Plugin Development

[Doitsu]

Originally Posted by Capricorn

What tools and websites are good to learn python?

I'd strongly recommend Automate the Boring Stuff with Python by Al Sweigart, which is available for free online.
You'll also need to download the Sigil Framework Guide.
You also might find the Sigil test plugin helpful because it demonstrates most Sigil-specific Python functions.

Here's a minimal proof-of-concept edit plugin that will wrap "the" in all html files in <b> tags:

#!/usr/bin/env python
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
import sys, os

# main routine    
def run(bk):
    # iterate over all html files
    for html_id, href in bk.text_iter():
        # read orignal html code from file
        original_html = bk.readfile(html_id)
        # modify html code
        modified_html = original_html.replace('the', '<b>the</b>') 
        if modified_html != original_html:
            # write modified html code to file
            bk.writefile(html_id, modified_html)
            print(os.path.basename(href) + ' updated')
    return 0

def main():
    print('I reached main when I should not have\n')
    return -1

if __name__ == "__main__":
    sys.exit(main())

As you can see it doesn't really require much code. BTW, Sigil comes with a fork of the BeautifulSoup library that makes it really easy to manipulate HTML content. To import it you must use:

from sigil_bs4 import BeautifulSoup

[KevinH]

Just to be clear ...

Sigil plugins only allow batch processing of files inside a single loaded epub. If you want to batch process a number of epubs without having to load them in Sigil, python is the way to go but not Sigil Plugins.

That said the python modules in Sigil could be extracted and used in a standalone python program with only low to moderate effort.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

The markup in mobi files was full of small, medium, large, x-small, xx-large, and normal font sizes.

The mobi2xhtml script in the kindleinport plugin has a routine that tried to make some sort of sense out of it:

https://github.com/dougmassay/kindle...2xhtml.py#L358

I made a Sigil Saved Grouped Search that changes those name into ##em (except Normal is just deleted) (I used to have to do a lot of 'cleanup' on older files from the Baen CD's or Free Library.
This is one of the reasons I use Sigil for some tasks and Calibre Editor for others. They fit MY workflow (please keep doing Sigil things, the Sigil way), and Calibre does others.
All we need to do is learn to use the tools we have without making those other folk that want the other way (either editor) use OUR way.
Only if it is broken, does it need fixin'

[Capricorn]

Originally Posted by Doitsu

I'd strongly recommend Automate the Boring Stuff with Python by Al Sweigart, which is available for free online.
You'll also need to download the Sigil Framework Guide.
You also might find the Sigil test plugin helpful because it demonstrates most Sigil-specific Python functions.

Thanks. I will get this book and see where it leads.

[myway880]

hi , I'm new here and off course i need help
i do not know how to even read python but i'm using AI and off course i'm stuck with a problem...

I'm developing a large plugin for adding tool-tips, footnotes and sidebar notes and margin notes for a book i'm working on, and it is going to need a lot of notes

So the problem i had at first was that the AI couldn't get the GUI buttons added to caliber editor and even when it succeeded it would break it by accident later and would take very long trying to fix it again .

Eventually i decided to ask it to make a shim API for adding menus and buttons to the toolbar and it succeeded with the first but the second is broken and it cannot fix it

Here is the code if any one can help make it work i will be super grateful it add menus and commands under them but it keep adding a drop-down menu to the toolbar and the AI can not tell how to make it add individual commands

here is the python code for the shim

# shim.py
# Qt compatibility
try:
    from PyQt6.QtWidgets import (QMainWindow, QToolBar, QMenu, QToolButton)
    from PyQt6.QtCore import Qt
    from PyQt6.QtGui import QIcon, QAction
except ImportError:
    from PyQt5.QtWidgets import (QMainWindow, QToolBar, QMenu, QToolButton, QAction)
    from PyQt5.QtCore import Qt
    from PyQt5.QtGui import QIcon

# Mock Boss and GUI for testing
class MockGui(QMainWindow):
    def __init__(self):
        super().__init__()
        self.resize(800, 600)
        self.setWindowTitle("Shim GUI Test")
        self.menuBar() # Initialize menu bar
        self.plugins_menu = self.menuBar().addMenu('&Plugins')
        tb = self.addToolBar("Plugins toolbar")
        tb.setObjectName("plugins-toolbar")
        tb.setToolButtonStyle(Qt.ToolButtonTextBesideIcon)

class MockBoss:
    def __init__(self):
        self.gui = MockGui()

# ShimBoss with new APIs
class ShimBoss:
    def __init__(self, gui):
        self.gui = gui

    def get_plugins_menu(self):
        mb = self.gui.menuBar()
        for a in mb.actions():
            m = a.menu()
            if m and m.title() == '&Plugins':
                return m
        return None

    def add_menu_action(self, menu_path, action_text, callback, shortcut=None, icon_path=None, tooltip=None, name=None):
        paths = menu_path.split('|')
        if paths[0] == 'Plugins':
            menu = self.get_plugins_menu()
            paths = paths[1:]
        else:
            mb = self.gui.menuBar()
            root_title = paths[0]
            menu = None
            for a in mb.actions():
                m = a.menu()
                if m and m.title() == root_title:
                    menu = m
                    break
            if not menu:
                menu = mb.addMenu(root_title)
            paths = paths[1:]
        for p in paths:
            found = False
            for a in menu.actions():
                if a.menu() and a.menu().title() == p:
                    menu = a.menu()
                    found = True
                    break
            if not found:
                menu = menu.addMenu(p)
        ac = menu.addAction(action_text)
        if icon_path:
            ac.setIcon(QIcon(icon_path))
        if tooltip:
            ac.setToolTip(tooltip)
        if shortcut:
            ac.setShortcut(shortcut)
        if name:
            ac.setObjectName(name)
        ac.triggered.connect(callback)
        return ac

    def add_toolbar_action(self, action_text, callback, toolbar_name='plugins-toolbar', icon_path=None, tooltip=None, name=None):
        tb = self.gui.findChild(QToolBar, toolbar_name)
        if not tb:
            tb = self.gui.addToolBar('Plugins')
            tb.setObjectName(toolbar_name)
        ac = QAction(action_text, self.gui)
        if icon_path:
            ac.setIcon(QIcon(icon_path))
        if tooltip:
            ac.setToolTip(tooltip)
        if name:
            ac.setObjectName(name)
        ac.triggered.connect(callback)
        tb.addAction(ac)
        widget = tb.widgetForAction(ac)
        if widget:
            widget.setPopupMode(QToolButton.NoButton)
        return ac

    def add_toolbar_dropdown(self, button_text, actions_list, toolbar_name='plugins-toolbar', icon_path=None, tooltip=None):
        """
        Add a dropdown toolbar button with sub-actions.
        actions_list: list of dicts, e.g., [{'text': 'Sub1', 'callback': fn1, 'shortcut': None, 'icon_path': None, 'tooltip': None}]
        """
        tb = self.gui.findChild(QToolBar, toolbar_name)
        if not tb:
            tb = self.gui.addToolBar('Plugins')
            tb.setObjectName(toolbar_name)
        toolbutton = QToolButton(self.gui)
        toolbutton.setText(button_text)
        if icon_path:
            toolbutton.setIcon(QIcon(icon_path))
        if tooltip:
            toolbutton.setToolTip(tooltip)
        menu = QMenu(toolbutton)
        for act_dict in actions_list:
            ac = menu.addAction(act_dict['text'])
            if act_dict.get('icon_path'):
                ac.setIcon(QIcon(act_dict['icon_path']))
            if act_dict.get('tooltip'):
                ac.setToolTip(act_dict['tooltip'])
            if act_dict.get('shortcut'):
                ac.setShortcut(act_dict['shortcut'])
            ac.triggered.connect(act_dict['callback'])
        toolbutton.setMenu(menu)
        toolbutton.setPopupMode(QToolButton.InstantPopup)
        tb.addWidget(toolbutton)
        return toolbutton

    def hide_toolbar_action(self, name, toolbar_name='plugins-toolbar'):
        tb = self.gui.findChild(QToolBar, toolbar_name)
        if tb:
            for ac in tb.actions():
                if ac.objectName() == name:
                    ac.setVisible(False)

