fabbbiob / sspp

Super Simple Python Plugins

sspp

Super Simple Python Plugins is a minimal framework for implementing plugins in Python programs. There's no setup or anything, just create a directory and put the __init__.py file in it (turning the directory into a module). Any Python source files placed in that directory will be automatically loaded when the module is loaded. The names of the plugins will be put in the __all__ list variable. Beyond that, you can do anything you want with the plugins.

Here's an example of how to use it. Let's assume that there is a single plugins directory, named (logically enough) 'plugins'. Submodules should define a callable object named 'register' that will be invoked when the plug-in is loaded, but it's not required.

import plugins

for name in plugins.__all__:
    plugin = getattr(plugins, name)
    try:
        # see if the plugin has a 'register' attribute
        register_plugin = plugin.register
    except AttributeError:
        # raise an exception, log a message, 
        # or just ignore the problem
        pass
    else:
        # try to call it, without catching any errors
        register_plugin()