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** Copyright (c) 2012 Digia Plc and/or its subsidiary(-ies).
** Contact: http://www.qt-project.org/legal
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** This file is part of Qt Creator
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** GNU Free Documentation License
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** Documentation License version 1.3 as published by the Free Software
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/*!
    \page plugin-lifecycle.html
    \title Plugin Life Cycle

    To be able to write \QC plugins, you must understand the steps that the plugin
    manager takes when you start or shut down \QC. This section describes
    the process and the state that plugins go through in detail.

    When you start \QC, the plugin manager does the following:

    \list 1
        \o Looks in its search paths for
           all .pluginspec files, and reads them. This is the first point where
           loading a plugin can fail in the worst case of a malformed plugin spec.

        \o Creates an instance of the \l{ExtensionSystem::PluginSpec} class for
           each plugin. This class is a container for
           all the information from the plugin specification, and additionally
           tracks the state of the plugin.
           You can get the \l{ExtensionSystem::PluginSpec} instances via the
           plugin manager's \l{ExtensionSystem::PluginManager::plugins()}{plugins()}
           method, or, after a plugin is loaded, through the plugin's
           \l{ExtensionSystem::IPlugin::pluginSpec()}{pluginSpec()} method.

        \o Sets the plugins to \c Read state.

        \o Verifies that the dependencies of each plugin
           exist and are compatible. For more information about plugin dependencies,
           see \l{Plugin Specifications}.

        \o Sets the plugins to \c Resolved state.

        \o Sorts all plugins into a list that we call the \e{load queue}, where the
           dependencies of a plugin are positioned after the plugin
           (but not necessarily \e directly after the plugin).
           It will make sure that we load
           and initialize the plugins in proper order.

        \o Loads the plugins' libraries, and creates their IPlugin instances
           in the order of the load queue. At this point the
           plugin constructors are called. Plugins that other plugins depend on
           are created first.

        \o Sets the plugins to \c Loaded state.

        \o Calls the \l{ExtensionSystem::IPlugin::initialize()}{initialize()} methods of
           all plugins in the order of the load queue. In the \c initialize method,
           a plugin should make sure that all exported interfaces are set up and available
           to other plugins. A plugin can assume that plugins they depend on have set up
           their exported interfaces. For example, the \c Core plugin sets up the
           \l{Core::ActionManager}, \l{Core::EditorManager} and all other publicly available
           interfaces, so other plugins can request and use them.

           The \l{ExtensionSystem::IPlugin::initialize()}{initialize()} method of a plugin
           is a good place for
           \list
               \o registering objects in the plugin manager's object pool
                  (see \l{The Plugin Manager, the Object Pool, and Registered Objects})
               \o loading settings
               \o adding new menus, and new actions to menus
               \o connecting to other plugin's signals.
           \endlist

        \o Sets the plugins to \c Initialized state.

        \o Calls the \l{ExtensionSystem::IPlugin::extensionsInitialized()}{extensionsInitialized()}
           methods of all plugins in \e reverse order of the load queue. After
           the \c extensionsInitialized method, a plugin should be fully initialized, set up
           and running. A plugin can assume that plugins that depend on it are fully set up,
           and can finish the initialization of parts that can be extended by other plugins.
           For example, the \c Core plugin assumes that all plugins have registered
           their actions, and finishes initialization of the action manager.

        \o Sets the plugins to \c Running state.
    \endlist

    At the end of startup, the \c Core plugin's \l{Core::ICore} sends two signals.
    Before the \QC UI is shown it sends \l{Core::ICore::coreAboutToOpen()}{coreAboutToOpen()},
    and afterwards \l{Core::ICore::coreOpened()}{coreOpened()}.

    After startup, when the event loop of \QC is running, the plugin manager calls
    the \l{ExtensionSystem::IPlugin::delayedInitialize()}{delayedInitialize()} methods of all
    plugins in \e reverse order of the load queue. The calls are done on the main thread, but
    separated by a delay of a few milliseconds to ensure responsiveness of \QC.
    In the \c delayedInitialize method, a plugin can perform non-critical initialization
    that could unnecessarily delay showing the \QC UI if done during startup.

    After all delayed initializations are done the \l{ExtensionSystem::PluginManager}{PluginManager}
    sends the \l{ExtensionSystem::PluginManager::initializationDone()}{initializationDone()} signal.

    Before shutdown, the \c Core plugin \l{Core::ICore} sends the
    \l{Core::ICore::coreAboutToClose()}{coreAboutToClose()} signal. After that, the
    plugin manager starts its shutdown sequence:

    \list 1
        \o Calls the \l{ExtensionSystem::IPlugin::aboutToShutdown()}{aboutToShutdown()} methods of
           all plugins in the order of the load queue. Plugins should perform measures
           for speeding up the actual shutdown here, like disconnecting signals that
           would otherwise needlessly be called.
           If a plugin needs to delay the real shutdown for a while, for example if
           it needs to wait for external processes to finish for a clean shutdown,
           the plugin can return \l{ExtensionSystem::IPlugin::AsynchronousShutdown} from this
           method. This will make the plugin manager wait with the next step, and keep the main
           event loop running, until all plugins requesting AsynchronousShutdown have sent
           the asynchronousShutdownFinished() signal.

        \o Destroys all plugins by deleting their \l{ExtensionSystem::IPlugin}
           instances in \e reverse order of the load queue. At this point the plugin destructors
           are called. Plugins should clean up after themselves by freeing memory and other resources.
    \endlist
*/
