Editing BZFS API 2.4 Upgrade

==Overview==
For version 2.4 the [[BZFS_API]] has undergone some restructuring. This document will go over the changes a plug-in developer must make in order to update to this new release.

==Compatibility==
In order to gain forward compatibility the API had to be changed in a way that broke backwards compatibility. This means that all plug-ins written for 2.0.x will not load in version 2.3.4 or later.

===API Version Numbers===
In the past the API version number represented the newest version of the API that the plug-in would run under. This caused plug-ins to have to be recompiled every time the API version changed.

In the new API the version number represents the minimum version required. This will ensure that plug-ins can be loaded in future versions. This also prevents plug-ins from running in versions older then they were written for. Due to the uni-directional nature of software upgrades this is a more useful feature.

==Spelling Changes==
Spelling errors and grammatical inconsistencies in the API have been fixed.

===BZ string and list classes===
The [[bzApiString]] and other associated ''basic'' types have been renamed to [[bz_ApiString]] to be more consistent with the rest of the API.

===Player Records===
The [[bz_PlayerRecord]] has been replaced with [[bz_BasePlayerRecord]] to allow for future derivation. Some of it's members have been changed, mostly notably the player position information is now part of the '''lastKnownState''' member of type [[bz_PlayerUpdateState]]. This structure contains much more information about the player state.

==Entry Points==
The main entry points for the API have changed. The following entry points are no longer used.

 BZF_PLUGIN_CALL int [[bz_Load]] ( const char* command );
 BZF_PLUGIN_CALL int [[bz_Unload]] ( void );
 BZF_PLUGIN_CALL int [[bz_GetVersion]] ( void );

The entry points are replaced with the following new items.

 BZF_PLUGIN_CALL [[bz_Plugin]]*[[bz_getPlugin]] ( void );
 BZF_PLUGIN_CALL void [[bz_freePlugin]] ( [[bz_Plugin]]*);
 BZF_PLUGIN_CALL int [[bz_GetMinVersion]] ( void );

[[bz_GetMinVersion]] is called first to get the minimum API version. If the current BZFS supports this verison then the plug-in will be loaded and [[bz_getPlugin]] will be called. This function returns the '''Plug-in Class''' that BZFS will use to interact with the plug-in. When a plug-in is unloaded the function [[bz_freePlugin]] will be called.

A set of macros are provided in the bzAPI.h Header to simplify the calls for a plug-in.

The plugin can simply call the '''BZ_PLUGIN(n)''' macro and provide a classname that is derived from [[bz_Plugin]]. This will create and free a plug-in class automatically and return the version of the API that the plug-in was compiled with.

===Plug-in Class===

The plug-in class is defined by the base class [[bz_Plugin]]. It contains 2 methods that each plug-in must implement in a derived class,

  virtual const char* Name () = 0;
  virtual void Init(const char* config) = 0;

'''Name''' returns the human readable name for the plug-in as a null terminated ASCII string.

'''Init''' is called by BZFS after the plug-in is loaded and serves the same function as the [[bz_Load]] entry point in previous versions.

The derived class may also optionally provide versions of these additional methods

 virtual void Cleanup() {Flush();}
 virtual void Event(bz_EventData* /*eventData*/) { return; }

'''Cleanup''' is called when a plug-in is unloaded and replaces the [bz_Unload]] function in previous versions. By default Cleanup will automatically remove any events that the plug-in has registered.

'''Event''' is called whenever BZFS executes an event that the plug-in has requested to be informed of. This function replaces the [[bz_EventHandler]] class in older versions.

==Events==
Every plug-in now has a single callback method for all events that it registers. The functions [[bz_registerEvent]] and [[bz_removeEvent]] have been removed from the API. In there place the [[bz_Plugin]] class now implements it's own '''Register''' and '''Remove''' methods. 

These methods only take an event type and do not need a separate handler class, they will always use the '''Event''' method of the calling class.

A new method, '''Flush''' is provided to remove all events that the plug-in has registered. This method is automatically called by the default '''Cleanup''' method.

