Engine plugins as module?

[plata]

Currently, the engine plugins extend the engine object module. As a result, they are e.g. included a bit differently compared to everything else. We could implement the plugins as normal modules and pass the engine as parameter.

[madoar]

Can you give an example how this would change the include syntax?

[plata]

now:

include("engines.wine.plugins.regedit");

then:

const Regedit = include("engines.wine.plugins.regedit");

[madoar]

And how do we use this plugin then? As far as I understand it, it would be moved to a new class and therefore not be part of the Wine class anymore right?

[plata]

Yes. So instead of

wine.regedit();

you would write

const regedit = new Regedit(wine);
regedit.run();

[madoar]

Alternatively we could also support a static method with the following syntax:

Regedit.run(wine);

The problem with a static method is that we can't declare it in an interface.

How would you change the Verb and Plugin interfaces?

[plata]

Do we have to change the interfaces?

[madoar]

We do not have to but it gives a certain safety to script developers because every verb can be handled the same way. In addition we are then able to access the verbs from Java in a more elegant way.

[plata]

I cannot follow you right now.

[madoar]

If we define that every verb needs to provide a method with the following signature:

/**
 * Installs the verb using the given engine
 */
void run(Engine engine);

This gives the script developers that use the verbs the safety that every verb can be called the same way, i.e. by calling verb.run(wine). This is not the case if we don't add the method to the interface. In this case verb A could be called with A.install(wine), while verb B could be called with B.run(wine) etc.

About the second point:
Currently we install the verbs by an additional class that only functions as a connection layer between JS and Java (Phoenicis). I think we may be able to remove this additional class and replace it by a generic one, that can be used from both inside the scripts and from inside Phoenicis.

[plata]

Now I understand. Yes, that would be nice.

[madoar]

Alternatively we could also think about supporting the following syntax:

const Regedit = include("engines.wine.plugins.regedit");
...
wine.install(Regedit);

[plata]

Looks strange to me. You do not install regedit but you use it do edit the registry.

[madoar]

We don't need to call the method install, how about one of the following:

wine.run(Regedit);
wine.execute(Regedit);
wine.process(Regedit);
wine.activate(Regedit);

The benefit of this approach is that we would still call a method of the Wine object and not one of the verb/plugin/setting object.

[plata]

The benefit of this approach is that we would still call a method of the Wine object and not one of the verb/plugin/setting object.

For me, this is not a benefit. I would rather say the exact opposite: If plugins behave exactly like any other module, it is much easier to understand how they work.