    def show_toolbar_action(self, name, toolbar_name='plugins-toolbar'):
        tb = self.gui.findChild(QToolBar, toolbar_name)
        if tb:
            for ac in tb.actions():
                if ac.objectName() == name:
                    ac.setVisible(True)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    try:
        from PyQt6.QtWidgets import QApplication
    except ImportError:
        from PyQt5.QtWidgets import QApplication
    import sys
    app = QApplication(sys.argv)
    boss = MockBoss()
    shim = ShimBoss(boss.gui)
    # Test additions
    def quick_fn():
        print("Quick action triggered")
    shim.add_menu_action('Plugins|Footnotes', 'Test Action', quick_fn, shortcut='Ctrl+T', tooltip='Test')
    shim.add_toolbar_action('Quick Action', quick_fn, tooltip='Quick fn', name='quick_action')
    # Example hide/show
    shim.hide_toolbar_action('quick_action')
    shim.show_toolbar_action('quick_action')
    boss.gui.show()
    sys.exit(app.exec_())

I will off course be releasing the plugin if i ever mange to make it work i already have a 25000 line of code however i don't know yet how much of it work , lol
thank you very much in advance

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by myway880

So the problem i had at first was that the AI couldn't get the GUI buttons added to caliber editor and even when it succeeded it would break it by accident later and would take very long trying to fix it again .

This is not the Calibre plugin development section of the forum. This area is for Sigil plugin development.

[KevinH]

I am beginning to think that use of AI to "code" by non-developers is akin to giving a loaded handgun with the safety off to a complete firearms novice with no instructions on safety, or on use, or even common sense.

The only thing both will generate is a big mess.

Let's hope after 25,000 lines of code, I'm wrong, but ...

[DiapDealer]

I don't mind if people want to use AI for creating code for themselves. I just have a hard time understanding how I can assist someone with a coding issue who has no grasp of the language being used (or the algorithms being created). Other than to gift them with fully working code. I don't have the kind of free time to devote myself that completely to others' projects. Happy to provide my own code as an example, but...

[myway880]

Sorry about the misunderstanding. I have not used a forum with software this ancient or with bright white theme since the 90's. So when i searched for old thread for help with development. I did not see the sigil part of the title.

In any case i actually know how to program in java script (embarrassing I know lol) and i'm a technical person i just do not have the time to learn python just to build this..

- it was a test anyway to see if it will work and so far it is kind of working ...
I have this output from the plugin and a semi working gui

<span xml:lang="en" title="hello">hi4</span>

<span xml:lang="en" title="hello" class="acronym">hi3</span>

<span xml:lang="en" title="hello" class="glossary">hi2</span>

<span xml:lang="en" title="hello" class="definition">hi</span>

<sup><a href="balm.html#ftn3" id="bodyftn3" xml:lang="en" class="noteanchor">[3]</a></sup>

<sup><a href="balm.html#ftn1" id="bodyftn1" xml:lang="en" class="noteanchor">[1]</a></sup>

<sup><a href="balm.html#ftn2" id="bodyftn2" xml:lang="en" class="noteanchor">[2]</a></sup>

<p class="footer">Footnotes</p><div id="ftn1" tabindex="0" xml:lang="en" class="note"><a href="balm.html#bodyftn1" class="noteSymbol">(1)</a> <p style=" margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; -qt-block-indent:0; text-indent:0px;">hello</p></div>

<div id="ftn2" tabindex="0" xml:lang="en" class="sidebar"><a href="balm.html#bodyftn2" class="noteSymbol">(2)</a> <p style=" margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; -qt-block-indent:0; text-indent:0px;">hello</p></div>

<aside id="ftn3" tabindex="0" xml:lang="en" class="marginnote"><a href="balm.html#bodyftn3" class="noteSymbol">(3)</a> <p style=" margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; -qt-block-indent:0; text-indent:0px;">hello</p></aside>

So the AI kind of make me run around in circles but eventually it gets there
i was not interested in giving me full code just a hint about what is wrong or a code snippet but thanks anyway i will re post in the calibre section

[Leonatus]

First of all: I'm not a technic, but I asked the AI to build me a Sigil plugin in order to automatically search and replace old german orthography to the new one. The AI helped me to create a directory "Rechtschreibung" with the contents of a "plugin.py" and a "plugin.xml" (code below). I compressed the directory to "Rechtschreibung.zip", but at adding the plugin to Sigil it is refused. OS: Linux Mint 22.3 Cinnamon 64 bit, Sigil v. 2.7.6.

# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
# Sigil Plugin: Rechtschreibreform Alt -> Neu
# Autor: ChatGPT
# Beschreibung: Wandelt alte deutsche Rechtschreibung in neue um (Batch, inkl. Regex + Wortliste)

import re

# -----------------------------
# REGEX-REGELN (zuerst ausführen)
# -----------------------------
regex_rules = [
    (r"\bdaß\b", "dass"),
    (r"\bDaß\b", "Dass"),
    (r"\bmuß\b", "muss"),
    (r"\bMuß\b", "Muss"),
    (r"\bmußt\b", "musst"),
    (r"\bmußte(n)?\b", r"musste\1"),
    (r"\bso daß\b", "sodass"),
    (r"\bstatt finden\b", "stattfinden"),
    (r"\bkennen lernen\b", "kennenlernen"),
    (r"\bteil nehmen\b", "teilnehmen"),
    (r"\bwieder sehen\b", "wiedersehen"),
    (r"\bim allgemeinen\b", "im Allgemeinen"),
    (r"\bim folgenden\b", "im Folgenden"),
    (r"\bim voraus\b", "im Voraus"),
]

# -----------------------------
# EXPLIZITE ERSETZUNGSLISTE
# -----------------------------
word_replacements = {
    "Schloß": "Schloss",
    "Fluß": "Fluss",
    "Kuß": "Kuss",
    "naß": "nass",
    "biß": "biss",
    "riß": "riss",
    "Photographie": "Fotografie",
    "Photograph": "Fotograf",
    "Telephon": "Telefon",
    "Graphik": "Grafik",
    "Delphin": "Delfin",
    "Portemonnaie": "Portmonee",
    "auf Grund": "aufgrund",
    "zu Grunde": "zugrunde",
    "in Folge": "infolge",
    "Rataus" : "Rathaus",
}

# -----------------------------
# HAUPTFUNKTION
# -----------------------------

def run(bk):
    for (id, href) in bk.text_iter():
        content = bk.readfile(id)

        # Regex-Regeln anwenden
        for pattern, repl in regex_rules:
            content = re.sub(pattern, repl, content)

        # Wortliste anwenden
        for old, new in word_replacements.items():
            content = content.replace(old, new)

        bk.writefile(id, content)

    return 0

# -----------------------------
# ERWEITERBAR
# -----------------------------
# Du kannst beliebig viele Regeln ergänzen.
# Wichtig: Erst Regex, dann Wortliste.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<plugin>
  <name>Rechtschreibreform Alt→Neu</name>
  <type>edit</type>
  <author>ChatGPT</author>
  <version>1.0</version>
  <description>Konvertiert alte deutsche Rechtschreibung in neue</description>
  <script>plugin.py</script>
</plugin>

Can someone help, please? Of course, the list is rather short, but I aim to complete it by the time.

[KevinH]

ChatGPT does not seem to know the proper form for the plugin.xml so the one they created is broken. There is no script tag. Also it is not a good idea to use spaces or special chars in the name of your plugin:

Rechtschreibreform Alt→Neu

The name of the zip archive must match the plugin name exactly but with a version string with a leading underscore attached to the end before the .zip

Check out the Sigil Plugin Framework guide which gives a simple plugin.xml example and generally describes how a plugin is structured. It is readable for a non-programmer (at least the first 2 or so pages. It can be found attached to the post here:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...14&postcount=4

[KevinH]

Or you could provide ChatGPR with that Plugin Framework epub and ask it to fix your plugin.xml

[Doitsu]

Originally Posted by Leonatus

Can someone help, please? Of course, the list is rather short, but I aim to complete it by the time.

Here you go. I renamed the plugin to AltNeu. After the installation it should be shown as an Edit plugin.