Pichat SDK, Software Development Kit

This document gives a quick overview of the Pichat SDK. The SDK allows developers to write chat plugins, it comes with libraries, examples and unit tests. Shared libraries are available for C++ on Linux, BSD and Windows.

The Pichat SDK is available at http://www.pichat.net

Let's make a tour through the Pichat SDK. After downloading and unzipping let's have a look at the Linux files first, skip the first part if you don't use Linux:

On Linux and BSD you can build examples with the command 'make SHARED=1; make' from a console window. When it's done type './pluginviewer' to see a list of plugins with version information and a short description. With 'make test' you can also run a collection of unit tests. In case of troubles, please make sure that you have required development packages installed and all unit tests pass.

On Windows you can build examples in your development environment, a Visual C++ project file is included. Double click the file 'pichat_sdk.dsw', then build each Win32 release and copy the generated DLLs from the 'Release' folder into the SDK folder (where the project file is). You can now run the plugin viewer, select 'pluginviewer - Win32 release' and press Ctrl+F5 to see a list of plugins with version information and a short description.

Additionally, there are two libraries PichatCore and SharkEngine to assist you in writing plugins. They are the biggest part of the SDK and offer chat and network functionality, see individual documentations for more details. You are now equipped with the basic knowledge about this SDK, happy coding!

Tips and tricks:

• Make sure that you always use the latest Pichat SDK. It is possible that interfaces change over time and libraries are incompatible with older versions. When a new Pichat SDK version comes out it's recommended to test plugins and recompile them if necessary.
• Plugin examples and unit tests make a great starting point for new developers. Have a look at the source code and use them as a base for your own code, there are examples on how to create chat bots, for network programming and many things more.
• Plugins are loaded on application startup. Copy your own plugins into the Pichat folder (where your pichat.exe is) and restart Pichat.
• Fresh pizza, coke and coffee goes best with programming Pichat! :)

For more documentation please visit the Pichat website.

libpichatcore.so	PichatCore shared library for Linux/BSD
libsharkengine.so	SharkEngine shared library for Linux/BSD
Makefile	Makefile for Linux/BSD
pichat_sdk.dsw	VC6 project file for Windows
pichat_sdk.txt	This friendly help file
pichat_sdk_coding_standard.txt	Coding Standard for C++
pichat_sdk_pichatcore.txt	PichatCore documentation, chat functionality
pichat_sdk_sharkengine.txt	SharkEngine documentation, platform abstraction
pichatcore.dll	PichatCore shared library for Windows
pichatcore.lib	PichatCore import library for Windows
PichatCore_ChatActions.h	PichatCore header file, chat actions
PichatCore_ChatAlgorithms.h	PichatCore header file, chat algorithms
PichatCore_ChatInterfaces.h	PichatCore header file, chat interfaces
PichatCore_ContainerText.h	PichatCore header file, text container
PichatCore_Definitions.h	PichatCore header file with required definitions
PichatCore_PluginHandler.h	PichatCore header file, plugin handler
PichatCore_SocketClientHttp.h	PichatCore header file, HTTP client
PichatCore_SocketServerHttp.h	PichatCore header file, HTTP server
PluginExample.h	Shared header file for chat plugin examples
PluginExample1.*	Plugin example, implements required interface
PluginExample2.*	Plugin example, handling chat server actions
PluginExample3.*	Plugin example, handling commands and preferences
PluginExample4.*	Plugin example, handling languages and resources
PluginExample5.*	Plugin example, handling chat bot and logging
PluginExampleResourceModule.*	Plugin example, resource with different languages
PluginViewer.*	Lists available plugins with version information
sharkengine.dll	SharkEngine shared library for Windows
sharkengine.lib	SharkEngine import library for Windows
SharkEngine_Classes.h	SharkEngine header files with available classes
SharkEngine_Definitions.h	SharkEngine header file with required definitions
Test*.cpp	Collection of unit tests (and simple examples)

Linux/BSD libraries are compiled with gcc4 and libc6, i586 compatible CPU.
Windows libraries are compiled with VC6, i386 compatible CPU.

These files may be used and distributed under the terms of the Piratson public license as published in Pichat readme.