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Standalone Plugin Development

tip
  • Plugin development requires Xcode. This guide uses Xcode 13.1 (13A1030d); other versions are untested
  • Plugins support Swift, Objective-C, etc., compiled as frameworks
  • Use EC's official interface library pluginhost.framework when developing plugins. Download framework. Reference helloworldplugin and helloworldplugin2 sample code: Download

Create Plugin Project​

  • In Xcode, choose New → Project
Project option
  • Choose iOS Framework type, then Next
Choose iOS Framework type
  • Enter plugin name — no Chinese. Example: hplugin. Other options as shown. Change Bundle Identifier as needed
Enter name
  • Project structure:
Project structure

Add Framework​

  • Copy downloaded pluginhost.framework into the project directory
pluginhost
  • Add pluginhost.framework reference in Xcode
pluginhost
  • Click +, choose Add Files, then select pluginhost.framework
pluginhost pluginhost
  • Set pluginhost.framework to Do Not Embed
pluginhost

Create Plugin Class​

  • Right-click the Xcode project, choose New File
pluginhost
  • Choose Swift File
pluginhost
  • Name it Plugin1 (or another name). Class content:
pluginhost
tip

The project is ready at this point!

Method Override Reference​

// Comments based on demo code
import Foundation
import pluginhost
import JavaScriptCore
import UIKit
// Inheriting ECPlugin means the interface is ECPlugin, used as reflection base
// Inheriting JSExport means methods in this class can be called from JS
public class Plugin1 : NSObject, ECPlugin,JSExport{
    // Corresponds to pluginLoader.callMethodAny
    public func callMethodAny(_ methodName: String, _ data: Any) -> Any? {
        print("callMethodAny --- ",data)
        if(data is String){
            print("any is string...")
        }else if (data is UIImage){
            print("any is ui image ...")
        }
        return ""
    }
    // Corresponds to pluginLoader.callMethodStr
    public func callMethodStr(_ methodName: String, _ args: String) -> String {
      
        return " callMethodStr "+methodName + " "+args ;
    }
    // Corresponds to pluginLoader.callMethodData
    public func callMethodData(_ methodName: String, _ data: Data) -> String {
        let a = String(data: data, encoding: .utf8)
        return " callMethodData " + methodName + " "+(a ?? "");
    }
    // Corresponds to pluginLoader.callMethodReturnData
    public func callMethodReturnData(_ methodName: String, _ data: String) -> Data {
        let a = "callMethodDataReturnData "+methodName;
        return a.data(using: .utf8)!;
    }
    // Called when script ends to release resources
    public func disposed() {
        print("disposed plugin...")
    }
    
    // Constructor used when instantiating
    public required override init(){
        
    }
    
}

Package Plugin​

Xcode Build​

  • Use Product menu in Xcode to build the plugin
pluginhost
  • Click Build to compile. Click Show Build Folder in Finder, go to the build output directory, and copy out the .framework file
pluginhost

Command-Line Build​

  • Pre-written script; replace helloworldplugin with your plugin name. Output is in the current project directory after build
#!/bin/bash
WORK_DIR= `pwd`
echo `$WORK_DIR`

build_plugin_frame(){
  rm -rf /tmp/derivedDataPath/*
  xcodebuild build -project helloworldplugin.xcodeproj -scheme helloworldplugin -sdk iphoneos -configuration Release -derivedDataPath /tmp/derivedDataPath -allowProvisioningUpdates
  cp -r /tmp/derivedDataPath/Build/Products/Release-iphoneos/helloworldplugin.framework ./
  cd $WORK_DIR
}

build_plugin_frame

Use Plugin​

  • For development
  • In EC iOS dev plugin, create a project, build a debug package, choose Add Third-Party Plugin, and select the framework file
pluginhost
  • After packaging, sign the IPA, install on phone, and debug code
  • For release
  • Same steps to select the plugin file. When publishing, choose Standard Package or Enterprise Package