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+h1. Autumn: A Ruby IRC Bot Framework
+
+*Version 3.1.5 (May 3, 2009)*
+
+| Author | Tim Morgan (riscfuture@gmail.com) |
+| Copyright | Copyright (c)2007-2009 Tim Morgan |
+| License | Distributed under the same terms as Ruby. Portions of this code are copyright (c)2004 David Heinemeier Hansson; please see <tt>libs/inheritable_attributes.rb</tt> for more information. |
+
+Autumn is a full-featured framework on top of which IRC bots (called "leaves")
+can be quickly and easily built. It features a very Ruby-like approach to
+bot-writing, a complete framework for loading and daemonizing your bots,
+multiple environment contexts, a database-backed model, and painless logging
+support.
+
+h2. Requirements
+
+Autumn requires "RubyGems":http://www.rubygems.org and the Daemons and Facets*
+gems, as well as some of the gems spun off from Facets. Install RubyGems then
+run @sudo gem install daemons facets anise english@ in a command line in order
+to run Autumn.
+
+If you wish to use a database backend for your bot, you will need the DataMapper
+gem. To install, see the "DataMapper website":http://www.datamapper.org.
+
+The included example bot Scorekeeper requires the DataMapper gem. It can
+optionally use the Chronic gem to enhance its textual date parsing. The other
+example bot, Insulter, is much simpler and can run under any Autumn
+configuration.
+
+h2. Directory Structure
+
+An Autumn installation is like a Ruby on Rails installation: There is a
+certain directory structure where your files go. A lot of files and folders will
+seem confusing to people who have never used Autumn before, but bear with me. In
+a bit I will explain in detail what all of this stuff is. For now, here is an
+overview you can consult for future reference:
+
+* *config/* - Configuration files and season definitions
+** global.yml - Universal settings that apply to every season
+*** *seasons/* - Contains directories for each season (see *Seasons*)
+**** *testing/* - Example season
+***** database.yml - Example database configuration file
+***** leaves.yml - Example bot configuration file
+***** season.yml - Season configuration
+***** stems.yml - Example IRC configuration file
+* *doc/* - HTML documentation generated by RDoc
+** *leaves/* - Autumn leaves documentation
+* *leaves/* - Autumn leaves. Each subdirectory contains all the code and
+  data for a leaf.
+** *insulter/* - Very simple example leaf
+*** _See the *scorekeeper* directory_
+** *scorekeeper/* - Database-backed, full-featured example leaf
+*** config.yml - Optional leaf-global configuration options
+*** controller.rb - The leaf's controller object
+*** *data/* - Optional directory for data storage (not used by Autumn)
+*** *helpers/* - Modules that extend the controller and views
+*** *models/* - Active record-type database objects
+*** *tasks/* - Additional rake tasks for this leaf (see *Custom leaf tasks*)
+*** *views/* - ERb views for each of the leaf's commands
+* *log/* - Directory where (most) Autumn logs are written (see the *Logs*
+  section)
+* Rakefile - Contains the rake tasks used to control Autumn (see the *Tasks*
+  section)
+* README - RDoc-formatted readme
+* README.textile - This file
+* *script/* - Helper scripts for controlling Autumn
+** destroy - Destroys Autumn objects
+** generate - Creates Autumn objects
+* *shared/* - Shared code libraries available to all leaves
+* *tmp/* - Temporary files, such as PID files
+
+h2. Configuring Autumn for Your First Launch
+
+Before you can run Autumn and try out the example leaves, you'll need to set up
+a few things. Here are the steps:
+
+h3. Creating your bot's tree
+
+To create a new tree, change to a directory where you want your bot to run from,
+then use <tt>autumn create PROJECT</tt> to create the directory (PROJECT should
+be replaced with your bot's name) with the structure outlined above.
