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OutWit.Common.Plugins.Abstractions 1.2.0

OutWit.Common.Plugins.Abstractions

Writing a plugin? Read first. It covers the full author workflow: csproj setup, nuspec packaging, build/*.targets for consumer-side file copy, per-plugin configuration, module folder conventions, and known gotchas. This README documents just the abstractions surface.

This package contains the minimal set of shared interfaces, base classes, and attributes required to build plugins compatible with the OutWit.Common.Plugins system. It is intentionally lightweight to ensure your plugins do not depend on the main loader logic.

Key Components

• IWitPlugin: The core interface that every plugin must implement. It defines the plugin lifecycle with methods for initialization, post-initialization, and unloading.
• WitPluginBase: An abstract base class that provides a default empty implementation of IWitPlugin for convenience. You can override only the methods you need.
• [WitPluginManifestAttribute]: A mandatory attribute for any plugin class. It defines essential metadata like the plugin's unique name, version, and load priority, making it discoverable by the plugin loader.
• [WitPluginDependencyAttribute]: An optional attribute that can be used multiple times to declare dependencies on other plugins. It allows the loader to validate that required plugins are present before loading.

Installation

Add the package to your plugin's class library project using NuGet.

dotnet add package OutWit.Common.Plugins.Abstractions

How to Create a Plugin

1. Create a new class library project.
2. Add a reference to OutWit.Common.Plugins.Abstractions.
3. Create a class that inherits from WitPluginBase (or directly implements IWitPlugin).
4. Add the [WitPluginManifestAttribute] to your class, specifying a unique name.
5. If needed, add [WitPluginDependencyAttribute] attributes to declare dependencies.
6. Implement the Initialize and OnInitialized methods to register services and execute logic.

Example

C#

using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;
using OutWit.Common.Plugins.Abstractions;
using OutWit.Common.Plugins.Abstractions.Attributes;
using OutWit.Common.Plugins.Abstractions.Interfaces;
using System;

[WitPluginManifest("MyFirstPlugin", Version = "1.0.0", Priority = 100)]
[WitPluginDependency("AnotherPlugin", MinimumVersion = "2.1.0")]
public class MyFirstPlugin : WitPluginBase
{
 // Use for registering services in DI.
 public override void Initialize(IServiceCollection services)
 {
 // Register services in the DI container
 services.AddSingleton<MyService>();
 }

 // Called after all plugins have been initialized.
 public override void OnInitialized(IServiceProvider serviceProvider)
 {
 // Logic that runs after all plugins are loaded
 var myService = serviceProvider.GetRequiredService<MyService>();
 myService.Run();
 }

 // Called just before the plugin is about to be unloaded.
 public override void OnUnloading()
 {
 // Perform cleanup here
 }
}

License

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0. See LICENSE.

Attribution (optional)

If you use OutWit.Common.Plugins.Abstractions in a product, a mention is appreciated (but not required), for example: "Powered by OutWit.Common.Plugins.Abstractions (https://ratner.io/)".

Trademark / Project name

"OutWit" and the OutWit logo are used to identify the official project by Dmitry Ratner.

You may:

• refer to the project name in a factual way (e.g., "built with OutWit.Common.Plugins.Abstractions");
• use the name to indicate compatibility (e.g., "OutWit.Common.Plugins.Abstractions-compatible").

You may not:

• use "OutWit.Common.Plugins.Abstractions" as the name of a fork or a derived product in a way that implies it is the official project;
• use the OutWit.Common.Plugins.Abstractions logo to promote forks or derived products without permission.