API Discussions Conventions | Unofficial Lethal Company Community | Page 1

shut forum · 2023-11-10T03:24:08.511Z

Topic of this thread: - What **conventions** do we want? - Any naming schemes? - Style rules? (Enforceable through git, for example) - Etc...

shut forum Nov 10, 2023, 3:24 AM

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Topic of this thread:

What conventions do we want?
- Any naming schemes?
- Style rules? (Enforceable through git, for example)
- Etc...

maiden heart Nov 10, 2023, 3:30 AM

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GUID Naming should start with org.lcmodding.api or org.lcmodding-api

shut forum Nov 10, 2023, 3:31 AM

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I think org.lcmodding.api is nice. It gives us future flexibility in case we would for whatever reason release non-API mods as an org. (For example tools or whatnot)

maiden heart Nov 10, 2023, 5:34 AM

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Register/Unregistering method should be named

 // parameter are optional, if there is a parameter put them in
public static bool Register()
public bool Register()
public static bool Unregister()
public bool Unregister()

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any suggestion?

shut forum Nov 10, 2023, 5:35 AM

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How often would APIs have this?

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Also, @mellow raven defo needs to provide input on this

maiden heart Nov 10, 2023, 5:35 AM

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shut forum How often would APIs have this?

only the one that have a register to registering something

mellow raven Nov 10, 2023, 5:35 AM

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maiden heart Register/Unregistering method should be named ```cs // parameter are optional, ...

would need instance with that

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otherwise what are you registering

shut forum Nov 10, 2023, 5:36 AM

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I think Ozzy is moreso referring to the name of the method

maiden heart Nov 10, 2023, 5:36 AM

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mellow raven would need instance with that

just name, parameters are optional if there is

shut forum Nov 10, 2023, 5:36 AM

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Rather than the signature

mellow raven Nov 10, 2023, 5:37 AM

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I think for registering commands from an instance, the terminal library should still stick to RegisterFrom

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there is still a .Register method to register a specific TerminalCommand instance

maiden heart Nov 10, 2023, 5:41 AM

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All assembly must be contained within the root namespace LCAPI or LC_API

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@shut forum @mellow raven how do you guy feel 'bout this?

shut forum Nov 10, 2023, 5:43 AM

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LC_API is already used by the dependency for the BiggerLobby mod.

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That being said, do we want a single namespace?

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Remind me, can you nest namespaces in CSharp?

maiden heart Nov 10, 2023, 5:44 AM

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shut forum Remind me, can you nest namespaces in CSharp?

you should not nest it more than 6 times

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PepeLaugh

shut forum Nov 10, 2023, 5:45 AM

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Then I'm not sure if a single namespace is a good idea tbh? What about potential naming conflicts?

maiden heart Nov 10, 2023, 5:45 AM

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shut forum Then I'm not sure if a single namespace is a good idea tbh? What about potential...

nah, you can still do LC_API.Terminal as a namespace

shut forum Nov 10, 2023, 5:46 AM

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Hm, fair

maiden heart Nov 10, 2023, 5:46 AM

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just everything must be contained within LC_API namespace as a root

shut forum Nov 10, 2023, 5:46 AM

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Considering the pre-existing mod with that name. Go for LCAPI?

maiden heart Nov 10, 2023, 5:46 AM

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shut forum Considering the pre-existing mod with that name. Go for LCAPI?

would be

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let create the repo right now

shut forum Nov 10, 2023, 5:46 AM

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LC_Mod_API?

maiden heart Nov 10, 2023, 5:46 AM

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Sucky

maiden heart Nov 10, 2023, 5:46 AM

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shut forum LC_Mod_API?

what does this mean?

