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scopy-architecture-knowledge

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Core Scopy architecture knowledge including plugin lifecycle, library dependencies, build system, and key design patterns. Loaded by clarify-task and design-task commands.

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Scopy Architecture Knowledge

Plugin Lifecycle

Plugins inherit from PluginBase (which implements Plugin interface). Required overrides:

bool compatible(QString param, QString category) override;  // Device detection (MUST NOT alter state)
bool onConnect() override;    // Setup when device connects
bool onDisconnect() override; // Cleanup when device disconnects

Full lifecycle sequence:

  1. DeviceFactory::build(param, category) creates DeviceImpl
  2. DeviceImpl calls compatible(param, category) on each plugin factory instance
  3. For compatible plugins: clone() → preload() (NOT on UI thread)
  4. loadIcon() → loadPage() → loadConfigPage() → loadToolList() → loadPreferencesPage() → loadExtraButtons() → postload()
  5. On device connect: onConnect() — enable tools, create instruments, register APIs
  6. On device disconnect: onDisconnect() — cleanup, delete APIs

Plugin class skeleton:

class MyPlugin : public QObject, PluginBase {
    SCOPY_PLUGIN
    Q_OBJECT
    Q_PLUGIN_METADATA(IID "org.adi.Scopy.PluginBase")
    Q_INTERFACES(scopy::PluginBase)

public:
    bool compatible(QString m_param, QString category) override;
    void loadToolList() override;
    bool loadIcon() override;
    bool loadPage() override;
    bool onConnect() override;
    bool onDisconnect() override;
    void initMetadata() override;
};

Core Library Dependency Chain

Build order and what each library provides:

LibraryProvidesKey Dependencies
scopy-commonShared utilities, base classesQt Core/Widgets
scopyiioutilIIO communication, PingTask, CyclicalTasklibiio, libserialport
scopy-guiQt widgets, UI components, Style systemscopy-common, QWT, Boost
scopy-gr-utilGNU Radio integrationscopy-iioutil, scopy-gui, Gnuradio libs, Genalyzer
scopy-pluginbasePlugin framework, MessageBroker, Preferences, ScopyJSscopy-common, scopyiioutil
scopy-iio-widgetsIIOWidgetBuilder, IIOWidget, IIOWidgetGrouplibiio, scopy-gui, scopyiioutil
scopy-pkg-managerRuntime package installation—
scopy-coreScopyMainWindow, DeviceManager, PluginManager, DeviceFactoryall above, Python3, libsigrokdecode

Package Structure

Each package lives under packages/<name>/ and contains:

packages/<name>/
├── manifest.json.cmakein    # Package metadata (id, title, version, category)
├── CMakeLists.txt           # Build config
├── plugins/                 # One or more plugins
│   └── <plugin>/
│       ├── include/<plugin>/<plugin>plugin.h
│       ├── src/<plugin>plugin.cpp
│       ├── CMakeLists.txt
│       ├── resources/
│       ├── test/
│       └── doc/
└── emu-xml/                 # Device emulation files

Build flags: ENABLE_PACKAGE_<NAME> (uppercase, dashes preserved). ENABLE_ALL_PACKAGES=ON enables all.

ToolMenuEntry

Tools are registered in loadToolList() using the macro:

#define SCOPY_NEW_TOOLMENUENTRY(id, name, icon)
// Creates: new ToolMenuEntry(id, name, icon, this->m_name, this->m_param, this)

Key properties: id, name, icon, visible, enabled, running, attached, detachable, runEnabled, runBtnVisible.

In onConnect(), each tool is enabled and given its widget:

toolList[i]->setEnabled(true);
toolList[i]->setTool(instrumentWidget);

MessageBroker (Pub/Sub Singleton)

// Subscribe
MessageBroker::GetInstance()->subscribe(this, "topic_name");

// Publish
MessageBroker::GetInstance()->publish("topic_name", "message_data");

// Receive in plugin
void messageCallback(QString topic, QString message) override;

All plugins auto-subscribe to "broadcast" topic. The broker stores QMap<QObject*, QSet<QString>> for subscriptions.

Preferences (Singleton)

// Initialize with default
Preferences::init("plugin.setting_key", defaultValue);

// Read/Write
QVariant val = Preferences::get("plugin.setting_key");
Preferences::set("plugin.setting_key", newValue);

// React to changes
connect(Preferences::GetInstance(), &Preferences::preferenceChanged,
        [](QString key, QVariant val) { /* handle */ });

File-backed via QSettings. Call save()/load() for persistence.

IIOWidgetBuilder (Fluent Builder)

IIOWidgetBuilder builder(parentWidget);
auto widget = builder
    .device(iio_device)
    .channel(iio_channel)
    .attribute("voltage")
    .uiStrategy(IIOWidgetBuilder::RangeUi)
    .compactMode(true)
    .group(widgetGroup)
    .buildSingle();

UI Strategies: EditableUi, ComboUi, SwitchUi, RangeUi, CheckBoxUi, TemperatureUi Data Strategies: AttrData, TriggerData, DeviceAttrData, ContextAttrData

Priority: Channel > Device > Context (most specific wins).

Async Patterns

CyclicalTask — periodic thread execution:

CyclicalTask *ct = new CyclicalTask(myThread, this);
ct->start(5000);  // Execute every 5 seconds
ct->stop();

PingTask — device connectivity check (subclass and implement ping()):

class MyPingTask : public PingTask {
    bool ping() override { /* return true if device alive */ }
};
// Signals: pingSuccess(), pingFailed(), connectionLost(), forceDisconnect()

DeviceFactory

// Single static method — creates DeviceImpl with all compatible plugins
DeviceImpl *device = DeviceFactory::build(param, category, parent);

ApiObject (JS Test Automation Base)

class MyPluginApi : public ApiObject {
    Q_OBJECT
    friend class MyPlugin;
public:
    Q_INVOKABLE QString getValue();
    Q_INVOKABLE void setValue(const QString &val);
private:
    MyPlugin *m_plugin = nullptr;
};

Register in onConnect(): ScopyJS::GetInstance()->registerApi(m_api) Delete at start of onDisconnect(): delete m_api; m_api = nullptr;