3.4. Plugin Configuration

The plugin configuration is now implemented as follows:

IMHO this is GnuMed configuration information. Actually it should live in an Administrators Guide as discussed recently on the list but for now we can share admin and user staff in the User Manual since we don't have much user level information yet...

Upon startup GnuMed tries to read a list of which plugins to load. It looks in several places:

1) in the database (the config tables in gmconfiguration.sql
   need to be imported)
   a) as the current user on the current machine
   b) as the current user on the "default" machine
   c) as the "default" user on the current machine
   d) as the "default" user on the "default" machine

2) in the file plugins.conf in the corresponding plugin
   directory (note that the format changed - this is now
   expected to be a standard gmCfg config file, group is
   "plugins", the list option "load order")

3) direct scan of the plugin directory
	

If any of the stages one b-d finds corresponding data that configuration is saved specific to the current user/machine.

If stage two finds a plugins.conf file it assumes that the admin has set up a default for all users of this machine and thus writes that configuration into the database specific to the current user/machine.

Stage three will always load all available plugins. It will therefore write that configuration into the database specific to the machine but not specific to a user (eg. to the default user).

Subsequent loading will thus find the configuration at earlier stages. Thusly the client should be autoconfiguring to a certain degree.

I have not yet connected to the backend explicit add/drop of plugins via Ian's new popup menu. This will come next.