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diff --git a/doc/tdevelop/plugin-tools.docbook b/doc/tdevelop/plugin-tools.docbook new file mode 100644 index 00000000..35e2c206 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/tdevelop/plugin-tools.docbook @@ -0,0 +1,433 @@ +<appendix id="plugin-tools"> +<title>Plugin Tools</title> + +<indexterm zone="plugin-tools"> + <primary>plugins</primary></indexterm> + +<para> +&tdevelop; contains a large number of little tools that help you to perform +certain task. Most of them are realized as plugins. That means, if you do not +need a plugin, you can disable it.</para> +<para>That also means, if you are looking for a functionality that should be there +and isn't, then maybe it's implemented in a plugin and that plugin is disabled. +For example, in the file menu there is a Quick Open feature, but only if +it's enabled in the Project - Project Options dialog. +</para> + +<para>Technically, plugins are based on the KDevPlugin class defined in +lib/interfaces/kdevplugin.h. The following is taken from a comment from there.</para> + +<para> +KDevPlugin is the base class for all KDevelop plugins. +A plugin is a component which is loaded into KDevelop shell at startup or by request. +A plugin has a scope that can be either: +<itemizedlist> +<listitem><simpara>Core</simpara></listitem> +<listitem><simpara>Global</simpara></listitem> +<listitem><simpara>Project</simpara></listitem> +</itemizedlist> +</para> + +<para>Core plugins are global plugins which offer some important "core" functionality and thus +are not selectable by user in plugin configuration pages.</para> + +<para>Global plugins are plugins which require only shell to be loaded and do not operate on +KDevProject interface and/or do not use project wide information. +For example, the uimode plugin allows a developer to select which user interface they wish to use. +</para> + +<para>Project plugins require a project to be loaded and are usually loaded/unloaded along with the project. +If a plugin operates on project-related information then it is a project plugin. +The Automake Manager, for example, only needs to be active when an Automake based project is currently loaded. +</para> + +<para>As stated above, core plugins cannot be disabled. Global plugins can be +enabled/disabled in <menuchoice><guimenu>Settings</guimenu> +<guimenuitem>Configure KDevelop...</guimenuitem></menuchoice> +under <guibutton>Plugins</guibutton>. +Project plugins can be +enabled/disabled in <menuchoice><guimenu>Project</guimenu> +<guimenuitem>Project Options...</guimenuitem></menuchoice> +under <guibutton>Plugins</guibutton>. +Active plugins can have many effects on KDevelop. +Depending on their function, they may add extra menus, extra menu items, extra tool buttons, etc. +</para> + +<para>Plugins which are disabled do not clutter your menus and are not loaded +into memory. +</para> + + +<para>The following plugin list is generated by a small script +(listplugins.sh) written by Volker Paul. All plugins have a .desktop file +where information such as name and comments are written. +If in the following these comments are not very useful, +it is because the plugin authors made them this way.</para> +<para>The plugins are grouped by scope (Core, Global, Project).</para> + +<para>Scope: Core</para> +<itemizedlist> +<listitem><formalpara id="KDevAppWizard"> +<title>Application Wizard</title> +<para>Application Wizard</para></formalpara></listitem> +<listitem><formalpara id="KDevDiff"> +<title>Difference Viewer</title> +<para>Difference Viewer</para></formalpara></listitem> +<listitem><formalpara id="KDevFileCreate"> +<title>FileCreate</title> +<para>FileCreate</para></formalpara></listitem> +<listitem><formalpara id="KDevFullScreen"> +<title>FullScreen</title> +<para>FullScreen</para></formalpara></listitem> +<listitem><formalpara id="KDevTipOfDay"> +<title>Tip of the Day</title> +<para>Tip of the Day</para></formalpara></listitem> +<listitem><formalpara id="KDevUIChooser"> +<title>User-Interface Selection</title> +<para>Provides a dialog for UI-mode selection.