Eggdrop Module Information
Last revised: March 04, 2003
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                        Eggdrop Module Information


  The purpose of this document is to show you how to download, install, create,
  and submit modules.

  Contents:
    1. What are modules?
    2. Why use modules?
    3. How to install a module
    4. Modules included with Eggdrop
    5. Programming modules
    6. What to do with a finished module


  1. What are modules?

    Modules are portions of code which are loaded separately to the bot itself
    and provide extra services. For example, the filesys module provides the
    entire file system.


  2. Why use modules?

    Modules allow C coders to add their own enhancements to the bot while
    keeping them optional and without increasing the size of the Eggdrop
    core.


  3. How to install a module

    Please note that these are only basic instructions for compiling and
    installing a module. Please read any and all directions included with
    the module you wish to install.

      1. Download and un-tar the Eggdrop source code.

      2. Place the new module in its own directory (in the format of
         (modulename).mod) in src/mod.

      3. Run ./configure (from eggdrop1.6.x/).

      4. Type 'make config' or 'make iconfig'.

      5. Type 'make'.

      6. Copy the compiled module file (modulename.so) into your bot's
         modules folder.

      7. Add 'loadmodule modulename' to your eggdrop.conf file (do not
         add the .so suffix).

      8. Rehash or restart your bot.

    To view your currently loaded modules, type '.module'.


  4. Modules included with Eggdrop

    assoc     This module provides assoc support, i.e. naming channels on the
              botnet.

    blowfish  Eggdrop can encrypt your userfile, so users can have secure
              passwords. Please note that when you change your encryption
              method later (i.e. using other modules like a md5 module),
              you can't use your current userfile anymore. Eggdrop will not
              start without an encryption module.

    channels  This module provides channel related support for the bot.
              Without it, you won't be able to make the bot join a channel
              or save channel specific userfile information.

    compress  This module provides provides support for file compression. This
              allows the bot to transfer compressed user files and, therefore,
              save a significant amount of bandwidth.

    console   This module provides storage of console settings when you exit
              the bot or type .store on the partyline.

    ctcp      This module provides the normal ctcp replies that you'd expect.
              Without it loaded, CTCP CHAT will not work.

    dns       This module provides asynchronous dns support. This will avoid
              long periods where the bot just hangs there, waiting for a
              hostname to resolve, which will often let it timeout on all
              other connections.

    filesys   This module provides an area within the bot where users can store
              files. With this module, the bot is usable as a file server.

    irc       This module provides basic IRC support for your bot. You have to
              load this if you want your bot to come on IRC.

    notes     This module provides support for storing of notes for users from
              each other. Note sending between currently online users is
              supported in the core, this is only for storing the notes for
              later retrieval.

    seen      This module provides very basic seen commands via msg, on channel
              or via dcc. This module works only for users in the bot's
              userlist. If you are looking for a better and more advanced seen
              module, try the gseen module by G'Quann. You can find it at
              http://www.visions-of-fantasy.de/gseen.mod/.

    server    This module provides the core server support. You have to load
              this if you want your bot to come on IRC. Not loading this is
              equivalent to the old NO_IRC define.

    share     This module provides userfile sharing support between two
              directly linked bots.

    transfer  The transfer module provides dcc send/get support and userfile
              transfer support for userfile sharing.

    uptime    This module reports uptime statistics to the uptime contest
              web site at http://uptime.eggheads.org. Go look and see what
              your uptime is! It takes about 9 hours to show up, so if your
              bot isn't listed, try again later. See doc/settings/mod.uptime
              for more information, including details on what information is
              sent to the uptime server.

    wire      This module provides all the standard .wire commands via dcc.
              It is an encrypted partyline communication tool, compatible with
              wire.tcl.

    woobie    This is for demonstrative purposes only. If you are looking for
              starting point in writing modules, woobie is the right thing.


  5. Programming modules

    WARNING: This section is very likely to be out of date.

    Note: This is for a simple module of 1 source file. If you're doing a
          multiple source file module, you shouldn't need to read this anyway.

    1. Create a src/mod/MODULE.mod directory in your Eggdrop directory (where
       MODULE is the module name) and cd to it.