+
+h3. Configure Your Testing Season
+
+In Autumn, your leaves run in an environment, called a "season." Each season has
+different leaves and different settings for those leaves. By default, Autumn
+comes with a season called "testing" already set up for you. You can edit that
+season or create a new one with @script/generate season [season name]@. The
+files for your season are stored in the <tt>config/seasons</tt> directory.
+
+First, edit the <tt>stems.yml</tt> file. This file stores information about your
+IRC connection. Edit it to connect to an IRC server of your choosing. For more
+information, see *Stems* below.
+
+Next, edit the <tt>database.yml</tt> file. As mentioned previously, Scorekeeper
+requires the DataMapper gem because it uses a persistent store. By default it's
+set up to use a SQLite 3 database, but you can use PostgreSQL or MySQL if you'd
+like. If you'd prefer not to install any of these database solutions, delete the
+<tt>database.yml</tt> file and remove the Scorekeeper leaf from the
+<tt>leaves.yml</tt> and <tt>stems.yml</tt> files.
+
+If you do choose to set up a database, you will have to run @rake db:migrate@
+after your <tt>database.yml</tt> file is configured and your database is
+created.
+
+Lastly, view the <tt>leaves.yml</tt> file. You shouldn't have to make any
+changes to this file, but it's a good idea to look at it to see how leaves are
+configured. You can do the same with the <tt>season.yml</tt> file. See *Seasons*
+and *Leaves* below for more.
+
+h3. Starting the Server
+
+Run the shell command @autumn start@ to start the server. After a short
+while, your leaf should appear in the channel you specified. You can type
+"!points Coolguy +5" and then "!points" to get started using Scorekeeper, or
+"!insult" to play with Insulter. Have some fun, and when you're satisfied, stop
+the server by typing "!quit".
+
+If you'd like to daemonize your server, you can use the shell commands
+@rake app:start@ and @rake app:stop@. For more information, see *Tasks* below.
+
+h2. Making Your Own Leaf
+
+Making your own leaf using Autumn is easy. In this tutorial, I'll show you how
+to make a simple Fortune bot that responds to a few basic commands.
+
+h3. Step 1: Subclass Leaf
+
+Create a new leaf by typing @script/generate leaf fortune@. This will create a
+<tt>fortune</tt> directory in the <tt>leaves</tt> directory, along with the bare
+bones of files needed within that directory. Edit the <tt>controller.rb</tt>
+file. First we'll create an array to hold our fortunes:
+
+<pre><code>
+FORTUNES = [
+  "You will make someone happy today.",
+  "Someone you don't expect will be important to you today.",
+  "Today will bring unexpected hardships."
+]
+</code></pre>
+
+As you can see, our 3 meager fortunes are stored in the @FORTUNES@ class
+constant. Now, we'll want it to respond to the "!fortune" command, and all you
+have to do is create a method called @fortune_command@ to make it work:
+
+<pre><code>
+def fortune_command(stem, sender, reply_to, msg)
+  FORTUNES.pick
+end
+</code></pre>
+
+The @pick@ method is provided by Facets, so you may need to add a <code>require
+'facets/random'</code> line at the top of your file. Our method returns a
+fortune at random, which is automatically transmitted to the channel or nick
+where the command was received.
+
+Of course, any self-respecting fortune bot announces its presence when it starts
+up, so, in your @Controller@ class, override the @Autumn::Leaf#did_start_up@
+method to display a cheerful greeting:
+
+<pre><code>
+def did_start_up
+  stems.message 'FortuneBot at your service! Type "!fortune" to get your fortune!'
+end
+</code></pre>
+
+...and that's it! You now have a fully functional fortune bot featuring -- not
+two -- but _three_ unique and exciting fortunes!
+
+(For more on that @stems.message@ bit, see *Stems*.)