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naming?

shut forum Nov 10, 2023, 5:47 AM

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Was spitballing namespace ideas

maiden heart Nov 10, 2023, 5:47 AM

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i have just setup the core project

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not yet got anything in it

shut forum Nov 10, 2023, 5:47 AM

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Hold up, we'll want to create it in the org for the wiki

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And discuss what APIs to create

maiden heart Nov 10, 2023, 5:48 AM

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let the repo named LC Modding API

shut forum Nov 10, 2023, 5:49 AM

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We probably shouldn't do a monorepo if we plan on having different APIs?

maiden heart Nov 10, 2023, 5:49 AM

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shut forum We probably shouldn't do a monorepo if we plan on having different APIs?

oh yeah, i forgot

shut forum Nov 10, 2023, 5:49 AM

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Hence, we should decide what APIs we want to create, do some minimal planning, and then create repos for each

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Just gotta decide the split first

mellow raven Nov 10, 2023, 6:01 AM

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shut forum LC_Mod_API?

you mean using that as the namespace for APIs?

shut forum Nov 10, 2023, 6:02 AM

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I was just spitballing, Ozzy suggested using a common namespace

mellow raven Nov 10, 2023, 6:02 AM

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yea, that would be best

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though you don't typically use underscores in namespaces

maiden heart Nov 10, 2023, 6:02 AM

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mellow raven yea, that would be best

it too long

shut forum Nov 10, 2023, 6:02 AM

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I'm not sure if I love it, yeah

maiden heart Nov 10, 2023, 6:02 AM

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LCAPI is enough for now

shut forum Nov 10, 2023, 6:02 AM

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It's a bit long

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LCAPI sounds good to me

mellow raven Nov 10, 2023, 6:02 AM

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yea, LCAPI works

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so my one would be LCAPI.Terminal or LCAPI.TerminalCommands

maiden heart Nov 10, 2023, 6:03 AM

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yeah

shut forum Nov 10, 2023, 6:03 AM

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mellow raven though you don't typically use underscores in namespaces

My love for Python is bleeding through 🙃

maiden heart Nov 10, 2023, 6:03 AM

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if you found that you may get naming conflict

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just nest another namespace

mellow raven Nov 10, 2023, 6:03 AM

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I figured you were getting that from another lang lol

maiden heart Nov 10, 2023, 6:03 AM

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like LCAPI.Terminal.OtherClassOrObject

mellow raven Nov 10, 2023, 6:03 AM

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yea, namespaces are meant to be hierarchical

maiden heart Nov 10, 2023, 6:03 AM

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just don't nest it like java

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Pepe_dead

mellow raven Nov 10, 2023, 6:04 AM

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mellow raven yea, namespaces are meant to be hierarchical

e.g., my Monogon project

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all under the root Monogon namespace

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makes it easier to find similar/grouped APIs, rather than trying to figure out what namespace a certain mod/library is using

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just use intelisense after typing LCAPI.

balmy spade Nov 10, 2023, 8:13 AM

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maiden heart GUID Naming should start with `org.lcmodding.api` or `org.lcmodding-api`

my question is why are we using java naming convention lmao

balmy spade Nov 10, 2023, 8:13 AM

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mellow raven e.g., my Monogon project

this seems more reasonable

maiden heart Nov 10, 2023, 8:14 AM

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balmy spade my question is why are we using java naming convention lmao

i don't know

mellow raven Nov 10, 2023, 8:14 AM

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yea, not sure either

maiden heart Nov 10, 2023, 8:14 AM

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but as least thatt is long enough for it to not conflict with other bepinex plugin

balmy spade Nov 10, 2023, 8:14 AM

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guid should follow the namespace

mellow raven Nov 10, 2023, 8:14 AM

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honestly not the biggest fan

balmy spade Nov 10, 2023, 8:14 AM

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imo

mellow raven Nov 10, 2023, 8:14 AM

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balmy spade guid should follow the namespace

I agree

maiden heart Nov 10, 2023, 8:15 AM

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even bepinex docs example also use it

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so i just put it like what they suggest

balmy spade Nov 10, 2023, 8:26 AM

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the docs aren't always the best convention

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see harmony for example

maiden heart Nov 10, 2023, 8:41 AM

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balmy spade see harmony for example

so you got any suggestion?