</para></formalpara></listitem> +<listitem><formalpara id="KDevVCSManager"> +<title>VCSManager</title> +<para>Version Control System Manager </para></formalpara></listitem> +</itemizedlist> + +<para>Scope: Global</para> +<itemizedlist> +<listitem><formalpara id="KDevAbbrev"> +<title>Abbreviation Expansion</title> +<para>Provides support for customizable abbreviations - short words which expand into commonly needed code structures.</para></formalpara></listitem> +<listitem><formalpara id="KDevDocumentation"> +<title>Documentation</title> +<para>The Documentation plugin offers browsing and searching in local and online documentation with support for multiple documentation systems.</para></formalpara></listitem> +<listitem><formalpara id="KDevfilelist"> +<title>FileList</title> +<para>Provides a list of all currently open files. (Handy when the tab bar is not quite wide enough.)</para></formalpara></listitem> +<listitem><formalpara id="KDevFileSelector"> +<title>File Selector</title> +<para>Powerful network transparent file browser utility.</para></formalpara></listitem> +<listitem><formalpara> +<title>Shell Filtering and Insertion</title> +<para>Provides a way of manipulating editor text using commandline tools. Appears in the Tools menu.</para></formalpara></listitem> +<listitem><formalpara id="KDevGrepView"> +<title>Grep Frontend</title> +<para>Integrates "find|grep" in KDevelop - allows fast searching of multiple files using patterns or regular expressions.</para></formalpara></listitem> +<listitem><formalpara id="KDevKonsoleView"> +<title>Embedded Konsole</title> +<para>This plugin gives KDevelop an embedded konsole for quick and easy command line access.</para></formalpara></listitem> +<listitem><formalpara id="KDevOpenWith"> +<title>"Open with" Menu Addon</title> +<para>This plugin provides additional "open" alternatives for various context menus in KDevelop.</para></formalpara></listitem> +<listitem><formalpara id="KDevPartExplorer"> +<title>Part Explorer Tool</title> +<para>A Graphical tool for performing KTrader-like queries about registered services</para></formalpara></listitem> +<listitem><formalpara id="KDevRegexpTest"> +<title>Regular Expression Tester</title> +<para>Tool to design and test regular expressions against common regexp syntaxes.</para></formalpara></listitem> +<listitem><formalpara id="KDevReplace"> +<title>Replace Part</title> +<para>This plugin is an interactive projectwide "Search and Replace" tool. Search using string or regexp matching, and select the replacements to be made from a preview before the action is finalized. When loaded it appears in the Edit menu.</para></formalpara></listitem> +<listitem><formalpara id="KDevscripting"> +<title>Scripting</title> +<para>The Scripting plugin offers KScript based scripting of the KDevelop application</para></formalpara></listitem> +<listitem><formalpara id="Code_Snippets"> +<title>Code Snippets</title> +<para>This plugin allows you to store code snippets and add them to your code</para></formalpara></listitem> +<listitem><formalpara id="KDevTextTools"> +<title>Text Structure</title> +<para>Provides a structure overview and navigation for HTML and TEX files</para></formalpara></listitem> +<listitem><formalpara id="KDevTools"> +<title>Tools Menu Addition</title> +<para>This plugin provides an easy way to add external applications to the Tools menu and toolbar.</para></formalpara></listitem> +<listitem><formalpara id="KDevvalgrind"> +<title>Valgrind Frontend</title> +<para>Valgrind is a tool that helps you find memory management problems in programs. http://developer.kde.org/~sewardj/</para></formalpara></listitem> +</itemizedlist> + +<para>Scope: Project</para> +<itemizedlist> +<listitem><formalpara id="KDevannotation"> +<title>annotation Plugin</title> +<para>annotation Description</para></formalpara></listitem> +<listitem><formalpara id="KDevAStyle"> +<title>Source Code Formatter</title> +<para>A plugin for formatting of sourcecode according to a specified set of rules. When loaded it is found in the Tools menu.