    2. Copy the file `Makefile' from src/mod/woobie.mod and replace all
        occurrences of `woobie' with your module name. This should ensure
        that your module gets compiled.

    3. Next, you want to create a file called MODULE.c (MODULE is the module
       name again).

    4. You MUST include the following in your source code:

      a. #define MODULE_NAME "module-name"

        This should be defined to the same name you will be using when you load
        your module.

      b. #define MAKING_MODULENAME

        MODULENAME is the name of your module (MODULE_NAME), but in all caps.

      c. #include "../module.h"

        This provides access to Eggdrop's global function table. Examine
        src/mod/module.h closely to find a list of functions available.

      d. #include any other standard c header files you might need. Note that
         stdio.h, string.h, stdlib.h, and sys/types.h are already included.

      e. Function *global;

        This variable provides access to all the Eggdrop functions; without it,
        you can't call any Eggdrop functions (the module won't even load).

    5. Every module must also have the following functions:

      In most modules, all functions/variables (except global and MODULE_start)
      should be static. This will drastically reduce the size of modules on
      decent systems.

      Throughout step 5, MODULE refers to the module name. Note that
      "MODULE_NAME" should literally be "MODULE_NAME".

      a. char *MODULE_start(Function *func_table)
        This function is called when the module is first loaded. There are
        several things that need to be done in this function:

          global = func_table;

            This allows you to make calls to the global function table.

          module_register(MODULE_NAME, MODULE_table, MAJOR, MINOR);

            This records details about the module for other modules and Eggdrop
            itself to access. MAJOR and MINOR are ints, where MAJOR is the
            module's major version number and MINOR is a minor version number.
            MODULE_table is a function table (see below).

          module_depend(MODULE_NAME, "another-module", MAJOR, MINOR);
            This lets Eggdrop know that your module NEEDS "another-module" of
            major version 'MAJOR' and at least minor version 'MINOR' to run,
            and hence should try to load it if it's not already loaded. This
            will return 1 on success, or 0 if it can't be done (at which stage
            you should return an error).

          Any other initialization stuff you desire should also be included in
          this function. See below for various things you can do.

          You also will need to return a value. Returning NULL implies the
          module loaded successfully. Returning a non-NULL STRING is an error
          message. The module (and any other dependant modules) will stop
          loading and an error will be returned.

      b. static Function *MODULE_table = {
           MODULE_start,
           MODULE_close,
           MODULE_expmem,
           MODULE_report,
           any_other_functions,
           you_want_to_export
         };

        This is a table of functions which any other module can access. The
        first 4 functions are FIXED. You MUST have them; they provide important
        module information.

      c. static char *MODULE_close ()
        This is called when the module is unloaded. Apart from tidying any
        relevant data (I suggest you be thorough, we don't want any trailing
        garbage from modules), you MUST do the following:

          module_undepend(MODULE_NAME);
            This lets Eggdrop know your module no longer depends on any other
            modules.

          Return a value. NULL implies success; any non-NULL STRING implies
          that the module cannot be unloaded for some reason, and hence the
          bot should not unload it (see the blowfish module for an example).

      d. static int MODULE_expmem ()
        This should tally all memory you allocate/deallocate within the module
        (using nmalloc, nfree, etc) in bytes. It's used by memory debugging to
        track memory faults, and it is used by .status to total up memory usage.

      e. static void MODULE_report (int idx)
        This should provide a relatively short report of the module's status
        (for the module and status commands).

      These functions are available to modules. MANY more available functions
      can be found in src/mod/module.h.

      void *nmalloc(int j);

        This allocates j bytes of memory.

      void nfree(void *a);

        This frees an nmalloc'd block of memory.

      Context;

        Actually a macro -- records the current position in execution (for
        debugging). Using Context is no longer recommended, because it uses
        too many resources and a core file provides much more information.

      void dprintf(int idx, char *format, ...)

        This acts like a normal printf() function, but it outputs to
        log/socket/idx.

        idx is a normal dcc idx, or if < 0 is a sock number.

        Other destinations:
          DP_LOG    - send to log file
          DP_STDOUT - send to stdout
          DP_MODE   - send via mode queue to the server
          DP_SERVER - send via normal queue to the server
          DP_HELP   - send via help queue to server

      const module_entry *module_find(char *module_name, int major, int minor);

        Searches for a loaded module (matching major, >= minor), and returns
        info about it.