===Event Data Classes===
In addtion to the new Event handler system, all the event data classes have been changed. Each event data class is now versioned with a number in the class name, such as [[bz_PlayerSpawnEventData_V1]]. These event classes will never change and new versions will be derived from them with a higher version number. This allows a plug-in to always get the data it knows about, even as the BZAPI is enhanced to include more data for each event.

The base class for the Event Data Classes has also changed. [[bz_EventData]] now includes a timestamp for when the event was triggered in the ''eventTime'' data member.

====Class Changes====
Many of the events that returned some player data now simply return a [[bz_BasePlayerRecord]]. This player record will be automaticly freed when the event finishes and the plug-in does not have to call[[ bz_freePlayerRecord]] on the pointer.

The events affected are
* [[bz_ePlayerJoinEvent]]
* [[bz_ePlayerPartEvent]]

==Callbacks==
In order to reduce the number of callback classes that had name conflicts, call callback classes that used the '''handle''' method have had there methods renamed to be descriptive of the callback type. This is in order to make the use of multiple inheritance for callbacks simpler.

==Idle Time==
The function [[bz_setMaxWaitTime]] has been removed from the API. [[bz_Plugin]] contains a MaxWaitTime data member that can be set by each plug-in individually. BZFS will use the smallest time required by any plug-in. Setting the value to a negative number will indicate that the plug-in has no specific idle time needs.

==Inter Plug-in Communication==
[[bz_pluginExists]] and [[bz_getPlugin]] are provided to allow plug-ins to transfer data between themselves. the [[bz_Plugin]] class contains the [[GeneralCallback]] that can be used to call functions from one plug-in to the other.

==Upgrade==
Developers should take the following general steps to upgrade a plug-in from 2.0.x to 2.3/2.4; Individual results may vary depending on how different the plug-in is from the sample template.

* Open the '''.def'' file for the plug-in and replace the exported functions with the following
 bz_GetPlugin
 bz_FreePlugin
 bz_GetMinVersion

* Open the main file for the plug-in and remove the call to '''BZ_GET_PLUGIN_VERSION'''
* Find the main event handler class and derive it from '''bz_Plugin''' instead of '''bz_EventHandler'''. If there is more then one event handler class, pick one to be the main class and delete the other classes.
* Change the '''process''' method in your event handler to '''Event''', the calling parameters are identical.
* Add the following methods to your plug-in class
  virtual const char* Name (){return "NAME";}
  virtual void Init ( const char* config);
* Replace the word '''NAME''' with the human readable name for your plug-in. This name will appear when a user types '''/listplugins''' while in the game.
* Remove any global instances of your Plug-in object and replace it with a call to the '''BZ_PLUGIN(n)''' macro. There is no need to instantiate the object, the macro will do it for you.
* Change the '''handle''' method in any bz_CustomSlashCommandHandler to '''SlashCommand'''
* Change the '''handle''' method in any bz_CustomMapObjectInfo to '''MapObject'''
* Find the bz_Load callback and replace it with the '''Init''' method from the plug-in class.
* Replace calls to '''bz_registerEventHandler''' with calls to '''Register''', and remove the second parameter.
* If the plug-in used custom slash commands or custom map objects that need to be cleaned up then implement the '''Cleanup''' method for the plug-in class and replace the bz_Unload Callback with it. Calls to '''bz_removeEventHandler''' can be removed, and the method Flush can be called once for all events. If the plug-in only registers events then the bz_Unload callback can be removed.
* Replace the following.
 # '''bzApiString''' with '''bz_ApiString'''
 # '''bzAPIIntList''' with '''bz_APIIntList''' 
 # '''bzAPIFloatList''' with '''bz_APIFloatList''' 
 # '''bzAPIStringList''' with '''bz_APIStringList''' 

* Add '''_V1''' to all event data classes, and adjust calls to members as needed, time to eventTime, etc...
* If you had multiple event handler classes, have your main plug-in's '''Event''' method check the event type and call the required code.
* Compile the plug-in and see what has been missed.

==Assistance==

If you require help with the upgrade please feel free to join the BZFlag developers on the development [[IRC]] channel. JeffM and Thumper will be more then willing to assist you in the upgrade.

==Samples==
All of the plug-ins in the source code distribution have been updated to the new format and can be used as examples.

[[Category:Development]]
[[Category:Plug-Ins]]