Provides plugin documentation for PoCo-IRC

        Updated _plugin_process so that it runs plugin method calls in an 'eval'. Rogue plugins shouldn't be
        able to crash the component now.

        If a plugin doesn't have a event handler method defined now, the component will try to call a 
        _default() handler instead.

        Realized that there would be collision between USER/SERVER methods, so made it distinct by using S_* and U_*
        Clarified the documentation to stress that 'irc_' is not required for event names
        Changed the description of the 2 new events to stress that they are sent *after* the action is done

        Changed _plugin_register/unregister to non-private methods

        As per perigrin's suggestion, added 2 new event types to monitor plugin add/del
        Updated the name from PoCo-IRC-Plugins to PoCo-IRC-Plugin
        Updated return value ( PCI_EAT_PLUGINS to PCI_EAT_PLUGIN )
        Updated plugin_del to also accept the plugin object instead of a name

        Modified plugin_del() so it returns the plugin object

        Initial release

Certain individuals in #PoE on MAGNet said we didn't need to bloat the PoCo-IRC code...

Me and BinGOs, the current maintainer of the module, have heartily agreed that this is a wise choice.

One example:

        Look at the magnificent new feature in 3.4 -> irc_whois replies! Yes, that is a feature I bet
        most of us have been coveting for a while, as it definitely makes our life easier. It was
        implemented in 30 minutes or so after a request, the maintainer said. I replied by saying that
        it's a wonderful idea, but what would happen if somebody else asked for a new feature? Maybe that
        feature is something we all would love to have, so should it be put in the core? Plugins allow the
        core to stay lean and mean, while delegating additional functionality to outside modules. BinGOs' work
        with making PoCo-IRC inheritable is wonderful, but what if there were 2 modules which have features
        that you would love to have in your bot? Inherit from both? Imagine the mess...

        Here comes plugins to the rescue :)

You could say Bot::Pluggable does the job, and so on, but if this feature were put into the core, it would allow PoCo-IRC to be extended beyond our wildest dreams, and allow the code to be shared amongst us all, giving us superior bug smashing abilities.

Yes, there are changes that most of us will moan when we go update our bots to use the new CW$irc object system, but what if we also used this opportunity to improve PoCo-IRC even more and give it a lifespan until Perl8 or whatever comes along? :)

This is the document coders/users should refer to when using/developing plugins for POE::Component::IRC.

The plugin system works by letting coders hook into the two aspects of PoCo-IRC:

        Data received from the server
        User commands about to be sent to the server

The goal of this system is to make PoCo-IRC so easy to extend, enabling it to Take Over The World! *Just Kidding*

The general architecture of using the plugins should be:

        # Import the stuff...
        use POE;
        use POE::Component::IRC;
        use POE::Component::IRC::Plugin::ExamplePlugin;

        # Create our session here
        POE::Session->create( ... );

        # Create the IRC session here
        my $irc = POE::Component::IRC->spawn() or die 'Nooo!';

        # Create the plugin
        # Of course it could be something like $plugin = MyPlugin->new();
        my $plugin = POE::Component::IRC::Plugin::ExamplePlugin->new( ... );

        # Hook it up!
        $irc->plugin_add( 'ExamplePlugin', $plugin );

        # OOPS, we lost the plugin object!
        my $pluginobj = $irc->plugin_get( 'ExamplePlugin' );

        # We want a list of plugins and objects
        my $hashref = $irc->plugin_list();

        # Oh! We want a list of plugin aliases.
        my @aliases = keys %{ $irc->plugin_list() };

        # Ah, we want to remove the plugin
        $plugin = $irc->plugin_del( 'ExamplePlugin' );

The plugins themselves will conform to the standard API described here. What they can do is limited only by imagination and the IRC RFC's ;)

        # Import the constants
        use POE::Component::Plugin qw( :ALL );

        # Our constructor
        sub new {
                ...
        }

        # Required entry point for PoCo-IRC
        sub PCI_register {
                my( $self, $irc ) = @_;

                # Register events we are interested in
                $irc->plugin_register( $self, 'SERVER', qw( 355 kick whatever) );

                # Return success
                return 1;
        }

        # Required exit point for PoCo-IRC
        sub PCI_unregister {
                my( $self, $irc ) = @_;

                # PCI will automatically unregister events for the plugin

                # Do some cleanup...

                # Return success
                return 1;
        }

        # Registered events will be sent to methods starting with IRC_
        # If the plugin registered for SERVER - irc_355
        sub S_355 {
                my( $self, $irc, $line ) = @_;

                # Remember, we receive pointers to scalars, so we can modify them
                $$line = 'frobnicate!';

                # Return an exit code
                return PCI_EAT_NONE;
        }

        # Default handler for events that do not have a corresponding plugin method defined.
        sub _default {
                my( $self, $irc, $event ) = splice @_, 0, 3;

                print "Default called for $event\n";

                # Return an exit code
                return PCI_EAT_NONE;
        }

        Accepts two arguments:
                The alias for the plugin
                The actual plugin object

        The alias is there for the user to refer to it, as it is possible to have multiple
        plugins of the same kind active in one PoCo-IRC object.

