JTA - Telnet/SSH for the JAVA(tm) platform: Plugins

© 1996-2000 Matthias L. Jugel and Marcus Meißner

Version 2.0 / Java 2 and 1.1.x
Available under GNU General Public License

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Plugins

The JTA uses a pugin scheme to allow easy addition of software modules to the whole framework. These plugins may either be used to work on the data streams, display additional information to the user or be bywork. A few standard plugins are provided with the package. These plugins are desribed here. Jump down to the list.

In contrast to the old version we have introduced a new scheme for loading plugins. It is now possible to have two or more plugins of the same name with several different configurations used in one application. The order of the plugins is important!

To accomplish that we have introduced identifier for the plugins. A normal plugin list would look like:

plugins = Socket,Telnet,ButtonBar,Terminal

If you wanted to set up another button bar you are in trouble because it would read the same options twice. So when setting up two plugins of the same name you do as follows:

plugins = Socket,Telnet,ButtonBar(one),ButtonBar(two),Terminal

You give both plugins a unique name (one and two) and use this name in any following configuration properties:

layout.ButtonBar(one) = North
layout.ButtonBar(two) = South
ButtonBar(one).setup = http://server/one.conf
ButtonBar(two).setup = http://server/two.conf

And that is it! If you define properties without the unique name they will be used as fallback values in case a needed property is not set for a specific plugin. 

Have a look at the example page and the applet.conf used there.

Note:If you are using the 'Script' plugin, note that it must be between the Telnet/SSH and Terminal plugin to get at the datastream.

Plugin Remarks
Basic Plugins
Socket A most basic plugin used for low level communication with remote hosts. It almost always needed.
Telnet This is the actual handler for telnet type communications. It filters the data streams and handles all telnet options.
SSH For more secure communication you would rather use SSH instead of the Telnet plugin as it provides a way for secure communication over insecure networks.
Shell
A shell plugin for use with local command shells. Not really useful right now.
Terminal This is a very important plugin as it is the actual terminal so you can see what you do. It implements an ANSI/VT320 compatible terminal emulation.
Add-On
Status An example how to write a listener plugin and display information.
Timeout
A useful plugin for Applet users. It will allow you to define an idle timeout to close the connection.
ButtonBar
The new implemenation of our well known button bar module. With new configuration options and better look than ever.
Script
The script plugin may be used to automate login procedures for guest accounts.
Sink
The Sink plugin is a replacement of the Terminal plugin, which just reads and discard data. Useful if you do not want output.
URLFilter
Filters URLs out of the incoming data and displays a list to open them in a web browser (Applet)
MudConnector
A special plugin for www.mudconnector.com to display a list of muds to connect to.
BSX plugin
A third party plugin for use with BSX enabled MUDs. It is contained in the contrib.jar package.
If you would like to write your own plugins you should refer to the following documentation: 
 
de.mud.jta
This package  is the main package and contains information about the plugin system, applet and application.
de.mud.jta.plugin
All the standard plugins are documented here.
de.mud.jta.event
The plugins use some sort of event system to communicate. Look what evens are implemented already.
Copyright 1996-2000 Matthias L. Jugel, Marcus Meißner
$Id: index.html 500 2005-10-07 09:15:07Z leo $