Advanced Enhancements
If simple operators do not fit your needs, there are several more advanced possibilities to enhance Altair AI Studio. Learn how to use the PluginInit class to change some of Altair RapidMiner's behavior during startup, before any operator is executed, and how to:
- build a super operator
- create your own data objects
- create custom connection types
- create custom graphical elements
The PluginInit class
The class offers hooks for changing Altair RapidMiner's behavior during startup. Altair RapidMiner automatically creates the class PluginInit when you initialize your extension.
It does not have to extend any super class, since its methods are accessed via reflection.
There are four methods that are called during startup of Altair RapidMiner. The following might be interesting for you:
public static void initPlugin()
The initPlugin method is called directly after the extension is initialized.
It is the first hook during start up. No initialization of the operators or renderers has taken place when this is called.
public static void initGui(MainFrame mainframe)
The initGui method is called before the GUI of the mainframe is created. This is the second hook during startup.
The MainFrame is passed as an argument to register GUI elements. This is the place to initialize UI related things.
public static void initFinalChecks()
initFinalChecks is the last hook before the splash screen closes.
As mentioned, there is a fourth method initPluginManager which is not relevant for most extensions, so we won't cover it here.
If you install your extension on Altair AI Hub, the only method called during startup is initPlugin.