refactor: store modules with widget search

bec_widgets/applications/launch_window.py

@@ -242,7 +242,7 @@ class LaunchWindow(BECMainWindow):
         )
 
         # plugin widgets
-        self.available_widgets: dict[str, BECWidget] = get_all_plugin_widgets()
+        self.available_widgets: dict[str, type[BECWidget]] = get_all_plugin_widgets().as_dict()
         if self.available_widgets:
             plugin_repo_name = next(iter(self.available_widgets.values())).__module__.split(".")[0]
             plugin_repo_name = plugin_repo_name.removesuffix("_bec").upper()

bec_widgets/cli/client.py

@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ _Widgets = {
 
 
 try:
-    _plugin_widgets = get_all_plugin_widgets()
+    _plugin_widgets = get_all_plugin_widgets().as_dict()
     plugin_client = get_plugin_client_module()
     Widgets = _WidgetsEnumType("Widgets", {name: name for name in _plugin_widgets} | _Widgets)
 

bec_widgets/cli/generate_cli.py

@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ _Widgets = {
             self.content += """
 
 try:
-    _plugin_widgets = get_all_plugin_widgets()
+    _plugin_widgets = get_all_plugin_widgets().as_dict()
     plugin_client = get_plugin_client_module()
     Widgets = _WidgetsEnumType("Widgets", {name: name for name in _plugin_widgets} | _Widgets)
 

bec_widgets/cli/rpc/rpc_widget_handler.py

@@ -31,10 +31,9 @@ class RPCWidgetHandler:
         Returns:
             None
         """
-        clss = get_custom_classes("bec_widgets")
+        self._widget_classes = (
-        self._widget_classes = get_all_plugin_widgets() | {
+            get_custom_classes("bec_widgets") + get_all_plugin_widgets()
-            cls.__name__: cls for cls in clss.widgets if cls.__name__ not in IGNORE_WIDGETS
+        ).as_dict(IGNORE_WIDGETS)
-        }
 
     def create_widget(self, widget_type, **kwargs) -> BECWidget:
         """

bec_widgets/utils/bec_plugin_helper.py

@@ -3,12 +3,17 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 import importlib.metadata
 import inspect
 import pkgutil
+import traceback
 from importlib import util as importlib_util
 from importlib.machinery import FileFinder, ModuleSpec, SourceFileLoader
 from types import ModuleType
 from typing import Generator
 
-from bec_widgets.utils.bec_widget import BECWidget
+from bec_lib.logger import bec_logger
+
+from bec_widgets.utils.plugin_utils import BECClassContainer, BECClassInfo
+
+logger = bec_logger.logger
 
 
 def _submodule_specs(module: ModuleType) -> tuple[ModuleSpec | None, ...]:
@@ -30,7 +35,12 @@ def _loaded_submodules_from_specs(
         assert isinstance(
             submodule.__loader__, SourceFileLoader
         ), "Module found from FileFinder should have SourceFileLoader!"
-        submodule.__loader__.exec_module(submodule)
+        try:
+            submodule.__loader__.exec_module(submodule)
+        except Exception as e:
+            logger.error(
+                f"Error loading plugin {submodule}: \n{''.join(traceback.format_exception(e))}"
+            )
         yield submodule
 
 
@@ -41,27 +51,29 @@ def _submodule_by_name(module: ModuleType, name: str):
     return None
 
 
-def _get_widgets_from_module(module: ModuleType) -> dict[str, "type[BECWidget]"]:
+def _get_widgets_from_module(module: ModuleType) -> BECClassContainer:
-    """Find any BECWidget subclasses in the given module and return them with their names."""
+    """Find any BECWidget subclasses in the given module and return them with their info."""
     from bec_widgets.utils.bec_widget import BECWidget  # avoid circular import
 
-    return dict(
+    classes = inspect.getmembers(
-        inspect.getmembers(
+        module,
-            module,
+        predicate=lambda item: inspect.isclass(item)
-            predicate=lambda item: inspect.isclass(item)
+        and issubclass(item, BECWidget)
-            and issubclass(item, BECWidget)
+        and item is not BECWidget,
-            and item is not BECWidget,
+    )
-        )
+    return BECClassContainer(
+        BECClassInfo(name=k, module=module.__name__, file=module.__loader__.get_filename(), obj=v)
+        for k, v in classes
     )
 
 
-def _all_widgets_from_all_submods(module):
+def _all_widgets_from_all_submods(module) -> BECClassContainer:
     """Recursively load submodules, find any BECWidgets, and return them all as a flat dict."""
     widgets = _get_widgets_from_module(module)
     if not hasattr(module, "__path__"):
         return widgets
     for submod in _loaded_submodules_from_specs(_submodule_specs(module)):
-        widgets.update(_all_widgets_from_all_submods(submod))
+        widgets += _all_widgets_from_all_submods(submod)
     return widgets
 
 
@@ -75,15 +87,16 @@ def get_plugin_client_module() -> ModuleType | None:
     return _submodule_by_name(plugin, "client") if (plugin := user_widget_plugin()) else None
 
