PluginPackager

PluginPackager.exe

PluginPackager.exe is tool that can be used during a build process to create a *.plugin file, which can be easily deployed using the FieldDataPluginTool.

• By default, the packaging tool will bundle up everything in a folder using reasonable defaults.
• The tool is included in the Aquarius.FieldDataFramework NuGet package.

Invoking the packaging step as a post-build event in Visual Studio

This post-build event will create a plugin bundle with the name of the current target. This is usually all you need.

$(SolutionDir)packages\Aquarius.FieldDataFramework.18.4.0\tools\PluginPackager.exe $(TargetPath) /OutputPath=$(ProjectDir)deploy\$(Configuration)\$(TargetName).plugin

How does my build know if the packaging step has failed?

The PluginPackager.exe tool follows standard exit code conventions. Zero means success, and any positive exit codes means an error occurred.

Visual Studio post-build events will detect any non-zero exit codes and indicate a failed packaging step.

Packaging by folder

If you set the /AssemblyFolder=someDir option or just specify a folder on the command line, the tool will:

• Inspect all the *.dll assemblies in the folder
• Fail unless exactly one assembly contains exactly one implementation the IFieldDataPlugin interface.
• Automatically set the AssemblyTypeQualifiedName from the discovered assembly.

Packaging by assembly path

If you set the /AssemblyPath=path option or just specify a path to an assembly on the command line, the tool will:

• Ensure that the assembly contains exactly one implementation the IFieldDataPlugin interface.
• Automatically set the AssemblyTypeQualifiedName from the discovered assembly.

Other defaults

• The /DeployedFolder=value will default to the simplified plugin name unless explicitly set.
• The /Description=value will default to simplified plugin name unless explicitly set.

The *.plugin file format

A *.plugin file is a ZIP archive containing:

• A manifest.json file, which includes the PluginFolderName, Description, and AssemblyQualifiedTypeName string properties. These values are set by the plugin developer and should not need to be changed when a plugin is installed on an AQTS system.
• All other files in the ZIP archive, including any nested folders and files, will be copied to the named folder when the plugin is installed.

A bare-minimum *.plugin file contains 2 files:

• The plugin assembly implementing the IFieldDataPlugin interface
• The manifest.json file