Pichat SDK, software development kit
Last update 05/Aug/2010 by Mark Seuffert
1. Introduction
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
2. Get up and running
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 plugins into the Pichat program directory (where your pichat.exe is).
- Fresh pizza, coke and coffee goes best with programming Pichat! :)
For more documentation please visit the Pichat website.
3. Description of files
| 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_ContainerTextMap.h | PichatCore header file, associative text container |
| PichatCore_Definitions.h | PichatCore header file with required definitions |
| PichatCore_ParserServerAuthentication.h | PichatCore header file, file parser server authentication |
| PichatCore_ParserUserAuthentication.h | PichatCore header file, file parser user authentication |
| PichatCore_PluginHandler.h | PichatCore header file, plugin handler |
| PichatCore_SocketClientHttp.h | PichatCore header file, HTTP client |
| PichatCore_SocketClientSmtp.h | PichatCore header file, SMTP 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 code examples |
Linux/BSD libraries are compiled with gcc4 and libc6, i586 compatible CPU.
Windows libraries are compiled with VC6, i386 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.

