Custom PhoneGap Plugin (iOS) Function Issue - iphone

Question

I'm using this tutorial to create a custom PhoneGap plugin:
http://wiki.phonegap.com/w/page/36753496/How%20to%20Create%20a%20PhoneGap%20Plugin%20for%20iOS
I have had success using the author's example, but I have a few questions that I have not been able to find out the answers to.
When the JavaScript function is created, the code is:
var MyPlugin = {
nativeFunction: function(types, success, fail) {
return PhoneGap.exec(success, fail, "PluginClass", "print", types);
}
};
Is there a way to set this up without var MyPlugin = {...}; and nativeFunction? In other words, can we define a function of our plugin like myfunc = function()...
Secondly, assuming there is a way to do the above, could this code:
MyPlugin.nativeFunction(
["HelloWorld"] ,
function(result) {
alert("Success : \r\n"+result);
},
function(error) {
alert("Error : \r\n"+error);
}
);
(which is the test code to test the plugin) also be written in a more standardized way? I.e., just a call to Javascript function without the nativeFunction part?
I would very much appreciate any input, thank you!

Answer 1

the phonegap documentation for plugins sucks. Honestly I had a bunch of issues when trying to create my own. A few tips :
the reason for doing
var MyPlugin = {};
is because this allows us to us scope things specific to that js object.
example:
MyPlugin.myFunction();
My favorite method to create plugins, similar to your question, is to prototype them
var MyPlugin = {}; // our object
MyPlugin.prototype.myFunction = function(success,fail,types){
}
The key to making a plugin fire is this -
PhoneGap.exec(success,fail,"MyPlugin","myFunction",types);
But something that they leave out is, what if we want to have options to our plugin? What if we want to do more than pass a string, then the example doesn't work. The fix is easy but not talked about at all.
var MyPlugin = {};
MyPlugin.prototype.myFunction = function(success,fail,options){
var defaults = {
foo: '', // these are options
bar: '',
};
// this parses our "options"
for(var key in defaults) {
if(typeof options[key] !== "undefined") defaults[key] = options[key];
}
return PhoneGap.exec(success,fail,"MyPlugin","myFunction",[defaults]);
}
when we call this with out javascript -
var foo = MyPlugin.myFunction(success,fail,{
foo:'hello',
bar:'world'
});
You'll notice that most of the phonegap API uses this syntax, which I found strange that their documentation didn't really talk about how to do this.
I have a post about a plugin I create you can check it out for reference.
Blog - http://www.drewdahlman.com/meusLabs/?p=138
Git - https://github.com/DrewDahlman/ImageFilter