Slicer3:Loadable Modules:Status 2009-01-20

Use this page to describe how this feature works as of January 2009.

Overview

• User experience
  • Run slicer
  • View->Module Search
    • Wizard searches http://ext.slicer.org/ext/...
      • TODO: <slicerVersion>/<slicerBuildDate>/<build>/<moduleName>/<moduleName>-<moduleBuildDate>-<build>.zip (SP)
    • Archived of precompiled shared libraries (platform specific)
  • Select modules
    • TODO: wizard checks for newer versions of existing modules (later: give user option of always checking during slicer boot)
    • TODO: wizard grabs .s3ext file (uploaded by the extend script)
    • TODO: add Category, Description, Homepage to .s3ext file (SP)
    • TODO: make home page hot linked
    • TODO: support python and tcl scripted modules and make examples in nitrc
    • TODO: make dependencies in .s3ext (SP)
    • TODO: make 'logic-only' modules (essentially just a shared library of classes)
  • Modules are downloaded and unpacked into user-specific Slicer install cache directory
  • Restart Slicer
  • Can remove modules

• Developer
  • make slicer build tree locally
  • create module from a template (GUI, Logic, MRML) see NITRC example modules
  • test locally on their platform
  • create .s3ext file and test with slicer's extend script
    • specify: svn/cvs repository, dependencies, homepage...
    • Commit .s3ext file or ask a slicer developer to do so
  • Nightly build gets uploaded to ext.slicer.org

• Phase 1: (finished) Slicer internals
  • runtime module discovery
  • module template
  • like CommandLineModuleFactory

• Phase 2: (in process) web development, deployment
  • prototype on wiki
  • versions, download,
  • upload

References

• Eclipse module architecture
• Mozilla extensions for Firefox