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165 lines
5.9 KiB
165 lines
5.9 KiB
================== |
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How to hack Mitter |
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================== |
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First of all, Mitter is a Python project and it tries to follow PEP8_ |
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as close as possible. Sometimes, we fail, but we try to adhere to it |
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as much as possible. The Google Guidelines_ for Python are a good |
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summary about it, although we don't follow all their recommendations: |
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- We use PyFlakes instead of Pychecker. PyFlakes seems to be better in |
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finding unused imports. As usual, some files don't adhere to it, |
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mostly helper tools (Sphinx and the helper PEP8 checker, for |
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example.) |
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- Exceptions do not start with an Error class. Each module should have |
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its own Exception, e.g. NetworkError and all other exceptions |
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should use that as base, e.g. :: |
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class UnreachableNetworkError(NetworkError): |
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- Function parameters do not need to follow the break lines pointed, |
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but must follow the 80 columns rule. |
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Also, other rules we follow: |
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- All string formating must have the variables in parenthesis. In this |
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case, this is wrong:: |
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text = '%d characters' % count |
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this is right:: |
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text = '%d characters % (count) |
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- Unless it's a work in progress, do not leave code commented (or, |
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worse yet, inside a ``if 0:`` block.) If it's a WIP, be sure to |
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comment what it is (e.g. "Working on issue #X" or "Trying to make |
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the field count properly".) |
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Documentation |
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============= |
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All documentation (including this file!) follows the Sphinx_ format |
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(ReSTructured_ format). This includes docstrings and external files. |
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Creating Interfaces |
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=================== |
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There is a couple of things you should take care when creating your |
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own interface. |
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Naming and Location |
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------------------- |
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Your file must have the prefix "ui\_". It must be installed in the |
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``mitterlib/ui`` directory. |
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class Interface |
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--------------- |
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Inside your module, there should be at least one class called |
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``Interface``. It may inherit any other class (or ``object`` in case |
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you don't need anything). |
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__init__(self, connection, options) |
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----------------------------------- |
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The initialization will receive two parameters: |
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- connection: the network connection. Your interface will request any |
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network data with that object. You can check the ``Networks`` object |
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in the ``mitterlib/network/__init__.py`` for methods there (or read |
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the Sphinx documentation generated about it.) |
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- options: It's a ConfigOpt_ object, with all your interface options. |
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Use it for EVERTYHING that you'd hardcode. |
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__call__(self) |
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-------------- |
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Once Mitter have everything set up, it will call your interface. |
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``__call__`` is to interfaces as ``run()`` is to threads. |
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options(self, options) |
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---------------------- |
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``options`` is a ``@classmethod`` called by Mitter on the setting up |
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phase to populate the interface options. To add an option, use the |
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``add_option``; if your interface don't have any options, simply |
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return. Again, refer to the ConfigOpt_ documentation on how to use it. |
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Creating Networks |
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================= |
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Naming and Location |
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------------------- |
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Network reside in the ``mitterlib/network`` directory. Contrary to |
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interfaces, it doesn't require any special prefixes. |
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Base Class |
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---------- |
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All networks must inherit from the :class:`NetworkBase` object, in |
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the module ``networkbase``. There is a couple of method you should |
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implement in case you want it to return any data. If the network |
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doesn't support some functionality (e.g. reposts), simply don't |
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declare the function. :class:`NetworkBase` offers good defaults to |
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all functions (basically, returning nothing.) |
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Base Return Object |
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------------------ |
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Most functions will return a :class:`NetworkData` object. It offers |
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an unified data format for every interface, so they don't need to |
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worry about each network data. It is wise to create your own |
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:class:`NetworkData`, inheriting from it, with its own ``__init__`` |
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and setting the properties. |
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Mixing It All |
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============= |
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Creating New Elements |
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--------------------- |
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In case you want to display/add a new element on your interface, you |
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need to add the element in :class:`NetworkData` with a default that |
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represents it better (for boolean values, set it to False; strings to |
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''; numbers to 0 or 0.0). Once your element is there, you can add it |
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in the networks (do not ignore other networks that may use that |
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information!) and then, finally, use it on your interface. |
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Creating New Request |
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-------------------- |
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If you want to add a new functionality in the interfaces, you need do |
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to a couple of steps: |
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- First of all, you need to add the method in the :class:`Networks`. |
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Remember that this is the class that the interfaces receive to do |
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all the other calls. If the function doesn't exist there, it won't |
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be call it at all. |
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- Once the function is available to be called, you need to make it |
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available to the networks. For this, add the function in |
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:class:`NetworkBase` module, so calling it on networks that don't |
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have that method defined yet will still work. In this point, it |
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should return some sort of empty value (empty list, None). |
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- Finally, add the function on your network. Follow the same name in |
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the :class:`NetworkBase` and you should be fine. |
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Developer Discussion |
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==================== |
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Mitter have an open developer discussion maillist. Join us on |
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Mitter-Dev_ if you have any suggestions/patches/questions. |
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(We had a massive problem with spammers in the recent days, so the |
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list is currently moderated. Your first message needs to be approved |
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and, after that, everything should be fine.) |
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Souce Code Repository |
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===================== |
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Mitter uses Git for SCM and Gitorious to host it. You can check the |
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Mitter_ project there, clone it and hack away! ;) |
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.. _PEP8: http://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0008/ |
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.. _Guidelines: http://google-styleguide.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/pyguide.html |
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.. _Sphinx: http://sphinx.pocoo.org/ |
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.. _ReSTRuctured: http://docutils.sourceforge.net/docs/user/rst/quickref.html |
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.. _ConfigOpt: http://deadbraincells.org/configopt/docs/configopt.html |
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.. _Mitter-Dev: http://groups.google.com/group/mitter-dev/ |
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.. _Mitter: http://gitorious.org/projects/mitter
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