http://TWiki.org/cgi-bin/view/Codev/FuncDotPm#expandCommonVariables_text_topic describes the expandCommonVariables function as " Expand all common %VARIABLES% ". This is not only insufficient, it is inaccurate. expandCommonVariables calls handleCommonTags, which expands:

1. Preferences tags
2. Internal tags (please, please, please let's get rid of these!)
3. Include files
4. TOC tags

All of which - with a considerable stretch of the imagination - could be classed as "Common Variables". However it also calls TWiki::Plugins::commonTagsHandler. Try as I might, I just can't perceive Plugins tags as "Common Variables".

Since I really, really want a function that really does just expand variables, nothing else, I propose that this bug is fixed by the splitting of this function into "expandVariables" - which would handle only preferences tags - and "expandCommonTags" which would do the rest, including plugins tags. In the interim, I am once again going to have to ignore the plugins API and call TWiki::Prefs::handlePreferencesTags and TWiki::handleInternalTags directly. expandCommonVariables should be maintained but deprecated.

Actually, I just realised that the function I require is the same function that has been begging to be abstracted from the edit and register- scripts for ages viz. a function that expands simple variables, such as DATE and TIME, on topic creation. The name suggested for this function was TWiki::expandVariablesOnTopicCreation, and I need it published to the plugins API. As well as the changes requested above.

-- CrawfordCurrie - 09 Mar 2004

CategoryPluginsAPI