+
+h3. Step 2: Add the Leaf to Your Season
+
+If you want, you can add the fortune bot to your <tt>leaves.yml</tt> and
+<tt>stems.yml</tt> files to try it out. Adding a leaf is easy; simply duplicate
+the structure used for another leaf's entry and change the values as
+appropriate. A typical two-leaf configuration will look like:
+
+<pre><code>
+Scorekeeper:
+  class: Scorekeeper
+  respond_to_private_messages: false
+Fortune:
+  class: Fortune
+  respond_to_private_messages: true
+</code></pre>
+
+As you notice, each leaf instance is given a name. In this example the name
+happens to be the same as the leaf's type name, but you could run two copies of
+a leaf like so:
+
+<pre><code>
+Fortune1:
+  class: Fortune
+Fortune2:
+  class: Fortune
+</code></pre>
+
+This doesn't make a whole lot of sense for our fortune bot, but for more
+complicated bots it can be useful.
+
+We've created the leaf, but we have to add it to the stem for it to work.
+(Remember, a stem is an IRC connection and a leaf is a bot.) So, in your
+<tt>stems.yml</tt> file, add an entry for this leaf. Your new config will appear
+something like:
+
+<pre><code>
+Example:
+  nick: Scorekeeper
+  leaves:
+    - Scorekeeper
+    - Insulter
+    - Fortune
+  rejoin: true
+  channel: somechannel
+  server: irc.someserver.com
+</code></pre>
+
+When you restart the server, the bot will come back online and will now also
+respond to the "!fortune" command. This is a helpful tutorial on how stems and
+leaves are separate. One leaf can have many stems, and one stem can have many
+leaves. You can combine these two entities however you need.
+
+h3. Step 3: Upgrade to ERb Views
+
+You've already learned that for your @[word]_command@-type methods, the bot
+responds with whatever string your method returns. For more complicated
+commands, however, you may want to upgrade to full view abstraction, a la Ruby
+on Rails. This is what the <tt>views</tt> directory is for.
+
+If you place a <tt>.txt.erb</tt> file in the <tt>views</tt> directory named
+after your command, it will be parsed by ERb and rendered as the result. You can
+pass variables to the ERb parser by using the @Autumn::Leaf#var@ method. Let's
+upgrade our @fortune_command@ method for that:
+
+<pre><code>
+def fortune_command(stem, sender, reply_to, msg)
+  var :fortune => FORTUNES.pick
+end
+</code></pre>
+
+We can then write a view, <tt>fortune.txt.erb</tt>, which will render the
+fortune:
+
+<code><%= var :fortune %></code>
+
+OK, so admittedly, this doesn't really get us anywhere, but for more complicated
+bots, this well help separate view and controller concerns.
+
+For more information on view rendering, see the @Autumn::Leaf#render@ method.
+
+h2. Seasons
+
+Each time you start Autumn, the process launches in a certain season (a.k.a.
+environment context). This season is defined in the <tt>config/global.yml</tt>
+file. You can temporarily override it by setting the @SEASON@ environment
+variable (e.g., @SEASON=production autumn start@).
+
+It's important to realize that an season is just a name, nothing more. You can
+have as many seasons as you like, and name them anything that you like. Autumn
+will load the config files for the season you've indicated as active. Autumn
+doesn't really care if it's named "production" or "live" or
+"testing-on-jeffs-machine"; it's all the same to Autumn.
+
+Your season's configuration is stored in the <tt>season.yml</tt> file within
+your season directory. Currently it supports one directive, @logging@. This sets
+the minimum log level (such as @debug@ or @warn@). If the log level is set to
+@debug@, it also enables console output parroting. (See the *Logging* section.)
+
+The power of seasons comes in custom configuration options. For instance,
+consider that you have a testing and production season. In your testing season,
+your <tt>season.yml</tt> file contains:
+
+<code>dont_http: true</code>
+
+and in production, it contains:
+
+<code>dont_http: false</code>
+
+Now, in your code, you might have a method like:
+
+<pre><code>
+def scores_command(stem, sender, reply_to, msg)
+  if options[:dont_http] then
+    return "Some fake sports scores."
