Plugin dependencies

As you plugins become more and more complex, you will find yourself in the need to manage dependencies between plugins. E.g. you want the hooks of a certain plugin to be executed before yours. You can manage these dependecies in your ep.json file:

{
  "parts": [
    {
      "name": "plugin",
      "pre": [],
      "post": ["ep_onemoreplugin/partone"]
      "hooks": {
        "toolbarButtons": "ep_monospace/plugin:getSomeToolbarButtons",
        "changeToMonospace": "ep_monospace/plugin:getSomePopups",
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "otherpart",
      "pre": ["ep_my_example/somepart", "ep_otherplugin/main"],
      "post": [],
      "hooks": {
        "somehookname": "ep_my_example/otherpart:somehook",
        "morehook": "ep_my_example/otherpart:morehook"
      }
    }
  ]
}

The preand post definitions, affect the order in which parts of a plugin are executed. This ensures that plugins and their hooks are executed in the correct order.

pre lists parts that must be executed before the defining part. Post lists parts that must be executed after the defining part.

You can, on a basic level, think of this as double-ended dependency listing. If you have a dependency on another plugin, you can make sure it loads before yours by putting it in "pre". If you are setting up things that might need to be used by a plugin later, you can ensure proper order by putting it in "post".

Note that it would be far more sane to use "pre" in almost any case, but if you want to change config variables for another plugin, or maybe modify its environment, "post" could definitely be useful. Also, note that dependencies should also be listed in your package.json, so they can be npm install'd automagically when your plugin gets installed.