balmy spade Nov 10, 2023, 8:42 AM

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maiden heart so you got any suggestion?

follow the namespace

maiden heart Nov 10, 2023, 8:42 AM

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balmy spade follow the namespace

like this?

balmy spade Nov 10, 2023, 8:43 AM

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yeah

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as long as it's not the one LC_API uses lol

maiden heart Nov 10, 2023, 8:43 AM

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balmy spade as long as it's not the one LC_API uses lol

oh, you dare challenge me kappa_arthas

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balmy spade Nov 10, 2023, 8:44 AM

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😨

shut forum Nov 10, 2023, 11:53 AM

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maiden heart like this?

This seems good imo, if it uses C# conventions.

lean kestrel Nov 12, 2023, 4:17 AM

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LCAPI/
  - API/
    - Networking / 
      ~
    - Items /
      ~
    - Moon /
      ~
  - Patches /
    ~

shut forum Nov 12, 2023, 4:37 AM

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1️⃣ Separate repositories for each API
2️⃣ Monorepo with single solution but different projects
3️⃣ Other - please elaborate

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@lean kestrel @balmy spade @maiden heart @mellow raven @unreal lintel

lean kestrel Nov 12, 2023, 4:41 AM

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this is my organization thoughts

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(my model is this framework because of how much i've used it, and how well maintained it is)

shut forum Nov 12, 2023, 4:44 AM

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Yeah, I can see the allure.

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@mellow raven @maiden heart

Could you elaborate on why you voted 1️⃣?

maiden heart Nov 12, 2023, 4:46 AM

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well i dont like look at a solution that have 12 project in them

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pepefeelsbadman5

mellow raven Nov 12, 2023, 4:47 AM

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Since they are independent libraries/modules of the same system, there I don't see any reason to have one big monolith repository

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Microsoft doesn't keep all of it's APIs in a single repo after all

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splitting them into their own github repositories helps reduce project file bloat, simplifies merging, and also allows per-library permissions and rules

shut forum Nov 12, 2023, 4:48 AM

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Merges and repo management was one thing I was worried about for a monorepo. So I'm glad I'm not the only one.

mellow raven Nov 12, 2023, 4:49 AM

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plus it also provides segregation of libraries, and responsibilities

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makes it easier to deignate someone as the manager/active maintainer of a library

shut forum Nov 12, 2023, 4:53 AM

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That's a fair point.

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I hope that's agreeable, @lean kestrel?

lean kestrel Nov 12, 2023, 5:02 AM

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I suppose

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I just personally find it tougher to have to work on multiple repos, vs having a combined one (at least for frameworks)

As long as we bundle it into a one file release, I dont have a problem, but it is really annoying to have to upload more than one file just to update the api

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I suppose if its a standalone library with a very specific purpose, there may be just cause to do that, but I believe it is bad practice for a framework

mellow raven Nov 12, 2023, 5:04 AM

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lean kestrel I just personally find it tougher to have to work on multiple repos, vs having a...

I don't think we should be striving to release everything in big bursts

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each of these libraries, while they might have dependencies, are independent and optional

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and being able to make releases for them individually means we don't have to do a whole new release on every library when 1 breaks

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we can bundle it all together though a specific website

lean kestrel Nov 12, 2023, 5:05 AM

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even if you combine libraries, this shouldnt be a problem

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harmony patches should be patched independetly

mellow raven Nov 12, 2023, 5:06 AM

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but repository wise I think individual repos are best

shut forum Nov 12, 2023, 5:06 AM

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Git workflow makes it easy enough to do a combined build and release on an empty repo

lean kestrel Nov 12, 2023, 5:06 AM

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shut forum Git workflow makes it easy enough to do a combined build and release on an empty...

Im fine with this

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even if we did multiple projects this would be the case

shut forum Nov 12, 2023, 5:07 AM

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Each API has its own release, for people who want to just use that API.

