Beginning CakePHP: From Novice to Professional

CHAPTER 13Plugins

In some situations, developers may want to use a Cake application in several other applications. Sometimes another Cake application may be useful in your project but may be difficult to fit in because of its independent structure; controllers, models, and such may conflict with the current project's namespaces. Plugins are elements that function as mini-applications inside the main Cake application. They include their own models, views, and controllers, and they make it possible to reuse an entire application within other applications.

Cake comes with no built-in plugins. Thus, only third-party applications can be used inside an existing Cake application. Of course, you may build your own plugins to fit your needs, but be aware ...