hooks.txt
-This document describes how event hooks work in MediaWiki; how to add
-hooks for an event; and how to run hooks for an event.
+This document describes how event hooks work in MediaWiki; how to add hooks for
+an event; and how to run hooks for an event.
==Glossary==
event
- Something that happens with the wiki. For example: a user logs
- in. A wiki page is saved. A wiki page is deleted. Often there are
- two events associated with a single action: one before the code
- is run to make the event happen, and one after. Each event has a
- name, preferably in CamelCase. For example, 'UserLogin',
- 'ArticleSave', 'ArticleSaveComplete', 'ArticleDelete'.
+ Something that happens with the wiki. For example: a user logs in. A wiki
+ page is saved. A wiki page is deleted. Often there are two events
+ associated with a single action: one before the code is run to make the
+ event happen, and one after. Each event has a name, preferably in
+ CamelCase. For example, 'UserLogin', 'ArticleSave', 'ArticleSaveComplete',
+ 'ArticleDelete'.
hook
- A clump of code and data that should be run when an event
- happens. This can be either a function and a chunk of data, or an
- object and a method.
+ A clump of code and data that should be run when an event happens. This can
+ be either a function and a chunk of data, or an object and a method.
hook function
The function part of a hook.
==Rationale==
-Hooks allow us to decouple optionally-run code from code that is run
-for everyone. It allows MediaWiki hackers, third-party developers and
-local administrators to define code that will be run at certain points
-in the mainline code, and to modify the data run by that mainline
-code. Hooks can keep mainline code simple, and make it easier to
-write extensions. Hooks are a principled alternative to local patches.
+Hooks allow us to decouple optionally-run code from code that is run for
+everyone. It allows MediaWiki hackers, third-party developers and local
+administrators to define code that will be run at certain points in the mainline
+code, and to modify the data run by that mainline code. Hooks can keep mainline
+code simple, and make it easier to write extensions. Hooks are a principled
+alternative to local patches.
-Consider, for example, two options in MediaWiki. One reverses the
-order of a title before displaying the article; the other converts the
-title to all uppercase letters. Currently, in MediaWiki code, we
-would handle this as follows (note: not real code, here):
+Consider, for example, two options in MediaWiki. One reverses the order of a
+title before displaying the article; the other converts the title to all
+uppercase letters. Currently, in MediaWiki code, we would handle this as follows
+(note: not real code, here):
function showAnArticle($article) {
global $wgReverseTitle, $wgCapitalizeTitle;
# code to actually show the article goes here
}
-An extension writer, or a local admin, will often add custom code to
-the function -- with or without a global variable. For example,
-someone wanting email notification when an article is shown may add:
+An extension writer, or a local admin, will often add custom code to the
+function -- with or without a global variable. For example, someone wanting
+email notification when an article is shown may add:
function showAnArticle($article) {
- global $wgReverseTitle, $wgCapitalizeTitle;
+ global $wgReverseTitle, $wgCapitalizeTitle, $wgNotifyArticle;
- if ($wgReverseTitle) {
- wfReverseTitle($article);
- }
+ if ($wgReverseTitle) {
+ wfReverseTitle($article);
+ }
- if ($wgCapitalizeTitle) {
- wfCapitalizeTitle($article);
- }
+ if ($wgCapitalizeTitle) {
+ wfCapitalizeTitle($article);
+ }
- # code to actually show the article goes here
+ # code to actually show the article goes here
- if ($wgNotifyArticle) {
- wfNotifyArticleShow($article));
- }
+ if ($wgNotifyArticle) {
+ wfNotifyArticleShow($article));
+ }
}
-Using a hook-running strategy, we can avoid having all this
-option-specific stuff in our mainline code. Using hooks, the function
-becomes:
+Using a hook-running strategy, we can avoid having all this option-specific
+stuff in our mainline code. Using hooks, the function becomes:
function showAnArticle($article) {
}
}
-We've cleaned up the code here by removing clumps of weird,
-infrequently used code and moving them off somewhere else. It's much
-easier for someone working with this code to see what's _really_ going
-on, and make changes or fix bugs.
+We've cleaned up the code here by removing clumps of weird, infrequently used
+code and moving them off somewhere else. It's much easier for someone working
+with this code to see what's _really_ going on, and make changes or fix bugs.
-In addition, we can take all the code that deals with the little-used
-title-reversing options (say) and put it in one place. Instead of
-having little title-reversing if-blocks spread all over the codebase
-in showAnArticle, deleteAnArticle, exportArticle, etc., we can
-concentrate it all in an extension file:
+In addition, we can take all the code that deals with the little-used
+title-reversing options (say) and put it in one place. Instead of having little
+title-reversing if-blocks spread all over the codebase in showAnArticle,
+deleteAnArticle, exportArticle, etc., we can concentrate it all in an extension
+file:
function reverseArticleTitle($article) {
# ...
# ...
}
-The setup function for the extension just has to add its hook
-functions to the appropriate events:
+The setup function for the extension just has to add its hook functions to the
+appropriate events:
setupTitleReversingExtension() {
global $wgHooks;
$wgHooks['ArticleExport'][] = 'reverseForExport';
}
-Having all this code related to the title-reversion option in one
-place means that it's easier to read and understand; you don't have to
-do a grep-find to see where the $wgReverseTitle variable is used, say.
