form to appear, place '<?php echo getVpnSearchForm(); ?>'
   B: use the widget to put the search form in one of your sidebars

You're done!

== Changelog ==

= 0.1 =
* Initial release