Plugin: External Entries

The External Entries plugin lets you manage any MySQL database table from an EE template. The table can be within your ExpressionEngine MySQL database or any other MySQL database to which you have access.

You can update, insert into, select and delete from a table using weblog:entries-style parameters and variables.

It differs from the Query module in that update, insert and delete are allowed, the database affected can be any on the internet, and you don’t have to know SQL.

Call an EE template containing the plugin with the jQuery AJAX functions such as .load() and .live(), and you can have a single button on a template initiate a lot of database manipulations. Web site becomes web app!

There are built-in safeguards to help you avoid inadvertently destroying civilization: the debug mode defaults to on, and the limit parameter for the update and delete functions defaults to 1.

If you don’t need all the plugin’s power, its three functions are available individually as the following plugins: Update Entries, Insert Entries, Select Entries and Delete Entries.