The bundled API is released in an empty repo that pulls from all API repos.

We just have to make sure the bundled API can stand in for individual APIs.

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Best of both worlds

lean kestrel Nov 12, 2023, 5:07 AM

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so the empty repo is for players

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the individual repo is for devs

shut forum Nov 12, 2023, 5:07 AM

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All of them technically are for both. But players will most likely download the bundled one in practice I suppose.

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That sound agreeable to everyone?

lean kestrel Nov 12, 2023, 5:09 AM

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yeah

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as long as devs pull, it shouldnt be a problem

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I think we should release the sub-libraries as individual nuget packages

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We can add a config for each repo that enables / disables the plugin, and then a debug log one

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that way if one does break, or players dont need it, they can disable it

shut forum Nov 12, 2023, 5:13 AM

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Let's start with getting some APIs off the ground, then we can work on how to deploy / distribute them easily.

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Also, keep in mind we'll have Thunderstore / R2ModMan support now, so dependencies are installed and loaded automatically.

pulsar whale Nov 12, 2023, 6:55 AM

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Have you guys used external aliases at all before? I found it kinda annoying that LC dumps a lot of its classes in the root namespace

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I've never actually used them in C# but you can define them like this:

      <Reference Include="Assembly-CSharp">
          <Aliases>LethalCompany</Aliases>
        <HintPath>$(LC_REFERENCES)\Assembly-CSharp.dll</HintPath>
      </Reference>

and then you can use them like this:

extern alias LethalCompany;

public class Item : IObjectWrapper<LethalCompany::Item>

I'm not sure if there is some other way to use/alias references in the root namespace of other assemblies, but this seemed like a very quick way

lean kestrel Nov 12, 2023, 8:30 AM

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pulsar whale I've never actually used them in C# but you can define them like this: ``` ...

Good stuff

lean kestrel Nov 12, 2023, 8:30 AM

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shut forum Let's start with getting some APIs off the ground, then we can work on how to de...

I have my recommended styling tips in here:
https://canary.discord.com/channels/1169792572382773318/1173173002112872478

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lmk what you think

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I think we should include these in all projects. If we intend to maintain this api, it will probably be necessary to keep it clean and up to date. It will help if we start off strong in this manner.

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These are the prs I made to the original LCAPI but I can adjust them to the new one

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also what are your thoughts on putting patches in separate files. I think it makes it more maintainable

lean kestrel Nov 12, 2023, 8:34 AM

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mellow raven e.g., my Monogon project

this is awesome. nice, clean and organized.

lean kestrel Nov 12, 2023, 8:37 AM

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lean kestrel also what are your thoughts on putting patches in separate files. I think it mak...

Here are some of my examples. I think in the grand scheme, events and patches may become a necessity, so we should set ourselves up for success by keeping patches clean, and dedicated to one (or two) specific purposes. https://github.com/Redforce04/LC-API-og/tree/patch-rework/Patches

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ill take a look tomorrow morning

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if i have some time, ill try to start helping some implementations but right now im stuck in a juggling act of life

vital socket Nov 12, 2023, 6:54 PM

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I'll give a rundown of why I feel some of the APIs need to be in the same plugin

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For example, the moons API needs access to a saves api

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The saves api is does using a very large amount of transpilers

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The item API and creature API all need to communicate with that same save system

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Then on top of that the terminal API would be utilized by all three

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While it could be separate it would feel easier atleast to avoid race conditions and similar by keeping them in the same plugin

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The server API would require access to registered mods

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Which might also be needed by items, moons, or creatures

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There's also the config mod which I was planning on making seperate

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But it requires access to the saves api

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And must be seperate

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Effectively separating apis makes it alot harder to get them to communicate

maiden heart Nov 12, 2023, 6:57 PM

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There is 2 version of this, first it will split APIs into different plugins and the second is the combination of all of them into one for user

vital socket Nov 12, 2023, 6:57 PM

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And worst of all there is a very specific instruction order these plugins have to run at

shut forum Nov 12, 2023, 6:57 PM

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If the APIs are designed properly, there's really no reason they wouldn't communicate properly.