+  else
+    # go on the web and find real sports scores
+  end
+end
+</code></pre>
+
+h3. Standard Configuration Options
+
+h4. Global
+
+System-wide configuration is done in the <tt>config/global.yml</tt> file. It
+supports by default the following directives:
+
+| @season@ | The season to launch in. |
+| @log_history@ | The number of historical logfiles to keep (default 10). |
+
+In addition, the following options are available (but cannot be set in the yml
+file):
+
+| @root@ | The root directory of the Autumn installation. |
+| @system_logger@ | The @Autumn::LogFacade@ instance that records system messages. |
+
+h4. Season
+
+Season-specific configuration is done in the
+<tt>config/seasons/[season]/season.yml</tt> file. Currently it only supports one
+directive, @logging@, which takes log levels like @debug@ or @warn@.
+
+h4. Stem
+
+Stem-specific configuration is done in the
+<tt>config/seasons/[season]/stems.yml</tt> file. It's important to note that
+stem and leaf configurations are completely independent of each other. (In other
+words, stem options do not override leaf options, nor vice versa.) Therefore,
+you generally won't add custom directives to the <tt>stems.yml</tt> file,
+because you generally won't be working with stems directly. The standard options
+are:
+
+| @server@ | The address of the IRC server. |
+| @port@ | The IRC server port (default 6667). |
+| @local_ip@ | The IP address to connect on (for virtual hosting). |
+| @nick@ | The nick to request. |
+| @password@ | The nick's password, if it is registered. |
+| @channel@ | A channel to join. |
+| @channels@ | A list of channels to join. |
+| @leaf@ | The name of a leaf to run. |
+| @leaves@ | A list of leaves to run. (These are the names of leaf configurations in <tt>leaves.yml</tt>, not leaf subclasses.) |
+| @rejoin@ | If true, the stem will rejoin any channels it is kicked from. |
+| @server_password@ | The password for the IRC server, if necessary. |
+| @ssl@ | If true, the connection to the IRC server will be made over SSL. |
+| @server_type@ | The IRC server type. See <tt>resources/daemons</tt> for a list of valid server types. If you do not manually set this value, it will be guessed automatically. |
+| @case_sensitive_channel_names@ | If true, channel names will be compared with case sensitivity. |
+| @dont_ghost@ | If true, the stem will not try to GHOST a registered nick if it's taken. |
+| @ghost_without_password@ | If true, the stem will use the GHOST command without a password. Set this for servers that use some other form of nick authentication, such as hostname-based. |
+| @user@ | The username to send (optional). |
+| @name@ | The user's real name (optional). |
+| @throttle@ | If enabled, the stem will throttle large amounts of simultaneous messages. |
+| @throttle_rate@ | Sets the number of seconds that pass between consecutive PRIVMSG's when the leaf's output is throttled. |
+| @throttle_threshold@ | Sets the number of simultaneous messages that must be queued before the leaf begins throttling output. |
+| @nick_regex@ | The regular expression used to match nicknames in server messages. By default, it conforms to the RFC-1459 definition. |
+
+The @channel@ and @channels@ directives can also be used to specify a password
+for a password protected channel, like so:
+
+<pre><code>
+channel:
+  channelname: channelpassword
+</code></pre>
+
+or
+
+<pre><code>
+channels:
+- channel1: password1
+- channel2: password2
+</code></pre>
+
+The @port@, @server_type@, and @channel@/@channels@ options are set in the
+config file but not available in the @options@ hash. They are accessed directly
+from attributes in the @Autumn::Stem@ instance, such as the @channels@
+attribute.