</para></formalpara></listitem> +<listitem><formalpara id="KDevBookmarks"> +<title>Bookmarks</title> +<para>Plugin that provides navigation and overview of active source bookmarks and persists them between sessions.</para></formalpara></listitem> +<listitem><formalpara id="KDevClassView"> +<title>Class View</title> +<para>This plugin displays a graphical view of all the classes in the project, complete with methods and attributes, and provides a way of direct source navigation.</para></formalpara></listitem> +<listitem><formalpara id="KDevcopyto"> +<title>CopyTo</title> +<para>Simple file uploader plugin. It does a file copy over any KIO supported protocol.</para></formalpara></listitem> +<listitem><formalpara id="KDevCTags2"> +<title>CTags Frontend</title> +<para>CTags is a source navigation tool with support for many languages. When loaded it provides a context menu for finding type declarations/definitions and also a query dialog. http://ctags.sourceforge.net/</para></formalpara></listitem> +<listitem><formalpara id="KDevdistpart"> +<title>Final Packaging Support</title> +<para>Aids in building and publishing the final project. Only RPM package format is supported for now.</para></formalpara></listitem> +<listitem><formalpara id="KDevDoxygen"> +<title>Doxygen Support</title> +<para>The doxygen plugin provides a way to specify and control generation of documentation for a project, based on source code content. You need to have doxygen installed to be able to use this. For more info goto http://www.doxygen.org</para></formalpara></listitem> +<listitem><formalpara id="KDevQuickOpen"> +<title>QuickOpen</title> +<para>Provides an efficient way of finding/opening files, classes and methods in a large project. Appears in the File and Tools menus when loaded.</para></formalpara></listitem> +<listitem><formalpara id="KDevSecurity"> +<title>Security Checker</title> +<para>Code security checker</para></formalpara></listitem> +</itemizedlist> +<para>So far the generated plugin list.</para> + + +<table id="table-project-parts"> +<title>Project Management Plugins in &tdevelop;</title> +<tgroup cols="2"><tbody> +<row> + <entry>antproject</entry> + <entry>ANT Project Manager (&Java; applications)</entry> +</row> +<row> + <entry>autoproject</entry> + <entry>Automake Project Manager</entry> +</row> +<row> + <entry>customproject</entry> + <entry>Custom Project Manager</entry> +</row> +<row> + <entry>trollproject</entry> + <entry>QMake based Project Manager</entry> +</row> +</tbody></tgroup> +</table> +<para>The above plugins are currently (May 2005) empty. Maybe +project management support will be implemented as plugins +in the future.</para> + + +<table> +<title>Language Support Plugins in &tdevelop;</title> +<tgroup cols="2"> +<tbody> +<row><entry>cppsupport</entry><entry>Support for C/C++</entry></row> +<row><entry>fortransupport</entry><entry>Support for Fortran</entry></row> +<row><entry>javasupport</entry><entry>Support for &Java;</entry></row> +<row><entry>perlsupport</entry><entry>Support for Perl</entry></row> +<row><entry>phpsupport</entry><entry>Support for PHP</entry></row> +<row><entry>pythonsupport</entry><entry>Support for Python</entry></row> +</tbody></tgroup> +</table> + + +<para>In the following, some of the plugins will be discussed in detail.</para> + +<itemizedlist> +<listitem> +<formalpara> +<title>The <command>abbrev</command> Plugin</title> +<indexterm zone="plugin-tools"><primary><command>abbrev</command></primary></indexterm> + +<para> +This plugin expands abbreviations into frequently used code snippets. It is +activated by pressing <keycombo><keycap>Ctrl</keycap> +<keycap>Space</keycap></keycombo>. For example, when you enter +<literal>"ife"</literal> into a C++ in the editor and press +<keycombo><keycap>Ctrl</keycap><keycap>Space</keycap></keycombo>, you obtain +an <literal>if-else</literal> code template and save some key strokes. The set +of supported abbreviations depends on the programming language of the edited +file. For example, for PHP you will obviously be interested in other code +templates than for &Java;. +</para> +</formalpara> + +<para> +The set of code templates is configurable. If the plugin is enabled, you can see +which ones are available in the <menuchoice><guimenu>Settings</guimenu> +<guimenuitem>Configure KDevelop...