OpenAF Plugins

OpenAF plugins extend the core functionality by providing access to Java libraries and additional features through a simple JavaScript interface.

Overview

Plugins are dynamically loaded Java components that expose specialized functionality to OpenAF scripts. They provide:

Java integration - Access Java libraries from JavaScript
Extended functionality - Features beyond core OpenAF
Performance optimization - Native Java performance for heavy operations
Third-party integration - Leverage existing Java ecosystems

Loading Plugins

Basic Syntax

plugin("PluginName");

Available Core Plugins

Plugin	Purpose	Common Uses
`HTTP`	HTTP client operations	REST API calls, web requests
`HTTPd`	HTTP server	Web servers, REST APIs
`HTTPws`	WebSocket support	Real-time communication
`ZIP`	Archive operations	Compress/decompress files
`SSH`	SSH client	Remote command execution
`XML`	XML processing	Parse/generate XML
`SNMP`	SNMP client	Network monitoring
`SNMPServer`	SNMP server	Expose SNMP endpoints
`JMX`	JMX client	Java application monitoring
`JMXServer`	JMX server	Expose JMX beans
`Threads`	Threading support	Parallel execution
`Console`	Console operations	Terminal colors, formatting
`Email`	Email sending	SMTP email
`XLS`	Excel files	Read/write spreadsheets
`Ignite`	Apache Ignite	Distributed computing
`Beautifiers`	Code formatting	Pretty-print code
`BSDiff`	Binary diff/patch	Binary file operations

Common Plugin Usage

HTTP Plugin

plugin("HTTP");

var http = new HTTP("https://api.example.com");
var response = http.get("/endpoint");
print(response);

Or use the simplified $rest() API:

ow.loadObj();

var data = $rest()
  .get("https://api.example.com/data")
  .getResponse();

SSH Plugin

plugin("SSH");

var ssh = new SSH("hostname", 22, "username", "password");
ssh.connect();

var output = ssh.exec("ls -la");
print(output);

ssh.disconnect();

ZIP Plugin

plugin("ZIP");

// Create ZIP
var zip = new ZIP();
zip.generate("output.zip", [
  { file: "data.txt" },
  { file: "config.json" }
]);

// Extract ZIP
zip.unzip("archive.zip", "./extracted/");

XML Plugin

plugin("XML");

// Parse XML
var xml = new XML("<root><item>value</item></root>");
var value = xml.getPath("/root/item");
print(value);

// Generate XML
var doc = new XML();
doc.addElement("root");
doc.addElement("item", "value");
print(doc.toString());

Threads Plugin

plugin("Threads");

var t = new Threads();

// Add thread function
t.addThread(function() {
  log("Thread 1 running");
  sleep(1000, true);
});

t.addThread(function() {
  log("Thread 2 running");
  sleep(1000, true);
});

// Start and wait
t.start();

Email Plugin

plugin("Email");

var email = new Email();
email.send({
  server: "smtp.example.com",
  from: "sender@example.com",
  to: ["recipient@example.com"],
  subject: "Test Email",
  body: "This is a test message"
});

XLS Plugin

plugin("XLS");

// Create Excel file
var xls = new XLS();
var sheet = xls.getSheet("Data");

xls.setCellValue(sheet, "A1", "Name");
xls.setCellValue(sheet, "B1", "Value");
xls.setCellValue(sheet, "A2", "Item 1");
xls.setCellValue(sheet, "B2", 100);

xls.writeFile("output.xlsx");
xls.close();

Plugin Patterns

Conditional Loading

// Load plugin only if needed
if (needsSSH) {
  plugin("SSH");
  var ssh = new SSH(host, port, user, pass);
  // Use SSH
}

Error Handling

try {
  plugin("HTTP");
  var http = new HTTP(url);
  var response = http.get("/api");
} catch(e) {
  logErr("HTTP request failed: " + e.message);
}

Resource Cleanup

plugin("SSH");

var ssh = new SSH(host, port, user, pass);

try {
  ssh.connect();
  var result = ssh.exec(command);
  // Process result
} finally {
  ssh.disconnect();
}

Custom Plugins

Plugin Structure

Custom plugins follow Java conventions:

package openaf.plugins;

public class MyPlugin {
    public String doSomething(String input) {
        return "Processed: " + input;
    }
}

Loading Custom Plugins

// Load from classpath
plugin("openaf.plugins.MyPlugin");

// Use plugin
var mp = new MyPlugin();
var result = mp.doSomething("test");

Plugin Best Practices

1. Load Plugins Early

// Good - load at start
plugin("HTTP");
plugin("ZIP");

// Then use throughout script
var http = new HTTP(url);
var zip = new ZIP();

2. Reuse Plugin Instances

// Good - create once, use multiple times
plugin("SSH");
var ssh = new SSH(host, port, user, pass);
ssh.connect();

ssh.exec("command1");
ssh.exec("command2");

ssh.disconnect();

// Bad - creating multiple instances
plugin("SSH");
new SSH(host, port, user, pass).exec("command1");
new SSH(host, port, user, pass).exec("command2");

3. Use Wrapper Functions

OpenAF provides wrapper modules for common plugins:

// Instead of direct plugin usage
plugin("HTTP");
var http = new HTTP(url);

// Use wrapper
ow.loadObj();
var data = $rest().get(url).getResponse();

4. Check Plugin Availability

try {
  plugin("OptionalPlugin");
  // Use plugin
} catch(e) {
  log("Optional plugin not available, using fallback");
  // Fallback implementation
}

When to Use Plugins

Use Plugins For:

✅ Java library integration
✅ Performance-critical operations
✅ System-level operations (SSH, SNMP)
✅ Binary file handling
✅ Protocol implementations

Use Built-in Functions For:

✅ File I/O operations
✅ JSON/YAML processing
✅ String manipulation
✅ Array/object operations
✅ Basic HTTP requests (use $rest())

Plugin Dependencies

OpenWrap Modules Using Plugins

Many ow.* modules load plugins automatically:

ow.loadFormat() → loads Console
ow.loadServer() → loads HTTPServer, Threads
ow.loadObj() → loads HTTP
ow.loadJava() → loads JMX, XML, ZIP

Checking Plugin Dependencies

// View which plugins a module uses
var deps = af.getOPackDeps("ModuleName");
print(af.toYAML(deps));

Troubleshooting

Plugin Not Found

Error: Plugin 'PluginName' not found

Solutions:

Check spelling
Ensure OpenAF is properly installed
Check if plugin is available in your OpenAF version

ClassNotFoundException

Error: java.lang.ClassNotFoundException