+
+h4. Leaf
+
+Leaf-specific configuration is done in the
+<tt>config/seasons/[season]/leaves.yml</tt> file and the
+<tt>leaves/[leaf]/config.yml</tt> file, with the former taking precedence over
+the latter. As mentioned above, leaf and stem configurations are completely
+separate, so one does not override the other. The standard options are:
+
+| @class@ | The type of the leaf. It must be a subdirectory in the <tt>leaves</tt> directory. |
+| @command_prefix@ | The text that must precede each command. Defaults to "!". |
+| @respond_to_private_messages@ | If true, the leaf will parse commands in whispers, and respond over whispers to those commands. |
+| @database@ | A database connection to use (as defined in <tt>database.yml</tt>). By default Autumn will choose a connection named after your leaf. |
+| @formatter@ | The name of a module in @Autumn::Formatting@ that will handle output formatting and colorization. This defaults to mIRC-style formatting. |
+
+In addition, the following options are available (but cannot be set in the yml
+file):
+
+| @root@ | The root directory of the leaf installation. |
+
+The <tt>leaves.yml</tt> file is optional. When not included, each leaf in the
+<tt>leaves</tt> directory will be automatically instantiated once.
+
+h3. Custom Configuration Options
+
+All configuration files support user-generated directives. You can set options
+at any level. Options at a more narrow level override those at a broader level.
+
+Options are maintained and cataloged by the @Autumn::Speciator@ singleton. You
+could access the singleton directly, but most objects have an @options@
+attribute providing simpler access to the Speciator.
+
+For example, to access options in a leaf, all you do is call, for example,
+@options[:my_custom_option]@. @my_custom_option@ can be set at the
+global, season, or leaf level.
+
+h2. Leaves
+
+The @Autumn::Leaf@ class has many tools to help you write your leaves. These
+include things like filters, helpers, loggers, and an easy to use IRC library.
+The @Autumn::Leaf@ and @Autumn::Stem@ class docs are the most thorough way of
+learning about each of these features, but I'll walk you through the basics
+here.
+
+h3. The Many Methods of Leaf
+
+By subclassing @Autumn::Leaf@, you gain access to a number of neat utilities.
+These generally come in three classes: IRC commands that have already been
+written for you, utility methods you can call, and invoked methods you can
+override. Utility methods do things like add filters. Invoked methods are called
+when certain events happen, like when your leaf starts up or when a private
+message is received. You override them in your leaf to customize how it responds
+to these events.
+
+| *Invoked methods* | @will_start_up@, @did_start_up@, @did_receive_channel_message@, etc. |
+| *Utility methods* | @before_filter@, @database@, etc. |
+| *IRC commands* | @quit_command@, @reload_command@, @autumn_command@, etc. |
+
+See the class docs for more information on these methods.
+
+In addition, your leaf is designated as a listener for its @Autumn::Stem@
+instances. In short, this means if you want even finer control over the IRC
+connection, you can implement listener methods. See the
+@Autumn::Stem#add_listener@ method for examples of such methods.
+
+Finally, your leaf can implement methods that are broadcast by listener plugins.
+An example of such a plugin is the @Autumn::CTCP@ class, which is included in
+all stems by default. Visit its class docs to learn more about how to send and
+receive CTCP requests.
+
+h3. Filters
+
+Filters are methods that are run either before or after a command is executed.
+In the former case, they can also prevent the command from being run. This is
+useful for authentication, for instance: A filter could determine if someone is
+authorized to run a command, and prevent the command from being run if not.
+
+Use filters to save yourself the effort of rewriting code that will run before
+or after a command is executed. Filter methods are named @[word]_filter@ and
+they are added to the filter chain using the @before_filter@ and @after_filter@
+methods (like in Ruby on Rails). As an example, imagine you wanted your bot to
+say something after each command:
+
+<pre><code>
+class Controller > Autumn::Leaf
+  after_filter :outro
+
+  private
+
+  def outro_filter(stem, channel, sender, command, msg, opts)
+    stem.message "This has been a production of OutroBot!", channel
+  end
+end
+</code></pre>
+
+The result of this is that after each command, the leaf will make a dramatic
+exit. (Why did I use @after_filter@ and not @before_filter@? Because as I said
+earlier, a @before_filter@ can stop the command from being executed; the only
+way we know for sure that the command was executed -- and therefore should be
+outroed -- is to use an @after_filter@.)
+
+I made the @outro_filter@ method private because I felt it shouldn't be exposed
+to other classes; this is not a requirement of the filter framework, though.