        Members of module_entry:
          char *name;      - module name
          int major;       - real major version
          int minor;       - real minor version
          Function *funcs; - function table (see above)

      void module_rename(char *old_module_name, char *new_module_name)

        This renames a module frim old_module_name to new_module_name.

      void add_hook(int hook_num, Function *funcs)
      void del_hook(int hook_num, Function *funcs)

       These are used for adding or removing hooks to/from Eggdrop code that
       are triggered on various events. Valid hooks are:
         HOOK_SECONDLY   - called every second
         HOOK_MINUTELY   - called every minute
         HOOK_5MINUTELY  - called every 5 minutes
         HOOK_HOURLY     - called every hour (hourly-updates minutes past)
         HOOK_DAILY      - called when the logfiles are switched

         HOOK_READ_USERFILE - called when the userfile is read
         HOOK_USERFILE      - called when the userfile is written
         HOOK_PRE_REHASH    - called just before a rehash
         HOOK_REHASH        - called just after a rehash
         HOOK_IDLE          - called whenever the dcc connections have been
                              idle for a whole second
         HOOK_BACKUP        - called when a user/channel file backup is done
         HOOK_LOADED        - called when Eggdrop is first loaded
         HOOK_DIE           - called when Eggdrop is about to die

      char *module_unload (char *module_name);
      char *module_load (char *module_name);

        Tries to load or unload the specified module; returns 0 on success, or
        an error message.

      void add_tcl_commands(tcl_cmds *tab);
      void rem_tcl_commands(tcl_cmds *tab);

        Provides a quick way to create and remove a table of Tcl commands. The
        table is in the form of:

          {char *func_name, Function *function_to_call}

        Use { NULL, NULL } to indicate the end of the list.

      void add_tcl_ints(tcl_ints *);
      void rem_tcl_ints(tcl_ints *);

        Provides a quick way to create and remove a table of links from C
        int variables to Tcl variables (add_tcl_ints checks to see if the Tcl
        variable exists and copies it over the C one). The format of table is:

          {char *variable_name, int *variable, int readonly}

        Use {NULL, NULL, 0} to indicate the end of the list.

      void add_tcl_strings(tcl_strings *);
      void rem_tcl_strings(tcl_strings *);

        Provides a quick way to create and remove a table of links from C
        string variables to Tcl variables (add_tcl_ints checks to see if the
        Tcl variable exists and copies it over the C one). The format of table
        is:

          {char *variable_name, char *string, int length, int flags}

        Use {NULL, NULL, 0, 0} to indicate the end of the list. Use 0 for
        length if you want a const string. Use STR_DIR for flags if you want a
        '/' constantly appended; use STR_PROTECT if you want the variable set
        in the config file, but not during normal usage.

      void add_builtins(p_tcl_hash_list table, cmd_t *cc);
      void rem_builtins(p_tcl_hash_list table, cmd_t *cc);

        This adds binds to one of Eggdrop's bind tables. The format of the
        table is:

          {char *command, char *flags, Function *function, char *displayname}

        Use {NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL} to indicate the end of the list.

        This works EXACTLY like the Tcl 'bind' command. displayname is what Tcl
        sees this function's proc name as (in .binds all).

        function is called with exactly the same args as a Tcl binding is with
        type conversion taken into account (e.g. idx's are ints). Return values
        are much the same as Tcl bindings. Use int 0/1 for those which require
        0/1, or char * for those which require a string (auch as filt). Return
        nothing if no return value is required.

      void putlog (int logmode, char *channel, char *format, ...)

        Adds text to a logfile (determined by logmode and channel). This text
        will also output to any users' consoles if they have the specified
        console mode enabled.


  6. What to do with a module?

     If you have written a module and feel that you wish to share it with the
     rest of the Eggdrop community, upload it to the incoming directory on
     incoming.eggheads.org (/incoming/modules/1.6). Place a nice descriptive
     text (modulename.desc) with it, and it'll make its way to the modules
     directory on ftp.eggheads.org. Don't forget to mention in your text file
     which version Eggdrop the module is written for.
     _________________________________________________________________

   Copyright (C) 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 Eggheads Development Team
