<li><a href="#Preinstalled Plugins"> Preinstalled Plugins</a></li>
<li><a href="#Installing Plugins"> Installing Plugins</a><ul>
<li><a href="#On-Site Pretesting"> On-Site Pretesting</a></li>
- <li><a href="#A Note on Performance"> A Note on Performance</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#Checking that Plugins are Workin"> Checking that Plugins are Working on a Live Server</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#A Note on Plugin Performance"> A Note on Plugin Performance</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="#Managing Plugins"> Managing Plugins</a><ul>
<li><a href="#The TWiki Plugin API"> The TWiki Plugin API</a><ul>
<li><a href="#Available Core Functions"> Available Core Functions</a></li>
<li><a href="#Predefined Hooks"> Predefined Hooks</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#Hints on Writing Fast Plugins"> Hints on Writing Fast Plugins</a></li>
<li><a href="#Plugin Version Detection"> Plugin Version Detection</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="#Publishing for Public Use"> Publishing for Public Use</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
+ <li><a href="#Recommended Storage of Plugin Da"> Recommended Storage of Plugin Data</a><ul>
+ <li><a href="#Where to store Plugin Internal D"> Where to store Plugin Internal Data</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#Where to Store Data for Topics u"> Where to Store Data for Topics using the Plugin</a></li>
+ </ul>
+ </li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
## <a name="Preinstalled Plugins"></a> Preinstalled Plugins
-TWiki comes with three Plugins as part of the standard installation.
-
-- **[[DefaultPlugin]]** optionally handles some legacy variables from older versions of TWiki. You can control this option from [[TWikiPreferences]]. (Perl programmers can also [[add rules|Main/WebHome#DefaultPluginAlt]] for simple custom processing.)
+TWiki comes with a set of Plugins as part of the standard installation.
-- **[[EmptyPlugin]]** is a fully functional module, minus active code; it does nothing and serves as a template for new Plugin development.
-
-- **[[InterwikiPlugin]]** is preinstalled but can be disabled or removed. Use it for shorthand linking to remote sites, ex: `TWiki:Plugins` expands to TWiki:Plugins on TWiki.org. You can edit the predefined set of of Wiki-related sites, and add your own.
+- [[DefaultPlugin]]: Optionally handles some legacy variables from older versions of TWiki. You can control this option from [[TWikiPreferences]]. (Perl programmers can also [[add rules|Main/WebHome#DefaultPluginAlt]] for simple custom processing.)
+- [[EmptyPlugin]]: Is a fully functional module, minus active code; it does nothing and serves as a template for new Plugin development.
+- [[InterwikiPlugin]]: Use it for shorthand linking to remote sites, ex: `TWiki:Plugins` expands to TWiki:Plugins on TWiki.org. You can edit the predefined set of of Wiki-related sites, and add your own.
+- [[EditTablePlugin]]: %EDITTABLEPLUGIN\_SHORTDESCRIPTION%
+- [[RenderListPlugin]]: %RENDERLISTPLUGIN\_SHORTDESCRIPTION%
+- [[SlideShowPlugin]]: %SLIDESHOWPLUGIN\_SHORTDESCRIPTION%
+- [[SmiliesPlugin]]: %SMILIESPLUGIN\_SHORTDESCRIPTION%
+- [[SpreadSheetPlugin]]: %SPREADSHEETPLUGIN\_SHORTDESCRIPTION%
+- [[TablePlugin]]: %TABLEPLUGIN\_SHORTDESCRIPTION%
<a name="InstallPlugin"></a>
- **Method 2:** List the Plugin being tested in the `DISABLEDPLUGINS` variable in [[TWikiPreferences]]. Redefine the `DISABLEDPLUGINS` variable in the `Sandbox` web and do the testing there.
-### <a name="A Note on Performance"></a> A Note on Performance
+### <a name="Checking that Plugins are Workin"></a> Checking that Plugins are Working on a Live Server
+
+[[InstalledPlugins]] shows which Plugins are: 1) installed, 2) loading properly and 3) what TWiki:Codev.PluginHandlers they invoke. Any failures are shown in the Errors section.
