Modulo, a bot framework that smokes pipes!
This is a work in progress.
What is it?
Modulo is a framework used to build a language-agnostic bot, that means a source (IRC, Jabber, a socket, ...) and some plugins, in whatever language.
It consists of a core, dispatching I/Os between a back end and several plugins, for text-processing.
The back end and plugins are standard filters.
A filter is a standalone program, taking input from stdin, writing its output to stdout and eventually errors to stderr.
The core redirects the back end stdout to every plugins stdin.
Any plugins stdout is redirected to the back end stdin.
All stderr (back end and plugins) are redirected to the core's stderr.
How does it work?
The core is purely input-driven. It uses realtime, queueable signals to wait for text from the back end or plugins. Thus, inputs have priorities, as follow (higher priority first):
- Back end error
- Plugin error
- Plugin output
- Back end output
That means that modulo tries to prioritize plugins responsivity.
When a message from the back end or a plugin is ready, the core receives a signal from the kernel, reads the message and forwards it where appropriate.
How to use it?
The manpage is a good place to describe how to use Modulo.