Before we create our first plugin, let's talk about the different types of plugins that you can create for Joomla!. Plugin code is executed when certain events are triggered. You can skip the next couple of pages if you just want to get stuck in with the hands-on example and just go straight to the Where do I start? section, but you may want to refer back to this introduction later when you are creating your own plugins. The different types of plugins are explained as follows:
Authentication: When you log in to your website, an authentication plugin runs to check your credentials and decide if you should have access to the site. Authentication plugins are used when you want to use other login methods too, such as Facebook, Gmail, or LDAP. You can use more than one authentication plugin on the same site so that you can give your users a choice and not force them to have to remember another password by allowing them to reuse one of their existing accounts in another system. The...