explain how to write both sorts of plugins, albeit with an emphasis on perl
plugins.
-## Considerations
+## Remember: Ikiwiki is a compiler
One thing to keep in mind when writing a plugin is that ikiwiki is a wiki
*compiler*. So plugins influence pages when they are built, not when they
rebuilding pages unless they have changed, so a plugin that prints some
random or changing thing on a page will generate a static page that won't
change until ikiwiki rebuilds the page for some other reason, like the page
-being edited.
+being edited. The [[tutorial]] has some other examples of ways that ikiwiki
+being a compiler may trip up the unwary.
+
+## Plugin interface
+
+To import the ikiwiki plugin interface:
+
+ use IkiWiki '3.00';
+
+This will import several variables and functions into your plugin's
+namespace. These variables and functions are the ones most plugins need,
+and a special effort will be made to avoid changing them in incompatible
+ways, and to document any changes that have to be made in the future.
+
+Note that IkiWiki also provides other variables and functions that are not
+exported by default. No guarantee is made about these in the future, so if
+it's not exported, the wise choice is to not use it.
## Registering plugins
This hook is used to inject C code (which it returns) into the `main`
function of the ikiwiki wrapper when it is being generated.
-## Plugin interface
-
-To import the ikiwiki plugin interface:
+### Exported variables
- use IkiWiki '3.00';
+Several variables are exported to your plugin when you `use IkiWiki;`
-This will import several variables and functions into your plugin's
-namespace. These variables and functions are the ones most plugins need,
-and a special effort will be made to avoid changing them in incompatible
-ways, and to document any changes that have to be made in the future.
-
-Note that IkiWiki also provides other variables and functions that are not
-exported by default. No guarantee is made about these in the future, so if
-it's not exported, the wise choice is to not use it.
-
-### %config
+#### %config
A plugin can access the wiki's configuration via the `%config`
hash. The best way to understand the contents of the hash is to look at
your ikiwiki setup file, which sets the hash content to configure the wiki.
-### %pagestate
+#### %pagestate
The `%pagestate` hash can be used by plugins to save state that they will need
next time ikiwiki is run. The hash holds per-page state, so to set a value,
Note that page state does not persist across wiki rebuilds, only across
wiki updates.
-### %wikistate
+#### %wikistate
The `%wikistate` hash can be used by a plugin to store persistant state
that is not bound to any one page. To set a value, use
"id" parameter passed to `hook()` when registering the plugin, so that the
state can be dropped if the plugin is no longer used.
-### Other variables
+#### %links
+
+The `%links` hash can be used to look up the names of each page that
+a page links to. The name of the page is the key; the value is an array
+reference. Do not modify this hash directly; call `add_link()`.
+
+#### %destsources
-If your plugin needs to access data about other pages in the wiki. It can
-use the following hashes, using a page name as the key:
+The `%destsources` hash records the name of the source file used to
+create each destination file. The key is the output filename (ie,
+"foo/index.html"), and the value is the source filename that it was built
+from (eg, "foo.mdwn"). Note that a single source file may create multiple
+destination files. Do not modify this hash directly; call `will_render()`.
-* `%links` lists the names of each page that a page links to, in an array
- reference.
-* `%destsources` contains the name of the source file used to create each
- destination file.
-* `%pagesources` contains the name of the source file for each page.
+#### %pagesources
-Also, the `%IkiWiki::version` variable contains the version number for the
-ikiwiki program.
+The `%pagesources` has can be used to look up the source filename
+of a page. So the key is the page name, and the value is the source
+filename. Do not modify this hash.
### Library functions
Use this when constructing the filename of a html file. Use `urlto` when
generating a link to a page.
-### `deptype(@)`
-
-Use this function to generate ikiwiki's internal representation of a
-dependency type from one or more of these keywords:
-
-* `content` is the default. Any change to the content
- of a page triggers the dependency.
-* `presence` is only triggered by a change to the presence
- of a page.
-* `links` is only triggered by a change to the links of a page.
- This includes when a link is added, removed, or changes what
- it points to due to other changes. It does not include the
- addition or removal of a duplicate link.
-
-If multiple types are specified, they are combined.
-
#### `pagespec_match_list($$;@)`
Passed a page name, and [[ikiwiki/PageSpec]], returns a list of pages
PageSpec should match against. If not passed, relative PageSpecs will match
relative to the top of the wiki.
+#### `deptype(@)`
+
+Use this function to generate ikiwiki's internal representation of a
+dependency type from one or more of these keywords:
+
+* `content` is the default. Any change to the content
+ of a page triggers the dependency.
+* `presence` is only triggered by a change to the presence
+ of a page.
+* `links` is only triggered by a change to the links of a page.
+ This includes when a link is added, removed, or changes what
+ it points to due to other changes. It does not include the
+ addition or removal of a duplicate link.
+
+If multiple types are specified, they are combined.
+
#### `bestlink($$)`
Given a page and the text of a link on the page, determine which
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