OK, so I am thinking on writing a package, and I ended up here.
Unfortunately there are very few things on the forum about how to actually write a package or modification. Really, nothing specific.
While this is a very good start and surely helpful on getting an idea of what a package is, I'm not sure it can help anyone write a complete package (from the scratch).
Take me, for example. I thought that I did a fairly simple modifications, yet reading this *basic* SDK I can't even start to put my package together.
Now, maybe I'm being a bit slow, and I the intent behind my criticism is to be constructive.
So, here are my questions about packaging, with some ideas to include in the SDK.
First, my veyr first issue was how to modify the database, alter a table in it. I think there are quite afew mods that add, alter tables in the databes. So it seems it's a quite basic part of a packaging.
After looking at some already written mods, I found a tag
<code> in the package-info.xml. This is something that is never mentioned in the SDK, and doesn't appears nowhere in the examples. I think it would be a good idea to add it to the SDK, with some explanation on what it does. (I know that I have to use this to alter the database
)
The next issue, would be with the themes, avatars and such. Mainly the themes. My mod is relying mainly on creating a theme. At least half of my modification can be done using a theme, and modifying only one template.
My question follows. The <require-file> just copies the file to the destination or it installs the theme too? Because it seems that simply creating a folder and copying files in the thmees directory doesn't makes the SMF to "see" it as such. It needs to be installed by the SMF, from the admin section.
So it's not clear to me what is happening there. How can I effecively add (NOT to replace the default!) a theme?
The third issue, regards the uninstallation. I saw someone mentioning the changings to be reverseable or not. So how can I tell what is "reverseable" and what is not? Knowing a little more on how the uninstallation works, what happens then would be helpful I think.
Of course following the reveresed logic, I suppsoe that if I search for A and replace with B, then at uninstallation the package system would search for B and replace with A. OK, the same with adding code.
But let's get back to the database. What if I alter a table in database, with an ALTER query. I guess I should write a "cleanup" code for this.
So, I think that at least some warnings should be issued about uninstallation already in the basic SDK. And who knows some advanced explanations would not hurt either, maybe in some *advanced* version.
I refer back to what [Unknown] said in the first post. That this is for package *authors*. Even if I unerstand that "author" is meant as every average joe (making the modding accessible to everyone out there), the a Develompent Kit should be more inclusive.
As a last thing, before everyone jumps on me. I understand that this is a preliminary version, put together in a hurry(maybe not?), and also understand that it takes time to do such thing.
So really, I just tried to point out the areas where I'm in difficulty writing the package, and what info could help me (and others) to have an easier job.
Of course, I do search around and use my head.
I wouldn't know what to complain about, if not.
Respectfully,
Rudolf
