[FEATURE] Allow plugin metadata to be in metadata.txt

Until now plugins' metadata were always retrieved from __init__.py by calling python methods. Reading metadata from a text file has the advantage of not requiring to load the plugin code and can be done by plugin repository. Metadata in metadata.txt is preferred to the methods in __init__.py - if the text file is present, it is used to fetch the values. From QGIS 2.0 the metadata from __init__.py will not be accepted - the metadata.txt file will be required. Plugin metadata should be in INI file format, recognized by python's ConfigParser module and by Qt's QSettings class. All currently used metadata should be in [general] section. Example use: [general] name=PostGIS manager description=Manage your PostGIS database version=Version 0.5.15 icon=icons/postgis_elephant.png qgisMinimumVersion=1.0.0
qgis · Nov 9, 2011 · be9bdeb · be9bdeb
1 parent b9d26e4
commit be9bdeb
Showing 1 changed file with 27 additions and 1 deletion.
diff --git a/python/utils.py b/python/utils.py
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 import glob
 import os.path
 import re
-
+import ConfigParser
 
 #######################
 # ERROR HANDLING
@@ -72,29 +72,55 @@ def initInterface(pointer):
 # list of plugins in plugin directory and home plugin directory
 available_plugins = []
 
+# dictionary of plugins providing metadata in a text file (metadata.txt)
+# key = plugin package name, value = config parser instance
+plugins_metadata_parser = {}
+
 def findPlugins(path):
+  """ for internal use: return list of plugins in given path """
   plugins = []
   for plugin in glob.glob(path + "/*"):
     if os.path.isdir(plugin) and os.path.exists(os.path.join(plugin, '__init__.py')):
       plugins.append( os.path.basename(plugin) )
   return plugins
 
+def _checkMetadataFile(pluginpath, plugin):
+  """ Check whether there exists a metadata.txt file.
+      That is now a preferred way to store plugin's metadata """
+  metadataFile = os.path.join(pluginpath, plugin, 'metadata.txt')
+  if not os.path.exists(metadataFile):
+    return None
+  cp = ConfigParser.ConfigParser()
+  res = cp.read(metadataFile)
+  if len(res) == 0:
+    return None # reading of metadata file failed
+  return cp
+
 def updateAvailablePlugins():
   """ go thrgouh the plugin_paths list and find out what plugins are available """
   # merge the lists
   plugins = []
+  metadata_parser = {}
   for pluginpath in plugin_paths:
     for p in findPlugins(pluginpath):
       if p not in plugins:
         plugins.append(p)
+        cp = _checkMetadataFile(pluginpath, p)
+        if cp: metadata_parser[p] = cp
 
   global available_plugins
   available_plugins = plugins
+  global plugins_metadata_parser
+  plugins_metadata_parser = metadata_parser
 
 
 def pluginMetadata(packageName, fct):
   """ fetch metadata from a plugin """
   try:
+    # try to use values from metadata.txt if available
+    if plugins_metadata_parser.has_key(packageName):
+      return plugins_metadata_parser[packageName].get('general', fct)
+    # otherwise fall back to old method, using __init__.py
     package = sys.modules[packageName]
     return getattr(package, fct)()
   except: