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mirror of https://github.com/node-red/node-red.git synced 2023-10-10 13:36:53 +02:00

Created dynamic palette (markdown)

Nick O'Leary 2014-07-21 03:35:46 -07:00
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Currently, the palette of nodes is loaded when the runtime starts and does not change.
The runtime needs to allow nodes to be added/removed dynamically.
### Adding a node type
To add a new node to the palette:
1. a request is POSTed to `{admin root}/nodes` to trigger the add.
The post body is a JSON structure that identifies where the node information comes from, either a local file (`filename`) or an npm module (`npm`).
{
filename: "path to local node .js file",
npm: "npm module name"
}
2. For `filename`, we require that the files already exist somewhere under `NODE_RED_HOME/nodes/`
This reduces security concerns over exposing arbitrary files and removes the need for the runtime to 'remember' what extra nodes have been added.
For `npm`, we npm install the node.
3. The node's `.js` is then loaded using the existing node loading code.
4. An event is fired over the comms link telling any connected editors that a node has been added. This triggers a HTTP Get back to `{admin root}/nodes/{node-type}` to load the node definition/help/edit template.
### Remove node type
To remove a node from the palette:
1. a DELETE http request is sent to `{admin root}/nodes/{node-type}` to trigger the remove.
2. The runtime registry removes the node. This will stop the current flow if it uses the node.
3. An event is fired over the comms link telling any connected editors that a node has been removed.
This poses some problems:
* What to do with the node's files? If the runtime restarts, the node will come back. As a file may contain multiple nodes, we can't delete/npm-uninstall the node's files. Add node to an excludes list? That is currently based on filename not node-type.