Plugin Modules

Rhai contains a robust plugin system that greatly simplifies registration of custom functionality.

Instead of using the complicated Engine::register_XXX or Module’s FuncRegistration API to register Rust functions, a plugin simplifies the work of creating and registering new functionality to an Engine.

Plugins are processed via a set of procedural macros under the rhai::plugin module. These allow registering Rust functions directly into an Engine instance, or adding Rust modules as packages.

Import Prelude

When using the plugins system, the entire rhai::plugin module must be imported as a prelude because code generated will need these imports.

use rhai::plugin::*;

#[export_module]

When applied to a Rust module, the #[export_module] attribute generates the necessary code and metadata to allow Rhai access to its public (i.e. marked pub) functions, constants, type aliases, and sub-modules.

This code is exactly what would need to be written by hand to achieve the same goal, and is custom fit to each exported item.

All pub functions become registered functions, constants become module constants, type aliases become custom types, and sub-modules become Rhai sub-modules.

use rhai::plugin::*;        // a "prelude" import for macros

// My custom type
pub struct TestStruct {
    pub value: i64
}

#[export_module]
mod my_module {
    // This type alias will register the friendly name 'ABC' for the
    // custom type 'TestStruct'.
    pub type ABC = TestStruct;

    // This constant will be registered as the constant variable 'MY_NUMBER'.
    // Ignored when registered as a global module.
    pub const MY_NUMBER: i64 = 42;

    // This function will be registered as 'greet'
    // but is only available with the 'greetings' feature.
    #[cfg(feature = "greetings")]
    pub fn greet(name: &str) -> String {
        format!("hello, {}!", name)
    }
    /// This function will be registered as 'get_num'.
    ///
    /// If this is a Rust doc-comment, then it is included in the metadata.
    pub fn get_num() -> i64 {
        mystic_number()
    }
    /// This function will be registered as 'create_abc'.
    pub fn create_abc(value: i64) -> ABC {
        ABC { value }
    }
    /// This function will be registered as the 'value' property of type 'ABC'.
    #[rhai_fn(get = "value")]
    pub fn get_value(ts: &mut ABC) -> i64 {
        ts.value
    }
    // This function will be registered as 'increment'.
    // It will also be exposed to the global namespace since 'global' is set.
    #[rhai_fn(global)]
    pub fn increment(ts: &mut ABC) {
        ts.value += 1;
    }
    // This function is not 'pub', so NOT registered.
    fn mystic_number() -> i64 {
        42
    }
    // This global function defines a custom operator '@'.
    #[rhai_fn(name = "@", global)]
    pub fn square_add(x: i64, y: i64) -> i64 {
        x * x + y * y
    }

    // Sub-modules are ignored when the module is registered globally.
    pub mod my_sub_module {
        // This function is ignored when registered globally.
        // Otherwise it is a valid registered function under a sub-module.
        pub fn get_info() -> String {
            "hello".to_string()
        }
    }

    // Sub-modules are commonly used to put feature gates on a group of
    // functions because feature gates cannot be put on function definitions.
    // This is currently a limitation of the plugin procedural macros.
    #[cfg(feature = "advanced_functions")]
    pub mod advanced {
        // This function is ignored when registered globally.
        // Otherwise it is a valid registered function under a sub-module
        // which only exists when the 'advanced_functions' feature is used.
        pub fn advanced_calc(input: i64) -> i64 {
            input * 2
        }
    }
}

Usage

The plugin module can be registered into an Engine as a normal module.

This is usually done via the exported_module! macro.

The macro combine_with_exported_module! can also be used to combine all the functions and variables into an existing module, flattening the namespace – i.e. all sub-modules are eliminated and their contents promoted to the top level. This is typical for developing custom packages.

Register with Engine::register_global_module

The simplest way to register the plugin module into an Engine is:

1. use the exported_module! macro to turn it into a normal Rhai module,
2. call Engine::register_global_module to register it

fn main() {
    let mut engine = Engine::new();

    // The macro call creates a Rhai module from the plugin module.
    let module = exported_module!(my_module);

    // A module can simply be registered into the global namespace.
    engine.register_global_module(module.into());

    // Define a custom operator '@' with precedence of 160 (i.e. between +|- and *|/).
    engine.register_custom_operator("@", 160).unwrap();
}

The functions contained within the module definition (i.e. greet, get_num, create_abc and increment, the value property getter), and the TestStruct custom type (with friendly name ABC) are automatically registered into the Engine when Engine::register_global_module is called.

let x = greet("world");
x == "hello, world!";

let x = greet(get_num().to_string());
x == "hello, 42!";

let x = get_num();
x == 42;

x @ x == 3528;      // custom operator

let abc = create_abc(x);

type_of(abc) == "ABC";

abc.value == 42;

abc.increment();

abc.value == 43;

