Packaging an Addon for Curse

[MinervahShadowmoon]

Let's assume for a moment that I have a completed addon, ready to upload for others to download from Curse's client...

I've read the FAQ section of CurseForge and WowAce.com for some clue as to what to do next, and while I get clues, nothing is really easy to understand. I mean, I've read stuff about a repository, which I know nothing about. I've read about Subversion, Git, and Mercurial; again, never heard of such things until now. I've read about a .pkmeta and such, but I still don't understand its purpose. All the documentation I have read thus far takes a random-bits-and-pieces approach and all of which assume the reader already has some knowledge about the topic being discussed.

Could someone please explain in a bit more A to Z type of approach (for someone who has never uploaded a file to Curse) of how to get a completed addon uploaded from my hard drive to Curse?

Thanks!

[Farmbuyer]

Nearly all of those instructions assume that you are also using WowAce/Curseforge for your development in addition to using it for distribution. If what you have is simply a .zip file containing the finished addon, then most of those instructions don't apply. (You may also be missing out on most of the wowace/curseforge features, but it's up to you.)

First step: Have you gone to the curseforge.com site and created a project for your addon?

[MinervahShadowmoon]

I wrote my question with the intention of using WowAce/CurseForge. Assume I have created an addon and it has been approved.

Assume I have MyAddon.lua and MyAddon.toc--a fully working addon ready to be used. What do I have to do to get them on Curse after creating an addon on WowAce/CurseForge?

Secondary question: Which do I use? WowAce or CurseForge?

[OrionShock]

http://kb.wowace.com/projects/gettin...ct-management/

http://kb.wowace.com/repositories/wh...ision-control/

[MinervahShadowmoon]

Orion,

Thanks for the links. However, I think you're not understanding. I have read those pages at least a half-dozen times each. I have also read all the other pages in the Knowledge Base section, both at CurseForge and WowAce (just in case there was a difference). No offense to the authors, but the way they are written, they leave some information out, sort of assuming you already know about the stuff they left out. For example: If I wrote an article about autopilot systems for aircraft, you'd know what the topic is about and what it relates to, but you'd understand nothing about how to operate one or why things are done the way they are because you've never flown an airplane. You have to learn about flying before using an autopilot. I could talk to you about what a Automatic-Direction-Finder is, and you might understand some of what I'm saying, but you wouldn't understand why it's important and how it fits into the bigger picture of how to fly an airplane.

The documentation I've read gives information about repositories and why they are important. But it doesn't address HOW to use it. The documentation gives information about .pkgmeta, but doesn't seem to explain how to use it in your project.

In all fairness, maybe my request of a tutorial or walkthrough is a bit too broad. So, let's see if I can think of some specific things I don't understand or I missed in the documentation.

How do I package my addon? In a zip file?
Where does the .pkgmeta and such go? Why is it important?
How should I write my .toc file to be compatible with Curse? Do I put a hard-coded version in it or use some expression that Curse understands? (I've seen both used by different addons, and thus my confusion.)
If I'm using Ace3, do I have to include it in my addon's folder? Or can Ace3 being installed in the user's /Addons/ folder suffice?
When using a repository, when/why would I need to access it via the special URL ("svn:...")? Is that another way to upload a file?

These are a few questions that reading all the documentation I have hasn't yet answered.

[Adirelle]

Basically, there is a packager process running on the wowace/curseforge servers. Both sites are technologically identical (though zip uploads are not allowed on wowace). This packager will create a new package and publish it to curse.com whenever you commit a new version. If a .pkgmeta file is present at the project root, it should contain directives for the packager.
On top of that, there are some project-specific options to change the packager behavior.

Concerning how to use Subversion, Git or Mercurial, this is off-topic. Each tool has its own tutorials. The wowace knowledge base only gives you the keys to use them on wowace. It assumes you already know how to use them (or will learn how to) the same way it assumes you know how to code addons.

[MinervahShadowmoon]

Okay...so to access this packager, I just upload a new zip file of my project in the project management? If so, where in that zip file should the .pkgmeta go?

[Adirelle]

No. Assuming you'd prefer using Wowace, you should install the VCS client of your choice, and use it to commit your files to the wowace repository, as detailed in this article : http://kb.wowace.com/repositories/repository-faq/

[Torhal]

The "package" is a zip file generated by the packager from information in the .pkgmeta file. If you are simply making your own zip files and don't care about version control, you need not concern yourself with Subversion, git, Mercurial, or the .pkgmeta file.

[MinervahShadowmoon]

I do care about version control, so I do want to use a respository.

Originally Posted by Adirelle

Assuming you'd prefer using Wowace...

Which do you prefer (Curseforge or WowAce)? Why? People keep saying they're "technologically" the same, but some still use one and some use the other. Why? What's the purpose of having two sites instead of one consolidated location? Since Curseforge allows for multiple games, including WoW, and WowAce is for WoW only, wouldn't that make Curseforge a more logical choice?

Are there any pros/cons to using one site over the other?

Adirelle, assuming I wanted to use CurseForge, would the same procedure apply?