+
+### <a name="A Note on Plugin Performance"></a> A Note on Plugin Performance
-The performance of the system depends on the number of Plugins installed and on the Plugin implementation. Some Plugins impose no measurable performance decrease, some do. For example, `outsidePREHandler` is an expensive callback function, or a Plugin might use many Perl libraries that needs to be initialized with each page view (unless you run mod\_perl). It is recommended to measure the performance with and without a new Plugin. Example for Unix:%BR% `time wget -qO /dev/null http://www.dementia.org/twiki//view/TWiki/AbcPlugin`
+The performance of the system depends on the number of Plugins installed and on the Plugin implementation. Some Plugins impose no measurable performance decrease, some do. For example, `outsidePREHandler` is an expensive callback function, or a Plugin might use many Perl libraries that need to be initialized with each page view (unless you run mod\_perl). It is recommended to measure the performance with and without a new Plugin. Example for Unix:%BR% `time wget -qO /dev/null http://www.dementia.org/twiki//view/TWiki/AbcPlugin`
In case you need to install an "expensive" Plugin and you need its functionality only in one web you can place the Plugin topic into that web. TWiki will initialize the Plugin only if the Plugin topic is found (which won't be the case for other webs.)
- All but the initPlugin are disabled. To enable a call back, remove `DISABLE_` from the function name.
- For best performance, enable only the functions you really need. NOTE: `outsidePREHandler` and `insidePREHandler` are particularly expensive.
+Most Plugins use either the `commonTagsHandler` or `startRenderingHandler` for rendering tasks:
+
+- `commonTagsHandler:` Use it to expand `%XYZPLUGIN%` and `%XYZPLUGIN{...}%` variables
+- `startRenderingHandler:` Use it for your own rendering rules or to overload TWiki's internal rendering like `[[links]]`
+
+TWiki:Codev/StepByStepRenderingOrder helps you decide which rendering handler to use.
+
+### <a name="Hints on Writing Fast Plugins"></a> Hints on Writing Fast Plugins
+
+- Delay the Plugin initialization to the actual function which is handling the tag. This way all the expensive initialization is done only when needed.
+- For example, use an `eval` block like:%BR% `eval { require IPC::Run }` %BR% `return "<font color=\"red\">SamplePlugin: Can't load required modules ($@)</font>" if $@;`
+- You could return errors as strings to show what happened
+- You can use a flag to avoid running the initialization twice
+
### <a name="Plugin Version Detection"></a> Plugin Version Detection
To eliminate the incompatibility problems bound to arise from active open Plugin development, a Plugin versioning system and an API `GetVersion` detection routine are provided for automatic compatibility checking.
>
> **Example:** <_Include an example of the Plugin in action. Possibly include a static HTML version of the example to compare if the installation was a success!_>"
>
-> **Plugin Global Settings:** <_Description and settings for custom Plugin %VARIABLES%, and those required by TWiki._>"
+> **Plugin Settings:** <_Description and settings for custom Plugin %VARIABLES%, and those required by TWiki._>"
>
> - **Plugins Preferences** <_If user settings are needed, explain... Entering values works exactly like [[TWikiPreferences]] and [[WebPreferences]]: six (6) spaces and then:_>"
> - **Set <_EXAMPLE = value added_>**
### <a name="Publishing for Public Use"></a> Publishing for Public Use
-You can release your tested, packaged Plugin to the TWiki community through the TWiki:Plugins web. All Plugins submitted to TWiki.org are available for download and further development in TWiki:Plugins. Publish your Plugin in three steps:
+You can release your tested, packaged Plugin to the TWiki community through the TWiki:Plugins web. All Plugins submitted to TWiki.org are available for download and further development in TWiki:Plugins/PluginPackage. Publish your Plugin in these steps:
-1. **Post** the Plugin documentation topic in the TWiki:Plugins web:
- - create a new topic using the Plugin name, ex: `MyFirstPlugin.txt`
+1. **Post** the Plugin documentation topic in the TWiki:Plugins/PluginPackage:
+ - enter the Plugin name in the "How to Create a Plugin" section, for example `MyFirstPlugin`
- paste in the topic text from [[Creating Plugin Documentation|Main/WebHome#CreatePluginTopic]] and save
2. **Attach** the distribution zip file to the topic, ex: `MyFirstPlugin.zip`
3. **Link** from the doc page to a new, blank page named after the Plugin, and ending in `Dev`, ex: `MyFirstPluginDev`. This is the discussion page for future development. (User support for Plugins is handled in TWiki:Support.)