Register with Engine::register_static_module

Another simple way to register the plugin module into an Engine is, again:

1. use the exported_module! macro to turn it into a normal Rhai module,
2. call Engine::register_static_module to register it under a particular module namespace

fn main() {
    let mut engine = Engine::new();

    // The macro call creates a Rhai module from the plugin module.
    let module = exported_module!(my_module);

    // A module can simply be registered as a static module namespace.
    engine.register_static_module("service", module.into());

    // Define a custom operator '@' with precedence of 160 (i.e. between +|- and *|/).
    engine.register_custom_operator("@", 160).unwrap();
}

The functions contained within the module definition (i.e. greet, get_num and increment), plus the constant MY_NUMBER, are automatically registered under the module namespace service:

let x = service::greet("world");
x == "hello, world!";

service::MY_NUMBER == 42;

let x = service::greet(service::get_num().to_string());
x == "hello, 42!";

let x = service::get_num();
x == 42;

x @ x == 3528;      // custom operator

let abc = service::create_abc(x);

type_of(abc) == "ABC";

abc.value == 42;

service::increment(abc);

abc.value == 43;

Use #[rhai_fn(global)]

All functions (usually methods) defined in the module and marked with #[rhai_fn(global)], all type iterators and all custom types are automatically exposed to the global namespace, so iteration, getters/setters and indexers for custom types can work as expected.

Therefore, in the example above, the increment method (defined with #[rhai_fn(global)]) works fine when called in method-call style:

let x = 42;
x.increment();
x == 43;

Load Dynamically

Using this directly as a dynamically-loadable Rhai module is almost the same, except that a module resolver must be used to serve the module, and the module is loaded via import statements.

Combine into Custom Package

Finally, the plugin module can also be used to develop a custom package, using combine_with_exported_module! which automatically flattens the module namespace so that all functions in sub-modules are promoted to the top level namespace, all sub-modules are eliminated, and all variables are ignored.

#[export_module]
mod my_module {
    // Always available
    pub fn func0() {}

    // The following functions are only available under 'foo'.
    // Use a sub-module for convenience, since all functions underneath
    // will be flattened into the namespace.
    #[cfg(feature = "foo")]
    pub mod group_foo {
        pub fn func1() {}
        pub fn func2() {}
        pub fn func3() {}
    }

    // The following functions are only available under 'bar'
    #[cfg(feature = "bar")]
    pub mod group_bar {
        pub fn func4() {}
        pub fn func5() {}
        pub fn func6() {}
    }
}

// The above is equivalent to:
#[export_module]
mod my_module_alternate {
    pub fn func0() {}

    #[cfg(feature = "foo")]
    pub fn func1() {}
    #[cfg(feature = "foo")]
    pub fn func2() {}
    #[cfg(feature = "foo")]
    pub fn func3() {}

    #[cfg(feature = "bar")]
    pub fn func4() {}
    #[cfg(feature = "bar")]
    pub fn func5() {}
    #[cfg(feature = "bar")]
    pub fn func6() {}
}

// Registered functions:
//   func0 - always available
//   func1, func2, func3 - available under 'foo'
//   func4, func5, func6 - available under 'bar'
//   func0, func1, func2, func3, func4, func5, func6 - available under 'foo' and 'bar'
combine_with_exported_module!(module, "my_module_ID", my_module);

Functions Overloading and Operators

Operators and overloaded functions can be specified via applying the #[rhai_fn(name = "...")] attribute to individual functions.

The text string given as the name parameter to #[rhai_fn] is used to register the function with the Engine, disregarding the actual name of the function.

With #[rhai_fn(name = "...")], multiple functions may be registered under the same name in Rhai, so long as they have different parameters.

use rhai::plugin::*;        // a "prelude" import for macros

#[export_module]
mod my_module {
    // This is the '+' operator for 'TestStruct'.
    #[rhai_fn(name = "+")]
    pub fn add(obj: &mut TestStruct, value: i64) {
        obj.prop += value;
    }
    // This function is 'calc (i64)'.
    pub fn calc(num: i64) -> i64 {
        ...
    }
    // This function is 'calc (i64, bool)'.
    #[rhai_fn(name = "calc")]
    pub fn calc_with_option(num: i64, option: bool) -> i64 {
        ...
    }
}

Getters, Setters and Indexers

Functions can be marked as getters/setters and indexers for custom types via the #[rhai_fn] attribute, which is applied on a function level.