vital socket Nov 12, 2023, 6:57 PM

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I'm worried about the instruction order

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Especially with transpilers

shut forum Nov 12, 2023, 6:58 PM

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Could you give a concrete example?

vital socket Nov 12, 2023, 6:58 PM

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So config api needs to be initialized after the save api

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But the items API needs to be initialized after the config api

shut forum Nov 12, 2023, 6:58 PM

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Why does it have to be initialised after a save API?

vital socket Nov 12, 2023, 6:58 PM

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And any item mods need to be initialized after the config api

shut forum Nov 12, 2023, 6:58 PM

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Likewise with items?

vital socket Nov 12, 2023, 6:58 PM

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shut forum Why does it have to be initialised after a save API?

The save api handles custom modded saves

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The config api needs to retrieve saved configs

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From the modded lcgeneralsave

shut forum Nov 12, 2023, 6:59 PM

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Oh, we discussed how to handle modded savedata over at #1172376083216220304

vital socket Nov 12, 2023, 6:59 PM

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The item API needs to be initialized after for settings w/ it

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How exactly are you planning on doing it

shut forum Nov 12, 2023, 6:59 PM

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A config also really should not rely on savedata. BepInEx provides config systems out of the box

maiden heart Nov 12, 2023, 6:59 PM

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there is a reason why BepInEx is the one handling them and not us

shut forum Nov 12, 2023, 6:59 PM

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^

vital socket Nov 12, 2023, 7:00 PM

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I agree but adding a 4th save location for users feels a bit annoying

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Well technically 3rd I suppose

shut forum Nov 12, 2023, 7:00 PM

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We're not adding a 4th save location

vital socket Nov 12, 2023, 7:00 PM

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Third it would be (considering modded saves)

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What else

shut forum Nov 12, 2023, 7:00 PM

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We're adding paired ModData for each save. That way, vanilla saves remain "safe" in case of an update, mod breaking / removal, etc...

vital socket Nov 12, 2023, 7:01 PM

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Ah

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That's not how I've done it

shut forum Nov 12, 2023, 7:01 PM

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Well, that's how we're discussing it in #1172376083216220304

vital socket Nov 12, 2023, 7:01 PM

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That would potentially cause discrepancies with a bunch of shit

shut forum Nov 12, 2023, 7:01 PM

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No?

maiden heart Nov 12, 2023, 7:01 PM

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vital socket That would potentially cause discrepancies with a bunch of shit

unless user want to have 25 mods

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it won't affect much

vital socket Nov 12, 2023, 7:01 PM

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Yes

maiden heart Nov 12, 2023, 7:01 PM

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unless those 25 mods all use custom save data

vital socket Nov 12, 2023, 7:01 PM

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I suppose you're right

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I just feel it makes it harder to manage saves

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And let's say a user plays with a mod that gives them 10k credits by accident or

maiden heart Nov 12, 2023, 7:02 PM

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vital socket I just feel it makes it harder to manage saves

let modder manage themselves

vital socket Nov 12, 2023, 7:02 PM

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Corrupts their save

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S

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Es3 is an easy to use library

maiden heart Nov 12, 2023, 7:02 PM

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we only care about saving the vanilla save

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to protect against modder craze

vital socket Nov 12, 2023, 7:02 PM

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I like my modded saves system so having the three extra saves feels really nice

shut forum Nov 12, 2023, 7:03 PM

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That shouldn't be part of an API IMO

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Should just be a mod that adds more save slots

vital socket Nov 12, 2023, 7:03 PM

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Well you see

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The extra saves would be required to be accessed by the item api

shut forum Nov 12, 2023, 7:03 PM

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Why would it do that?

vital socket Nov 12, 2023, 7:03 PM

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So they'd have to be permanently attached

vital socket Nov 12, 2023, 7:03 PM

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shut forum Why would it do that?

