🚀 Feature: Plugin System Implementation

Summary

Core Plugin System (plugin_system.py)

  • Auto-discovery: Automatically finds and loads plugins from multiple directories (plugins/, same directory, parent directory)
  • Flexible plugin detection: Supports multiple plugin patterns (classes ending in 'Plugin'', PREDBAT_PLUGIN marker, initialize_plugin() function)
  • Lifecycle hooks: Provides four key integration points:
    • on_init: Called when plugin system initializes
    • on_update: Called during each update cycle
    • on_shutdown: Called during graceful shutdown
    • on_web_start: Called when web interface starts
  • Error resilience: Continues loading other plugins even if one fails
  • Base class: Optional PredBatPlugin base class for standardized plugin development

Integration Points

  • Main application: Plugin system initializes after web interface startup and calls update hooks during each cycle
  • Web interface: New endpoint registration system allows plugins to add custom HTTP endpoints dynamically
  • Graceful shutdown: Ensures all plugins are properly cleaned up

🔧 Technical Details

  • Plugin files must end with _plugin.py for auto-discovery
  • Plugins can be simple classes, inherit from PredBatPlugin, or use initialization functions
  • Web endpoints can be registered by plugins for custom interfaces (e.g., metrics endpoints)
  • Full error handling and logging throughout the plugin lifecycle
  • No breaking changes to existing functionality

🎯 Use Cases

This plugin system enables:

  • Custom metrics collection (Prometheus, InfluxDB, etc.)
  • Additional web interfaces and dashboards
  • Third-party integrations without modifying core code
  • Custom notification systems
  • Extended data processing and analysis

🧪 Backward Compatibility

  • Fully backward compatible - no changes to existing functionality
  • Plugin system is optional and gracefully handles failures
  • Existing code continues to work unchanged