3. The GPS modules

GPS is organized around the concept of modules. The only part of GPS that is mandatory is its kernel (The GPS Kernel), all the other tools, menus and features are provided in optional modules.

Although currently all modules have to be loaded at startup, some proof of concept for dynamically loadable module was implemented, and will most likely be part of a future version of GPS.

Every new feature you implement will be part of one or more modules. We will go through the details of creating new modules all along this manual, starting from a simple Hello World module to more advanced features like providing new shell or python commands.

Generally speaking, a module provides a limited set of features, and adds new GUI features in the GPS interface, like menus, toolbar buttons, contextual menu entries, new windows,… As much as possible, a menu shouldn’t directly depend on any other module, only on the GPS kernel itself.

See the file gps-kernel-modules.ads for more information on modules.