use rhai::plugin::*;        // a "prelude" import for macros

#[export_module]
mod my_module {
    // This is a normal function 'greet'.
    pub fn greet(name: &str) -> String {
        format!("hello, {}!", name)
    }
    // This is a getter for 'TestStruct::prop'.
    #[rhai_fn(get = "prop", pure)]
    pub fn get_prop(obj: &mut TestStruct) -> i64 {
        obj.prop
    }
    // This is a setter for 'TestStruct::prop'.
    #[rhai_fn(set = "prop")]
    pub fn set_prop(obj: &mut TestStruct, value: i64) {
        obj.prop = value;
    }
    // This is an index getter for 'TestStruct'.
    #[rhai_fn(index_get)]
    pub fn get_index(obj: &mut TestStruct, index: i64) -> bool {
        obj.list[index]
    }
    // This is an index setter for 'TestStruct'.
    #[rhai_fn(index_set)]
    pub fn set_index(obj: &mut TestStruct, index: i64, state: bool) {
        obj.list[index] = state;
    }
}

Multiple Registrations

Parameters to the #[rhai_fn(...)] attribute can be applied multiple times, separated by commas.

use rhai::plugin::*;        // a "prelude" import for macros

#[export_module]
mod my_module {
    // This function can be called in five ways
    #[rhai_fn(name = "get_prop_value", name = "prop", name = "+", set = "prop", index_get)]
    pub fn prop_function(obj: &mut TestStruct, index: i64) -> i64 {
        obj.prop[index]
    }
}

The above function can be called in five ways:

Pure Functions

Apply the #[rhai_fn(pure)] attribute on a method function (i.e. one taking a &mut first parameter) to mark it as pure – i.e. it does not modify the &mut parameter.

This is often done to avoid expensive cloning for methods or property getters that return information about a custom type and does not modify it.

use rhai::plugin::*;        // a "prelude" import for macros

#[export_module]
mod my_module {
    // This function can be passed a constant
    #[rhai_fn(name = "add1", pure)]
    pub fn add_scaled(array: &mut rhai::Array, x: i64) -> i64 {
        array.iter().map(|v| v.as_int().unwrap()).fold(0, |(r, v)| r += v * x)
    }
    // This function CANNOT be passed a constant
    #[rhai_fn(name = "add2")]
    pub fn add_scaled2(array: &mut rhai::Array, x: i64) -> i64 {
        array.iter().map(|v| v.as_int().unwrap()).fold(0, |(r, v)| r += v * x)
    }
    // This getter can be applied to a constant
    #[rhai_fn(get = "first1", pure)]
    pub fn get_first(array: &mut rhai::Array) -> i64 {
        array[0]
    }
    // This getter CANNOT be applied to a constant
    #[rhai_fn(get = "first2")]
    pub fn get_first2(array: &mut rhai::Array) -> i64 {
        array[0]
    }
    // The following is a syntax error because a setter is SUPPOSED to
    // mutate the object.  Therefore the 'pure' attribute cannot be used.
    #[rhai_fn(get = "values", pure)]
    pub fn set_values(array: &mut rhai::Array, value: i64) {
        // ...
    }
    // The following is a volatile function which returns different values
    // for each call.
    #[rhai_fn(volatile)]
    pub fn get_current_time() -> String {
        // ...
    }
}

When applied to a Rhai script:

// Constant
const VECTOR = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7];

let r = VECTOR.add1(2);     // ok!

let r = VECTOR.add2(2);     // runtime error: constant modified

let r = VECTOR.first1;      // ok!

let r = VECTOR.first2;      // runtime error: constant modified

Volatile Functions

A volatile function is one that does not guarantee the same result for the same input(s).

Most functions are non-volatile, meaning that they always generate the same result when called with the same arguments.

Common examples of volatile functions are:

• a function that returns the current date and/or time

• a function that looks up the current value of a variable in the environment

• a function that reads from a file (which depends on the content of the file at the time of read)

• a function that reads from a database or a cache (which depends on the content at the time of read)

When using Full Optimization, functions with constant arguments are called eagerly at compile time. However, volatile functions are never called.

Plugin functions are assumed to be non-volatile by default, unless marked with #[rhai_fn(volatile)].

Fallible Functions

To register fallible functions (i.e. functions that may return errors), apply the #[rhai_fn(return_raw)] attribute on functions that return Result<T, Box<EvalAltResult>> where T is any clonable type.

use rhai::plugin::*;        // a "prelude" import for macros

#[export_module]
mod my_module {
    /// This overloads the '/' operator for i64.
    #[rhai_fn(name = "/", return_raw)]
    pub fn double_and_divide(x: i64, y: i64) -> Result<i64, Box<EvalAltResult>> {
        if y == 0 {
            Err("Division by zero!".into())
        } else {
            Ok((x * 2) / y)
        }
    }
}

#[export_module] Parameters

Parameters can be applied to the #[export_module] attribute to override its default behavior.

Inner Attributes

Inner attributes can be applied to the inner items of a module to tweak the export process.

Parameters should be set on inner attributes to specify the desired behavior.