Does WP identify plugin by plugin name or plugin_basename?

Question

I see from the activation link, wordpress is using the plugin's dir. Also, when many plugins use add_action to hook on activation, they use

add_action('activate_' . plugin_basename(), 'name_activation');

If the plugin dir is word/ , the plugin name is Press, then, this will be:

add_action('activate_word', 'press_activation'');

So, WP identify the plugin as "word" or "press" ? I know that by using 'activate_word', WP gets to know which file to activate. I also tested that the "Press" got activated and running. But, is there any potential trouble to consider?

Answer 1

Plugins are identified by the path to the file containing the plugin headers. For instance the debug bar plugin would be identified as: debug-bar/debug-bar.php

See activate_plugin

To add an action on activation you need to register the hook using register_activation_hook( $file, $function )

example: register_activation_hook( __FILE__, 'activation_function' );