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Plug-ins

Plug-ins for Digispot II system can be of two basic types — window and non-window ones. Window plug-ins operate as conventional Digispot II modules. Non-window plug-ins have no windows and simply exist in the system.
Both plug-in types interact with the application and, possibly, other plug-ins via Digispot Managed API.

Creation in VID file

Window Plug-ins

To create a window plug-in you need to insert the following line in the VID file:

CREATE_NET_WND_PLUGIN ID FILE TYPE

Where

  • ID - is object identifier in Digispot II system
  • FILE - is the path to the file in which the plug-in is realized. If the path is relative, it is read from the directory where the launchable application is stored
  • TYPE - is the type (class) of the newly created object. It must be a public type having public constructor with no parameters and derived from the following interfaces: IBasePlugin, IWindowPlugin. The type is specified completely, indicating namespaces .

For example:

CREATE_NET_WND_PLUGIN   PlanPlug   ManagedPlugins.dll   Digispot.ManagedPlugins.Plan.PlansEditor

Subsequently the newly created object must be placed on a certain area of graphic interface (view), similar to conventional modules — database, schedule editor, player, etc.

> Note. The specified ID is the identifier of the service module that creates the plug-in. If you need to refer to the plug-in directly when addressing events, you must add "-Plugin" to the identifier.
In the example shown above the plug-in address in the system of events is: !PlanPlug-Plugin.

Non-Window Plug-ins

A non-window plug-in does not have its own graphic interface. To create a non-window plug-in, you need to insert the following line in the VID file:

CREATE_NET_PLUGIN ID FILE TYPE

Where
ID - is object identifier in Digispot II system
FILE - is the path to the file in which the plug-in is realized. If the path is relative, it is read from the directory where the launchable application is stored
TYPE - is the type (class) of the newly created object. It must be a public type having public constructor with no parameters and derived from the following interfaces: IBasePlugin. The type is specified completely, indicating namespaces.

For example:

CREATE_NET_PLUGIN kra_disp managedplugins.dll Kra.Dispatcher

This line should be enough to create an object.

In contrast to the window object:

  • no extra lines are needed
  • specified ID is the direct identifier of plug-in.

Additional Parameters in VID File

Depending on the type of created object, it may need additional parameters specific for this type of plug-in to be specified to operate correctly. (For this, the plug-in must implement the IConfigMember interface).
To set additional parameters in the file you need to insert a line (lines) after the plug-in creation line that should look like this:

SET_OBJ_BASE ID param_1 param_2 param_3 ... param_i

where:

  • ID - is identifier, specified during creation of plug-in (no need to add -Plugin)
  • param_1 … param_i - are a set of parameter lines separated by spaces. The meaning and the number of parameters are defined by the plug-in and must be specified in its description. If you need to pass one line containing blank space as one parameter, the former must be enclosed in double quotes.

For example:

SET_OBJ_BASE kra_disp WholeScale 40 
SET_OBJ_BASE kra_disp Labels "12, 6, 3, 0, -3, -6, -12, -20"

Dynamic Compilation

Plug-ins can be created not only from finished .NET assemblies, but also from original texts of programs.
When doing this, the following conditions must be observed

  • the file of the original text of program must be in C# language (it must have the .cs extension) or VB.NET (the .vb extension)
  • the files are compiled with .NET 3.5 version
  • during compilation, the following is specified as references:
    • System.dll
    • System.Windows.Forms.dll
    • cmn[d].dll
    • the executed application
  • if you need to activate additional references you must insert a line with comment at the beginning of the program text (// for C# and ’ for VB) that looks like this //InlineReference:System.Core.dll

In this particular case the System.Core.dll additional library is being activated.

Debug Log

The following lines are inserted into debug log, to MAIN thread, when creating plug-ins:

  • After successful compilation (only for original texts):
@ MAIN @ Plugins @ D:\s\#CURRENT\EXE\SYSTEM\ind_test.cs successfully compiled. References:System.dll,System.Windows.Forms.dll,D:\s\#CURRENT\EXE\Cmnd.dll,D:\s\#CURRENT\EXE\Cmnd.dll @ Main
  • After succesful loading of an assembly:
@ MAIN @ Plugins @ Assembly successfully loaded:D:\s\#CURRENT\EXE\ManagedPlugins.dll @ Main
  • After succesful creation of plug-in:
@ MAIN @ Plugins @ Object created. File:D:\s\#CURRENT\EXE\SYSTEM\ind_test.cs, class:TractPlugin.Windowless @ Main

If errors occur during creation of a plug-in, these will be displayed in standard error window and additionally saved in debug log.

For example:

@ ERR_MSG @ ASSERT @ .\ManagedPlugin.cpp Line:791 ProcessConfig returned false:mirror LeftFlash LeftFlash2  @ Main

or

@ ERR_MSG @ ASSERT @ .\ManagedPlugin.cpp Line:797 Falied to call ProcessConfig.
Str:FallMult 0.25 
Exception:System.FormatException: Input string was not in a correct format.
   at System.Number.StringToNumber(String str, NumberStyles options, NumberBuffer& number, NumberFormatInfo info, Boolean parseDecimal)
   at System.Number.ParseSingle(String value, NumberStyles options, NumberFormatInfo numfmt)
   at System.Single.Parse(String s, NumberStyles style, NumberFormatInfo info)
   at System.Convert.ToSingle(String value)
   at Kra.Dispatcher.ProcessConfig(String[] strings) in D:\s\#CURRENT\COMPONENTS\ManagedPlugins\KRA\KraDispatcher.cs:line 323
   at NativeWindowlessPlugin.ProcessConfig(NativeWindowlessPlugin* , CStringT<char\,StrTraitMFC_DLL<char\,ATL::ChTraitsCRT<char> > >** str_arr, Int32 cnt) @ Main

Apart from these records, the plug-in can make its own records in debug log all by itself.

Example

An example can be found on this page.

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