</guimenuitem></menuchoice> +dialog under <guibutton>Abbreviations</guibutton>. +</para> +</listitem> + +<listitem> +<formalpara id="KDevFilter"> +<title>The <command>filter</command> Plugin</title> +<indexterm zone="plugin-tools"><primary><command>filter</command></primary></indexterm> + +<para> +This offers two features. If you select <menuchoice><guimenu>Tools</guimenu> +<guimenuitem>Execute command</guimenuitem></menuchoice>, you can enter a shell +command. The output of this command is inserted into the editor buffer when +you hit the <guibutton>Start</guibutton> button. +</para> +</formalpara> + +<para> +A related feature is available under +<menuchoice><guimenu>Tools</guimenu><guimenuitem>Filter selection through +command...</guimenuitem></menuchoice>. In order to use this, you must +select a text area in the editor. If you now enter a shell command and hit +the <guibutton>Start</guibutton> button, the command is started and the +selection used as the standard input for it. The standard output of the +command is then inserted into the editor, replacing the selection. +</para> + +<para> +For example, if you write documentation, you frequently have to refer +to menu items. To do this correctly for e.g. the Copy command in the +Edit menu, you have to write: +<programlisting><menuchoice><guimenu>Edit</guimenu><guimenuitem>Copy</guimenuitem></menuchoice></programlisting> +This is cumbersome, so you'd rather just write "Edit - Copy" +and let the computer do the tagging. +Here is how you can do it. +You write a little shell script called mef you put e.g. in your home's bin directory: +<programlisting>sed s/"^\(.*\) - \(.*\)\$"/"<menuchoice><guimenu>\1<\/guimenu><guimenuitem>\2<\/guimenuitem><\/menuchoice>"/</programlisting> +Don't forget to make it executable. +That's all. Now, in your documentation .docbook source, you write "Edit - Copy". +You select this text you just wrote, choose +<menuchoice><guimenu>Tools</guimenu><guimenuitem>Filter selection through +command...</guimenuitem></menuchoice> and call ~/bin/mef. +Instantly "Edit - Copy" is replaced by +<programlisting><menuchoice><guimenu>Edit</guimenu><guimenuitem>Copy</guimenuitem></menuchoice></programlisting> +</para> + + +</listitem> + +<listitem> +<formalpara> +<title>The &doxygen; Plugin</title> +<indexterm zone="plugin-tools"><primary>&doxygen;</primary></indexterm> +<indexterm zone="plugin-tools"><primary>documentation tool</primary></indexterm> +<indexterm zone="plugin-tools"><primary>API documentation</primary></indexterm> + +<para> +This one helps you to use the &doxygen; API documentation tool +(<ulink url="http://www.doxygen.org"/>). You can select +<menuchoice><guimenu>Project</guimenu> +<guimenuitem>Run Doxygen</guimenuitem></menuchoice> to generate API +documentation for your current project, based on the configuration given by +the file <filename>Doxyfile</filename> in your project directory. +</para> +</formalpara> + +<para> +Furthermore, you can configure &doxygen; in the +<menuchoice><guimenu>Project</guimenu> +<guimenuitem>Project options...</guimenuitem></menuchoice> dialog. This dialog +is very similar to the &doxywizard; tool. +</para> +</listitem> + +<listitem> +<formalpara> +<title>The &ctags; Plugin</title> +<indexterm zone="plugin-tools"><primary>&ctags;</primary></indexterm> + +<para> +Although the class browser gives you extensive insight into the symbols and +classes of your project, you may also want to use the ctags tool. In particular, +this one supports a lot more language than the class browser. +</para> +</formalpara> + +<para> +You activate this plugin under <menuchoice><guimenu>Tools</guimenu> +<guimenuitem>CTags...