+Having all this code related to the title-reversion option in one place means
+that it's easier to read and understand; you don't have to do a grep-find to see
+where the $wgReverseTitle variable is used, say.
-If the code is well enough isolated, it can even be excluded when not
-used -- making for some slight savings in memory and load-up
-performance at runtime. Admins who want to have all the reversed
-titles can add:
+If the code is well enough isolated, it can even be excluded when not used --
+making for some slight savings in memory and load-up performance at runtime.
+Admins who want to have all the reversed titles can add:
require_once('extensions/ReverseTitle.php');
-...to their LocalSettings.php file; those of us who don't want or need
-it can just leave it out.
+...to their LocalSettings.php file; those of us who don't want or need it can
+just leave it out.
-The extensions don't even have to be shipped with MediaWiki; they
-could be provided by a third-party developer or written by the admin
-him/herself.
+The extensions don't even have to be shipped with MediaWiki; they could be
+provided by a third-party developer or written by the admin him/herself.
==Writing hooks==
* a function with some optional accompanying data, or
* an object with a method and some optional accompanying data.
-Hooks are registered by adding them to the global $wgHooks array for a
-given event. All the following are valid ways to define hooks:
+Hooks are registered by adding them to the global $wgHooks array for a given
+event. All the following are valid ways to define hooks:
$wgHooks['EventName'][] = 'someFunction'; # function, no data
$wgHooks['EventName'][] = array('someFunction', $someData);
$wgHooks['EventName'][] = array($object, 'someMethod', $someData);
$wgHooks['EventName'][] = array($object); # weird but OK
-When an event occurs, the function (or object method) will be called
-with the optional data provided as well as event-specific parameters.
-The above examples would result in the following code being executed
-when 'EventName' happened:
+When an event occurs, the function (or object method) will be called with the
+optional data provided as well as event-specific parameters. The above examples
+would result in the following code being executed when 'EventName' happened:
# function, no data
someFunction($param1, $param2)
# object with method and data
$object->someMethod($someData, $param1, $param2)
-Note that when an object is the hook, and there's no specified method,
-the default method called is 'onEventName'. For different events this
-would be different: 'onArticleSave', 'onUserLogin', etc.
+Note that when an object is the hook, and there's no specified method, the
+default method called is 'onEventName'. For different events this would be
+different: 'onArticleSave', 'onUserLogin', etc.
-The extra data is useful if we want to use the same function or object
-for different purposes. For example:
+The extra data is useful if we want to use the same function or object for
+different purposes. For example:
$wgHooks['ArticleSaveComplete'][] = array('ircNotify', 'TimStarling');
$wgHooks['ArticleSaveComplete'][] = array('ircNotify', 'brion');
-This code would result in ircNotify being run twice when an article is
-saved: once for 'TimStarling', and once for 'brion'.
+This code would result in ircNotify being run twice when an article is saved:
+once for 'TimStarling', and once for 'brion'.
Hooks can return three possible values:
* true: the hook has operated successfully
- * "some string": an error occurred; processing should
- stop and the error should be shown to the user
- * false: the hook has successfully done the work
- necessary and the calling function should skip
+ * "some string": an error occurred; processing should stop and the error
+ should be shown to the user
+ * false: the hook has successfully done the work necessary and the calling
+ function should skip
-The last result would be for cases where the hook function replaces
-the main functionality. For example, if you wanted to authenticate
-users to a custom system (LDAP, another PHP program, whatever), you
-could do:
+The last result would be for cases where the hook function replaces the main
+functionality. For example, if you wanted to authenticate users to a custom
+system (LDAP, another PHP program, whatever), you could do:
$wgHooks['UserLogin'][] = array('ldapLogin', $ldapServer);
return false;
}
-Returning false makes less sense for events where the action is
-complete, and will normally be ignored.
+Returning false makes less sense for events where the action is complete, and
+will normally be ignored.
==Using hooks==
-A calling function or method uses the wfRunHooks() function to run
-the hooks related to a particular event, like so:
+A calling function or method uses the wfRunHooks() function to run the hooks
+related to a particular event, like so:
class Article {
# ...
}
}
-wfRunHooks() returns true if the calling function should continue
-processing (the hooks ran OK, or there are no hooks to run), or false
-if it shouldn't (an error occurred, or one of the hooks handled the
-action already). Checking the return value matters more for "before"
-hooks than for "complete" hooks.
+wfRunHooks() returns true if the calling function should continue processing
+(the hooks ran OK, or there are no hooks to run), or false if it shouldn't (an
+error occurred, or one of the hooks handled the action already). Checking the
+return value matters more for "before" hooks than for "complete" hooks.
Note that hook parameters are passed in an array; this is a necessary
-inconvenience to make it possible to pass reference values (that can
-be changed) into the hook code. Also note that earlier versions of
-wfRunHooks took a variable number of arguments; the array() calling
-protocol came about after MediaWiki 1.4rc1.
+inconvenience to make it possible to pass reference values (that can be changed)
+into the hook code. Also note that earlier versions of wfRunHooks took a
+variable number of arguments; the array() calling protocol came about after
+MediaWiki 1.4rc1.
==Events and parameters==
-This is a list of known events and parameters; please add to it if
-you're going to add events to the MediaWiki code.
+This is a list of known events and parameters; please add to it if you're going
+to add events to the MediaWiki code.
'AbortAutoblock': Return false to cancel an autoblock.
$autoblockip: The IP going to be autoblocked.