DOC ONLY: Add a new doc for integrating a plugin with VPP
Convert doxygen docs (vpp api module and binary api support) to .rst
Added a brief explanation of binary api message numbering for plugins
Change-Id: If7d37f29aa65a884b51f3d27957f80d1357ed29b
Signed-off-by: andrew <andrew.olechtchouk@gmail.com>
Signed-off-by: Dave Barach <dave@barachs.net>
diff --git a/docs/gettingstarted/developers/sample_plugin.rst b/docs/gettingstarted/developers/sample_plugin.rst
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+.. _sample_plugin:
+
+.. toctree::
+
+Integrating a complete plugin with VPP
+======================================
+
+Overview
+________
+
+This section shows how a VPP plugin developer can modify VPP scripts to add and load their plugin as a node in VPP.
+
+As an example we will integrate the **Sample Plugin** found in *vpp/src/examples/sample-plugin/sample* The VPP Sample Plugin is a small plugin that demonstrates simple implementation of a macswap algorithim. Since it is a VPP plugin, it has runtime integration with the VPP graph hierachy, API, and CLI.
+
+This section will not go into the details of the plugin itself. For a deeper dive into the sample plugin see the annotations in `sample.c <https://docs.fd.io/vpp/18.11/da/d30/sample_8c.html>`_, or go to the next page for general VPP C API usage.
+
+Setup
+_____
+
+Each plugin has their own automake file (\*.am) used by *configure.ac*, as well as a separate directory containing C files for the plugin. The directory containing these for each plugin is *vpp/src/plugins*
+
+To get a basic idea for how a VPP automake plugin file specifies its C files, here is part of the Sample Plugin automake file, *sample.am*
+
+.. code-block:: console
+
+ sample_plugin_la_SOURCES = \
+ sample/sample.c \
+ sample/node.c \
+ sample/sample_plugin.api.h
+
+ API_FILES += sample/sample.api
+
+ nobase_apiinclude_HEADERS += \
+ sample/sample_all_api_h.h \
+ sample/sample_msg_enum.h \
+ sample/sample.api.h
+
+
+The Sample Plugin is located in *vpp/src/examples/sample-plugin/sample*, so as mentioned above we will need to copy its contents into *vpp/src/plugins*
+
+In your */vpp* directory, or the directory above */src*, run:
+
+.. code-block:: console
+
+ $ cp -r src/examples/sample-plugin/sample src/plugins
+ $ cp src/examples/sample-plugin/sample.am src/plugins
+
+Modifying configure.ac and Makefile.am
+______________________________________
+
+We now need to modify the plugin sections of the VPP automake and configuration scripts so that VPP builds correctly with your new plugin.
+
+Using a text editor such as *vi*, add the following entry to the plugins section in *vpp/src/configure.ac*
+
+.. code-block:: console
+
+ PLUGIN_ENABLED(sample)
+
+For reference, the plugins section of that file looks like this:
+
+.. code-block:: console
+
+ ###############################################################################
+ # Plugins
+ ###############################################################################
+
+ # Please keep alphabetical order
+ PLUGIN_ENABLED(abf)
+ PLUGIN_ENABLED(acl)
+ PLUGIN_ENABLED(avf)
+ PLUGIN_ENABLED(cdp)
+ PLUGIN_ENABLED(dpdk)
+ PLUGIN_ENABLED(flowprobe)
+
+
+Using a text editor such as *vi*, now add the following entry to the plugins section in *vpp/src/plugins/Makefile.am*
+
+.. code-block:: console
+
+ if ENABLE_SAMPLE_PLUGIN
+ include sample.am
+ endif
+
+For reference, the plugins section of that file looks something like this:
+
+.. code-block:: console
+
+ vppapitestpluginsdir = ${libdir}/vpp_api_test_plugins
+ vpppluginsdir = ${libdir}/vpp_plugins
+
+ if ENABLE_ABF_PLUGIN
+ include abf.am
+ endif
+
+ if ENABLE_ACL_PLUGIN
+ include acl.am
+ endif
+
+ if ENABLE_AVF_PLUGIN
+ include avf.am
+ endif
+
+Building and Running
+____________________
+
+
+Build VPP by using the main Makefile found in */vpp/Makefile*
+
+.. code-block:: console
+
+ $ make build
+
+.. note::
+
+ If you want to have a fresh debug build and compile every VPP file from scratch, you can wipe all compiled files and build VPP with:
+
+ .. code-block:: console
+
+ $ make rebuild
+
+ However this will take much longer than just running *make build*
+
+Run VPP and make sure the plugin is loaded. Below is the command for running the VPP debug binary, accompanied with sample output.
+
+.. code-block:: console
+
+ $ make run
+ vlib_plugin_early_init:361: plugin path /vpp/build-root/install-vpp_debug-native/vpp/lib/vpp_plugins:/vpp/build-root/install-vpp_debug-native/vpp/lib64/vpp_plugins
+ load_one_plugin:189: Loaded plugin: abf_plugin.so (ACL based Forwarding)
+ load_one_plugin:189: Loaded plugin: acl_plugin.so (Access Control Lists)
+ load_one_plugin:189: Loaded plugin: avf_plugin.so (Intel Adaptive Virtual Function (AVF) Device Plugin)
+ load_one_plugin:191: Loaded plugin: cdp_plugin.so
+ ...
+ load_one_plugin:189: Loaded plugin: sample_plugin.so (Sample of VPP Plugin)
+ ...
+ load_one_vat_plugin:67: Loaded plugin: avf_test_plugin.so
+ load_one_vat_plugin:67: Loaded plugin: mactime_test_plugin.so
+ load_one_vat_plugin:67: Loaded plugin: sample_test_plugin.so
+ ...
+ _______ _ _ _____ ___
+ __/ __/ _ \ (_)__ | | / / _ \/ _ \
+ _/ _// // / / / _ \ | |/ / ___/ ___/
+ /_/ /____(_)_/\___/ |___/_/ /_/
+
+ DBGvpp#
+
+.. note::
+
+ Notice when running the debug build that (\*_test_plugin.so) is also loaded, which is meant for testing your plugin.
+
+To enable the sample plugin, use this command:
+
+.. code-block:: console
+
+ DBGvpp# sample macswap <interface name>
+
+To disable the sample plugin, use this command:
+
+.. code-block:: console
+
+ DBGvpp# sample macswap <interface name> disable
+
+
+Great! Now you've successfully added your plugin as a VPP node.
+
+
+Additional remarks
+__________________
+
+How the build process works for plugins is that the (\*.api) plugin file is automatically translated to a JSON file (\*.api.json) in *vpp/build-root/install-vpp_debug-native/vpp/share/vpp/api/plugins*, which the code generator then parses and generates a C header file (\*.api.h) in *vpp/build-root/install-vpp_debug-native/vpp/include/vpp_plugins/\**.
+
+After the build process is completed you finally end up with two plugin files (\*_plugin.so and \*_test_plugin.so) found in *vpp/build-root/install-vpp_debug-native/vpp/lib64/vpp_plugins* and *vpp/build-root/install-vpp_debug-native/vpp/lib64/vpp_api_test_plugins* respectively, that are loaded at runtime during a debug binary run of VPP (*make run*).
+