Required Entry Points

Every Open Directory plug-in must provide the entry points described in this section. The entry points are listed below in the order in which they are typically called.

• Initialize, called by Open Directory so that the plug-in can initialize itself.

• Validate, called by Open Directory when plug-ins are loaded in order to pass to each plug-in a unique value that the plug-in uses to identify itself when it calls Open Directory callback routines in order to register and unregister directory nodes or to write information in an Open Directory log file.

• SetPluginState, called by Open Directory to notify the plug-in of a change in state. For example, this entry point would be called to enable or disable the plug-in.

• PeriodicTask, called by Open Directory on a regular basis so that the plug-in can perform periodic tasks.

• ProcessRequest, called by Open Directory to pass requests from Open Directory clients.

• Shutdown, called by Open Directory to tell the plug-in that Open Directory is shutting down. For example, this entry point would be called when the system shuts down. The plug-in should release memory and perform any other tasks to prepare itself for shutdown.