API for own plugin

Hey there,

how can I create an API for my own plugins (like Specter: http://forums.pocketmine.net/plugins/specter.894/) so that I can use the functions of this plugin in other plugins too?

Thanks in advance.

if you know PHP, you can.

PHP:

public function functionNameOfAPI(){
echo "my first API function is ran!";
}


and when doing

PHP:

$plugin = $this->getServer()->getPluginManager()->getPlugin("PluginName");
$plugin->functionNameOfAPI();


will result on doing that echo in the function.

But can I create objects in this way, too?

Yes.

This code will cause - Undefined property Main::$functionNameOfAPI

PHP:

$plugin->functionNameOfAPI();

A Typo :/

Huge one. $this->getKing() is a function, but $this->getKing is a variable.

The way I do API uses functions too, but builds a different class in your plugin.

Your API:

PHP:

<?php

namespace SomePluginR;

use pocketmine\plugin\PluginBase;

class PluginAPI{
  public function taskone($player){
     $player->sendMessage("hi");
  }
}

class SomePluginR extends PluginBase{
}


How others might use it (supposedly):

PHP:

<?php

namespace SomeOtherPlugin;

use pocketmine\plugin\PluginBase;
use pocketmine\event\player\PlayerJoinEvent;
use SomePluginR\SomePluginR;

class SomeOtherPlugin extends PluginBase{
  //suppose I registered $events($this,$this)... 

  public function onJoin(PlayerJoinEvent $event){
    $player = $event->getPlayer();
    $mss = new PluginAPI();
    $mss->taskone($player);
    return True;
  }
}

Actually, if you have good OOP coding practices (at least I think it is good), you already have the API without noticing it.
Take a look at the LegionPE plugin http://lgpe.co/tsrc - anyone can easily add a plugin to interact with the plugin using its public getters, setters and functions, although obviously I don't expect any other plugins to interact with it. This is because when you have written the code for a few months, you would completely forget about it. Only an API-style internal structure can allow you to know how to do what thing conveniently without re-reading the code. (Of course, you still need to do so if you are debugging, but the productivity is still much faster)