Modded items need a custom saving system

shut forum Nov 12, 2023, 7:03 PM

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That seems like very prone-to-breaking design

vital socket Nov 12, 2023, 7:03 PM

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Because the main item IDs is stored in a list

maiden heart Nov 12, 2023, 7:04 PM

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let continue in #1172376083216220304

shut forum Nov 12, 2023, 7:04 PM

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Agreed

maiden heart Nov 13, 2023, 7:19 AM

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@lean kestrel @shut forum how do you guy think we rename Plugin.cs to EntryPoint.cs and it will be the point where the plugin/mod will do it startup and patching

lean kestrel Nov 13, 2023, 7:24 AM

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maiden heart <@274987479386292224> <@190896869566709760> how do you guy think we rename `Plu...

I think events should do the patching because it will be running tons of patches, and contains the custom patching methods

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Plug-in has to call events.onenabled

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Also patching for events may just become dynamic

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I think plug-in is fine

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It could be called bootstrap but plug-in feels more fitting

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Since it’s in the root project folder, it should be pretty distinguishable

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Max is asleep for the night and I’m about to go to bed as it is 2 am for me

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I’ll push my event api ra

maiden heart Nov 13, 2023, 7:33 AM

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lean kestrel I think events should do the patching because it will be running tons of patches...

well EntryPoint have one 'simple method' to do all the patching tho

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it just the startup call that may create conflict

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like for example one is pr-ing terminal and modify the entrypoint to call something.setup() and then the other pr call something2.setup()

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Pepe_dead

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anyway let this sink down for now

lean kestrel Nov 13, 2023, 7:36 AM

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I am fine with that then. The startup method needs to follow proper naming conventions, and should probably be static for api usage. Let’s add a singleton and a bool to prevent double loading

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Also make it public

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I like using costura a lot which can embed dependencies straight into the file, but there has to be code that is called at runtime to unembed the dependencies.

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I typically name the unembed code something like “setup dependencies”

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So setup is a pretty good name

maiden heart Nov 13, 2023, 7:37 AM

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anyway i think we probably need to rename it to EntryPoint first and then the other will be decide later

lean kestrel Nov 13, 2023, 7:37 AM

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Check out my event repo

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It clarifies the patching scheme

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All patches will probably end up in the events/patches/general folder

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I made three folders for different patch types, generic, fixes, and events

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Next I make 800000 transpiler patches

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wait

maiden heart Nov 13, 2023, 7:39 AM

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lean kestrel I made three folders for different patch types, generic, fixes, and events

so we use (original name)Patch.cs

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not just (original name).cs in there?

lean kestrel Nov 13, 2023, 7:40 AM

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maiden heart so we use `(original name)Patch.cs`

Yeah basically

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I might name them transpiler prefix and postfix at some point or put them in separate directories

lean kestrel Nov 13, 2023, 7:40 AM

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maiden heart so we use `(original name)Patch.cs`

Did you see my conversation about dynamic patching

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#1172376083216220304 message

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Patches can be applied only when they are are first subscribed to, which means that unnecessary patches may not even be patched in the first place

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It will help prevent bugs, and the implementation is pretty clean and works well

maiden heart Nov 13, 2023, 7:43 AM

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Ngao

lean kestrel Nov 13, 2023, 7:43 AM

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I prefer to use transpilers but I won’t be able to make them for awhile because we will need lots of patches very fast to keep up with the game

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So prefixes and postfixes will be used for now

maiden heart Nov 13, 2023, 7:43 AM

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well i think you should go to sleep now

lean kestrel Nov 13, 2023, 7:43 AM

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I can probably make 2 - 4 transpilers a day

maiden heart Nov 13, 2023, 7:43 AM

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leave this for latter discussion

lean kestrel Nov 13, 2023, 7:44 AM

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Yeah good point

maiden heart Nov 13, 2023, 7:44 AM

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Ngao

#API Discussions Conventions