 
-def get_all_plugin_widgets() -> dict[str, "type[BECWidget]"]:
+def get_all_plugin_widgets() -> BECClassContainer:
     """If there is a plugin repository installed, load all widgets from it."""
     if plugin := user_widget_plugin():
         return _all_widgets_from_all_submods(plugin)
     else:
-        return {}
+        return BECClassContainer()
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":  # pragma: no cover
-    #  print(get_all_plugin_widgets())
+
     client = get_plugin_client_module()
+    print(get_all_plugin_widgets())
     ...

bec_widgets/utils/plugin_utils.py

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import importlib
 import inspect
 import os
 from dataclasses import dataclass
-from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Iterable
 
 from bec_lib.plugin_helper import _get_available_plugins
 from qtpy.QtWidgets import QGraphicsWidget, QWidget
@@ -90,15 +90,15 @@ class BECClassInfo:
     name: str
     module: str
     file: str
-    obj: type
+    obj: type[BECWidget]
     is_connector: bool = False
     is_widget: bool = False
     is_plugin: bool = False
 
 
 class BECClassContainer:
-    def __init__(self):
+    def __init__(self, initial: Iterable[BECClassInfo] = []):
-        self._collection: list[BECClassInfo] = []
+        self._collection: list[BECClassInfo] = list(initial)
 
     def __repr__(self):
         return str(list(cl.name for cl in self.collection))
@@ -106,6 +106,16 @@ class BECClassContainer:
     def __iter__(self):
         return self._collection.__iter__()
 
+    def __add__(self, other: BECClassContainer):
+        return BECClassContainer((*self, *(c for c in other if c.name not in self.names)))
+
+    def as_dict(self, ignores: list[str] = []) -> dict[str, type[BECWidget]]:
+        """get a dict of {name: Type} for all the entries in the collection.
+
+        Args:
+            ignores(list[str]): a list of class names to exclude from the dictionary."""
+        return {c.name: c.obj for c in self if c.name not in ignores}
+
     def add_class(self, class_info: BECClassInfo):
         """
         Add a class to the collection.
@@ -115,53 +125,44 @@ class BECClassContainer:
         """
         self.collection.append(class_info)
 
+    @property
+    def names(self):
+        """Return a list of class names"""
+        return [c.name for c in self]
+
     @property
     def collection(self):
-        """
+        """Get the collection of classes."""
-        Get the collection of classes.
-        """
         return self._collection
 
     @property
     def connector_classes(self):
-        """
+        """Get all connector classes."""
-        Get all connector classes.
-        """
         return [info.obj for info in self.collection if info.is_connector]
 
     @property
     def top_level_classes(self):
-        """
+        """Get all top-level classes."""
-        Get all top-level classes.
-        """
         return [info.obj for info in self.collection if info.is_plugin]
 
     @property
     def plugins(self):
-        """
+        """Get all plugins. These are all classes that are on the top level and are widgets."""
-        Get all plugins. These are all classes that are on the top level and are widgets.
-        """
         return [info.obj for info in self.collection if info.is_widget and info.is_plugin]
 
     @property
     def widgets(self):
-        """
+        """Get all widgets. These are all classes inheriting from BECWidget."""
-        Get all widgets. These are all classes inheriting from BECWidget.
-        """
         return [info.obj for info in self.collection if info.is_widget]
 
     @property
     def rpc_top_level_classes(self):
-        """
+        """Get all top-level classes that are RPC-enabled. These are all classes that users can choose from."""
-        Get all top-level classes that are RPC-enabled. These are all classes that users can choose from.
-        """
         return [info.obj for info in self.collection if info.is_plugin and info.is_connector]
 
     @property
     def classes(self):
-        """
+        """Get all classes."""
-        Get all classes.
-        """
         return [info.obj for info in self.collection]
 
 
@@ -197,7 +198,7 @@ def get_custom_classes(repo_name: str) -> BECClassContainer:
                 if not hasattr(obj, "__module__") or obj.__module__ != module.__name__:
                     continue
                 if isinstance(obj, type):
-                    class_info = BECClassInfo(name=name, module=module_name, file=path, obj=obj)
+                    class_info = BECClassInfo(name=name, module=module.__name__, file=path, obj=obj)
                     if issubclass(obj, BECConnector):
                         class_info.is_connector = True
                     if issubclass(obj, BECWidget):

bec_widgets/utils/ui_loader.py

@@ -31,12 +31,9 @@ class UILoader:
     def __init__(self, parent=None):
         self.parent = parent
 
-        widgets = get_custom_classes("bec_widgets").classes
+        self.custom_widgets = (
-
+            get_custom_classes("bec_widgets") + get_all_plugin_widgets()
-        self.custom_widgets = {widget.__name__: widget for widget in widgets}
+        ).as_dict()
-
-        plugin_widgets = get_all_plugin_widgets()
-        self.custom_widgets.update(plugin_widgets)
 
         if PYSIDE6:
             self.loader = self.load_ui_pyside6

tests/unit_tests/test_bec_plugin_helper.py

@@ -2,7 +2,9 @@ from importlib.machinery import FileFinder, SourceFileLoader
 from types import ModuleType
 from unittest import mock
 
-from bec_widgets.utils.bec_plugin_helper import BECWidget, _all_widgets_from_all_submods
+from bec_widgets.utils.bec_plugin_helper import _all_widgets_from_all_submods
+from bec_widgets.utils.bec_widget import BECWidget
+from bec_widgets.utils.plugin_utils import BECClassContainer, BECClassInfo
 
 
 def test_all_widgets_from_module_no_submodules():
@@ -39,10 +41,17 @@ def test_all_widgets_from_module_with_submodules():
         mock.patch("importlib.util.module_from_spec", return_value=submodule),
         mock.patch(
             "bec_widgets.utils.bec_plugin_helper._get_widgets_from_module",
-            side_effect=[{"TestWidget": BECWidget}, {"SubWidget": BECWidget}],
+            side_effect=[
+                BECClassContainer(
+                    [BECClassInfo(name="TestWidget", module="", obj=BECWidget, file="")]
+                ),
+                BECClassContainer(
+                    [BECClassInfo(name="SubWidget", module="", obj=BECWidget, file="")]
+                ),
+            ],
         ),
     ):
-        widgets = _all_widgets_from_all_submods(module)
+        widgets = _all_widgets_from_all_submods(module).as_dict()
 
     assert widgets == {"TestWidget": BECWidget, "SubWidget": BECWidget}
 
@@ -54,8 +63,9 @@ def test_all_widgets_from_module_no_widgets():
     module = mock.MagicMock()
 
     with mock.patch(
-        "bec_widgets.utils.bec_plugin_helper._get_widgets_from_module", return_value={}
+        "bec_widgets.utils.bec_plugin_helper._get_widgets_from_module",
+        return_value=BECClassContainer([]),
     ):
-        widgets = _all_widgets_from_all_submods(module)
+        widgets = _all_widgets_from_all_submods(module).as_dict()
 
     assert widgets == {}

tests/unit_tests/test_client_plugin_widgets.py

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ from unittest.mock import MagicMock, call, patch
 
 from bec_widgets.cli import client
 from bec_widgets.cli.rpc.rpc_base import RPCBase
+from bec_widgets.utils.plugin_utils import BECClassContainer, BECClassInfo
 
 
 class _TestGlobalPlugin(RPCBase): ...
@@ -47,7 +48,9 @@ mock_client_module_duplicate.DeviceComboBox = _TestDuplicatePlugin
 )
 @patch(
     "bec_widgets.utils.bec_plugin_helper.get_all_plugin_widgets",
-    return_value={"DeviceComboBox": _TestDuplicatePlugin},
+    return_value=BECClassContainer(
+        [BECClassInfo(name="DeviceComboBox", obj=_TestDuplicatePlugin, module="", file="")]
+    ),
 )
 def test_duplicate_plugins_not_allowed(_, bec_logger: MagicMock):
     reload(client)

tests/unit_tests/test_generate_cli_client.py

@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ def test_client_generator_with_black_formatting():
 
         
         try:
-            _plugin_widgets = get_all_plugin_widgets()
+            _plugin_widgets = get_all_plugin_widgets().as_dict()
             plugin_client = get_plugin_client_module()
             Widgets = _WidgetsEnumType("Widgets", {name: name for name in _plugin_widgets} | _Widgets)
 

tests/unit_tests/test_rpc_widget_handler.py

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ from bec_widgets.cli import client
 from bec_widgets.cli.rpc.rpc_base import RPCBase
 from bec_widgets.cli.rpc.rpc_widget_handler import RPCWidgetHandler
 from bec_widgets.utils.bec_widget import BECWidget
+from bec_widgets.utils.plugin_utils import BECClassContainer, BECClassInfo
 from bec_widgets.widgets.containers.dock.dock import BECDock
 
 
@@ -21,7 +22,12 @@ class _TestPluginWidget(BECWidget): ...
 
 @patch(
     "bec_widgets.cli.rpc.rpc_widget_handler.get_all_plugin_widgets",
-    return_value={"DeviceComboBox": _TestPluginWidget, "NewPluginWidget": _TestPluginWidget},
+    return_value=BECClassContainer(
+        [
+            BECClassInfo(name="DeviceComboBox", obj=_TestPluginWidget, module="", file=""),
+            BECClassInfo(name="NewPluginWidget", obj=_TestPluginWidget, module="", file=""),
+        ]
+    ),
 )
 def test_duplicate_plugins_not_allowed(_):
     handler = RPCWidgetHandler()

tests/unit_tests/test_scan_control.py

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
 import pytest
 from bec_lib.endpoints import MessageEndpoints
 from bec_lib.messages import AvailableResourceMessage, ScanQueueHistoryMessage, ScanQueueMessage
-from qtpy.QtCore import QModelIndex, QPoint, Qt
+from qtpy.QtCore import QModelIndex, Qt
 
 from bec_widgets.utils.forms_from_types.items import StrMetadataField
 from bec_widgets.utils.widget_io import WidgetIO