        This method will call $plugin->PCI_register( $irc )

        Returns 1 if plugin was initialized, undef if not.

        Accepts one argument:
                The alias for the plugin

        Returns the plugin object if it was found, undef if not.

        Accepts one argument:
                The alias for the plugin or the plugin object itself

        This method will call $plugin->PCI_unregister( $irc )

        Returns the plugin object if the plugin was removed, undef if not.

        Has no arguments.

        Returns a hashref of plugin objects, keyed on alias, or an empty list if there are no
        plugins loaded.

        Accepts the following arguments:
                The plugin object
                The type of the hook ( 'SERVER' or 'USER' )
                The event name(s) to watch

        The event names can be as many as possible, or an arrayref. They correspond
        to the irc_* events listed in PoCo-IRC, and naturally, arbitrary events too.

        You do not need to supply events with irc_ in front of them, just the names.

        It is possible to register for all events by specifying 'all' as an event.

        Returns 1 if everything checked out fine, undef if something's seriously wrong

        Accepts the following arguments:
                The plugin object
                The type of the hook ( 'SERVER' or 'USER' )
                The event name(s) to unwatch

        The event names can be as many as possible, or an arrayref. They correspond
        to the irc_* events listed in PoCo-IRC, and naturally, arbitrary events too.

        You do not need to supply events with irc_ in front of them, just the names.

        Returns 1 if all the event name(s) was unregistered, undef if some was not found

This event will be triggered after a plugin is added. It receives two arguments, the first being the plugin name, and the second being the plugin object.

This event will be triggered after a plugin is deleted. It receives two arguments, the first being the plugin name, and the second being the plugin object.

Hooks that are targeted toward data received from the server will get the exact same arguments as if it was a normal event, look at the PoCo-IRC docs for more information.

        NOTE: Server methods are identified in the plugin namespace by the subroutine prefix
        of S_*. I.e. an irc_kick event handler would be:

        sub S_kick {}

The only difference is instead of getting scalars, the hook will get a reference to the scalar, to allow it to mangle the data. This allows the plugin to modify data *before* they are sent out to registered sessions.

They are required to return one of the exit codes so PoCo-IRC will know what to do.

Names of potential hooks

        001
        socketerr
        connected
        plugin_del

Keep in mind that they are always lowercased, check out the POE::Component::IRC manpage and look at the Important Events section for the complete list of names.

These type of hooks have two different argument formats. They are split between data sent to the server, and data sent through DCC connections.

        NOTE: User methods are identified in the plugin namespace by the subroutine prefix
        of U_*. I.e. an irc_kick event handler would be:

        sub U_kick {}

Hooks that are targeted to user data have it a little harder. They will receive a reference to the raw line about to be sent out. That means they will have to parse it in order to extract data out of it.

The reasoning behind this is that it is not possible to insert hooks in every method in the CW$irc object, as it will become unwieldy and not allow inheritance to work.

The DCC hooks have it easier, as they do not interact with the server, and will receive references to the arguments specified in the PoCo-IRC pod regarding dcc commands.

Names of potential hooks

        kick
        dcc_chat
        ison
        privmsg

Keep in mind that they are always lowercased, and are extracted from the raw line about to be sent to the irc server. To be able to parse the raw line, some RFC reading is in order. These are the DCC events that are not given a raw line, they are:

        dcc             -       $nick, $type, $file, $blocksize
        dcc_accept      -       $cookie, $myfile
        dcc_resume      -       $cookie
        dcc_chat        -       $cookie, @lines
        dcc_close       -       $cookie

If a plugin doesn't have a specific hook method defined for an event, the component will attempt to call a plugin's _default() method. The first parameter after the plugin and irc objects will be the handler name.

        sub _default {
          my ($self,$irc,$event) = splice @_, 0, 3;

          # $event will be something like S_public or U_dcc, etc.
          return PCI_EAT_NONE;
        }

The _default() handler is expected to return one of the exit codes so PoCo-IRC will know what to do.

        This means the event will continue to be processed by remaining plugins and
        finally, sent to interested sessions that registered for it.

        This means the event will continue to be processed by remaining plugins but
        it will not be sent to any sessions that registered for it. This means nothing
        will be sent out on the wire if it was an USER event, beware!

        This means the event will not be processed by remaining plugins, it will go
        straight to interested sessions.

        This means the event will be completely discarded, no plugin or session will see it. This
        means nothing will be sent out on the wire if it was an USER event, beware!

The plugins are given priority on a first come, first serve basis. Therefore, plugins that were added before others have the first shot at processing events. Ideas are welcome on a clean system to allow users to re-order plugins.

        Exports the return constants for plugins to use in @EXPORT_OK
        Also, the ':ALL' tag can be used to get all of them

POE::Component::IRC

Apocalypse <apocal@cpan.org>

The idea is heavily borrowed from X-Chat, BIG thanks goes out to the genius that came up with the EAT_* system :)