-
--- [[AndreaSterbini]] - 29 May 2001 <br /> -- [[PeterThoeny]] - 29 Jan 2003 <br /> -- [[MikeMannix]] - 03 Dec 2001
+4. **Put** the Plugin into the CVS repository, see TWiki:Plugins/ReadmeFirst (optional)
+
+Thank you very much for sharing your Plugin with the TWiki community :-)
+
+<a name="RecommendedStorageOfPluginData"></a>
+
+## <a name="Recommended Storage of Plugin Da"></a> Recommended Storage of Plugin Data
+
+Plugins sometimes need to store data. This can be Plugin internal data like cache data, or generated data for the browser like images. The following is a recommendation where to store the data.
+
+### <a name="Where to store Plugin Internal D"></a> Where to store Plugin Internal Data
+
+In case the Plugin generates data just for internal use, or data which is not specific to a topic, store it in the Plugin's attachment directory.
+
+- The Plugin's attachment directory is `pubdir/Installweb/FooBarPlugin`
+ - `Installweb` refers to the name of the web where the Plugin is installed
+- The Plugin's attachment URL is `%PUBURL%/Installweb/FooBarPlugin`
+- The filename should start with an underscore, followed by an identifier, e.g. `_any_name.ext`
+ - The leading underscore avoids a nameclash with files attached to the Plugin topic
+ - Use only alphanumeric characters, underscores and periods to avoid platform dependency issues and URL issues
+ - Do not use subdirectories (rename and delete would fail)
+- Use Plugin API functions documented in [[TWikiFuncModule]] to ensure portability:
+ - Use `getPubDir()` to get the attachment root directory
+ - Use `getUrlHost()` and `getPubUrlPath()` to build the URL in case you create content for the browser
+ - Use `$installWeb` to get the name of the web where the Plugin is installed
+ - Create the web directory and topic attachment directory if needed
+- Hint: Package the Plugin at least with one file attachment. This ensures that the attachment directory already exists
+
+### <a name="Where to Store Data for Topics u"></a> Where to Store Data for Topics using the Plugin
+
+In case the Plugin generates data which is specific to a topic, store it in the topic's attachment directory.
+
+- The topic's attachment directory is `pubdir/Webname/TopicName`
+- The topic's attachment URL is `%PUBURL%/Webname/TopicName`
+- The filename should start with an underscore, followed by the Plugin name, an underscore and an identifier, e.g. `_FooBarPlugin_any_name.ext`
+ - The leading underscore avoids a nameclash with files attached to the same topic
+ - Use only alphanumeric characters, underscores and periods to avoid platform dependency issues and URL issues
+ - Do not use subdirectories (rename and delete would fail)
+- Use Plugin API functions documented in [[TWikiFuncModule]] to ensure portability:
+ - Use `getPubDir()` to get the attachment root directory
+ - Use `getUrlHost()` and `getPubUrlPath()` to build the URL in case you create content for the browser
+
+Example code to build the file name:
+
+ sub _make_filename
+ {
+ my ( $web, $topic, $name ) = @_;
+
+ # Create web directory "pub/$web" if needed
+ my $dir = TWiki::Func::getPubDir() . "/$web";
+ unless( -e "$dir" ) {
+ umask( 002 );
+ mkdir( $dir, 0775 );
+ }
+ # Create topic directory "pub/$web/$topic" if needed
+ $dir .= "/$topic";
+ unless( -e "$dir" ) {
+ umask( 002 );
+ mkdir( $dir, 0775 );
+ }
+ return "$dir/_FooBarPlugin_$name";
+ }
+
+-- TWiki:Main/PeterThoeny - 18 May 2004 %BR% -- TWiki:Main/AndreaSterbini - 29 May 2001 %BR% -- TWiki:Main/MikeMannix - 03 Dec 2001
git://git.openafs.org / openafs-wiki.git / blobdiff