</guimenuitem></menuchoice>. When you start it the first +time, you will be asked to generate a search database first. When you accept +this, the &ctags; program will be started and will create a file named +<filename>tags</filename> in your project directory. This is a text file containing +all symbols of your source files. +</para> + +<para> +You can search in the symbol database in two ways: when the +<guilabel>Regular expression match</guilabel> box is checked, the text you +enter will be interpreted as a regular expression (POSIX flavor) and matched +with the existing symbols. For example, the text <literal>.*Widget</literal> +will search for all symbols ending with <literal>Widget</literal>. If the +box is not checked, the search will be verbatim. +</para> + +<para> +When searching, you will get a list of the matched symbols, accompanied with +the line numbers where they are defined. You jump to the respective point by +clicking on the list. +</para> + +<para> +For some languages, &ctags; distinguishes different kinds of symbols. For +example, Python has classes and functions. You can selectively search only +for classes by checking the respecting kinds in the dialog. +</para> + +<para> +The symbol database is normally not updated when your sources change. +Consequently, after a while the line numbers will not be correct anymore +and newly added classes and functions will be missing. Therefore you should +update the <filename>tags</filename> file in regular intervals by pressing +the button <guibutton>Regenerate</guibutton>. +</para> +</listitem> + +<listitem> +<formalpara> +<title>The <command>astyle</command> Plugin</title> +<indexterm zone="plugin-tools"><primary><command>astyle</command></primary></indexterm> +<indexterm zone="plugin-tools"><primary><application>Artistic Style</application></primary></indexterm> +<indexterm zone="plugin-tools"><primary>indentation</primary></indexterm> + +<para> +Astyle is a plugin for formatting of sourcecode according to a specified set of rules. +</para> +</formalpara> +</listitem> + +<listitem> +<formalpara> +<title>The <command>regexptest</command> Plugin</title> +<indexterm zone="plugin-tools"><primary><command>regexptest</command></primary></indexterm> +<indexterm zone="plugin-tools"><primary>debugging</primary><secondary>regular expressions</secondary></indexterm> +<indexterm zone="plugin-tools"><primary>regular expressions</primary><secondary>debugging</secondary></indexterm> + +<para> +Designing with regular expressions can be hard work. Often the first try at an +expression matches too many strings. In particular, when working with a +compiled language, the turnaround times when debugging a regular expression +can be awkward. The regexptest plugin allows you to directly explore the +changes in a regular expression. It is activated by choosing +<menuchoice><guimenu>Tools</guimenu> +<guimenuitem>Debug Regular Expression...</guimenuitem></menuchoice>. +</para> +</formalpara> + +<para> +In the flavor group box, you can choose the flavor of the regular expression +engine used. Currently supported is the flavor defined in the POSIX standard, +which is used by the &grep; program, and the extended POSIX syntax used by the +program &egrep;. +</para> + +<para> +When you enter an expression, you get immediate feedback about any syntax +errors in it. By entering a text under <guilabel>Test string</guilabel>, +you can see whether the expression matches this string. In particular, if +your regular expression includes groups, such as <literal>([a-z])</literal>, +the content of the matched subgroups will be shown in a list box. +</para> +</listitem> + +<!-- +<listitem> +<formalpara> +<title>The <command>konsole</command> Plugin</title> +<indexterm zone="plugin-tools"><primary><command>konsole</command></primary></indexterm> +<indexterm zone="plugin-tools"><primary>terminal</primary><secondary>embedded</secondary></indexterm> +<para></para> +</formalpara> +</listitem> +--> + +</itemizedlist> + +</appendix> <!-- plugin-tools --> + +<!-- ====================================================================== --> |