How to send form data from WordPress (Meta Box) to an OData service?

So basically what you’re asking is how to create a php-based installer for the OData SDK, right? Or how to somehow package it with your plugin?

First I thought you could just include the whole framework in your plugin folder, and include it directly from there. But it turns out (from reading the install docs) that installation of the SDK requires some actual changes to the php ini outside of just adding the include path, and the SDK itself has several dependencies (php-xml, php-xsml, curl modules).

In short, I don’t think you can do this effectively with a php-based installer. And I don’t know of any WordPress-specific bundling techniques that help.

My best advice is: find another way to do the remote logging that doesn’t rely on OData. For example, build a simple REST service on your centralized server that can be hit using wp_http.

If you NEED to use OData for some reason, simply make it a prerequisite for your plugin. Find a way to test for its existence, and spit out a warning that says “you need the OData SDK” if it isn’t installed.

If none of that helps, try contacting folks who work on the OData SDK (http://odataphp.codeplex.com/team/view). Distributing this software isn’t really an issue that’s specific to WordPress… they may have better general advice for making a portable php-based installer.