+
+Now let's say you wanted to prevent the command from being run in some cases.
+The most obvious application of this feature is authentication. Autumn already
+includes a robust authentication module, but for the sake of example, let's
+pretend you wanted to do your own authentication in your leaf. So, you write a
+@before_filter@ to determine if the user is authenticated. @before_filter@
+methods have return values; if they return false, the filter chain is halted and
+the command is suppressed. If you want to have your leaf display some sort of
+message (like "Nice try!"), you need to include that in your filter.
+
+As an example, here's a simple form of authentication that just checks a
+person's nick:
+
+<pre><code>
+class Controller < Autumn::Leaf
+  before_filter :authenticate, :only => :quit, :admin => 'Yournick'
+
+  def authenticate_filter(stem, channel, sender, command, msg, opts)
+    sender == opts[:admin]
+  end
+end
+</code></pre>
+
+I'm introducing you to three new features with this sample:
+
+* You can use the @:only@ option to limit your filter to certain commands. Note
+  that you specify the _command_ name as a symbol, _not_ the method name (which
+  would be @quit_command@ in this case).
+* You can pass your own options to @before_filter@ and @after_filter@; they are
+  passed through to your method via the last parameter, @opts@.
+* The return value of a @before_filter@ is used to determine if the command
+  should be run. So be careful that your method does not return @nil@ or @false@
+  unless you really mean for the command to be suppressed.
+
+Both of these examples use the parameters sent to your filter method. They are,
+in order:
+
+# the @Autumn::Stem@ instance that received the command,
+# the name of the channel to which the command was sent (or @nil@ if it was a
+  private message),
+# the sender hash,
+# the name of the command that was typed, as a symbol,
+# any additional parameters after the command (same as the @msg@ parameter in
+  the <tt>[word]_command</tt> methods),
+# the custom options that were given to @before_filter@ or @after_filter@.
+
+There are two built-in options that you can specify for @before_filter@ and
+@after_filter@, and those are @only@ and @except@. They work just like in Rails:
+The @only@ option limits the filter to running only on the given command or list
+of commands, and the @except@ option prevents the filter from being run on the
+given command or list. All other options are passed to the filter for you to
+use.
+
+Filters are run in the order they are added to the filter chain. Therefore, a
+superclass's filters will run before a subclass's filters, and filters added
+later in a class definition will be run after those added earlier.
+
+If you subclass one of your leaves, it inherits your superclass's filters. The
+@Autumn::Leaf@ superclass does not have any filters by default, though by
+default new leaves come with a simple authentication filter that checks the
+user's privilege level.
+
+h3. Authentication
+
+You don't need to write a @before_filter@ as shown above, because Autumn already
+includes a robust authentication module. The @Autumn::Authentication@ module
+includes the @Base@ class and four different subclasses of it. Each of these
+subclasses handles a different type of authentication. You can choose the
+authentication strategy you want on a leaf-by-leaf basis or for a whole season.
+
+To specify the kind of authentication you want, you must add an @authentication@
+directive to your config. If you want to set it for an individual leaf, add it
+to the <tt>leaves.yml</tt> file. If you want all leaves to have the same
+authentication strategy, add it to the <tt>season.yml</tt> or
+<tt>global.yml</tt> file.
+
+The @authentication@ directive should be a hash that, at a minimum, includes a
+key called @type@. This is the snake_cased name of subclass in
+@Autumn::Authentication@ that you wish to use. As an example, here is an entry
+for an Administrator bot in a <tt>leaves.yml</tt> file, with ops-based
+authentication.
+
+<pre><code>
+Administrator:
+  class: Administrator
+  authentication:
+    type: op
+</code></pre>
+
+This will instantiate the @Autumn::Authentication::Op@ class for use with the
+Administrator bot.
+
+Other authentication strategies may require additional information. For
+instance, if you want to used nick-based authentication, your
+<tt>leaves.yml</tt> file might look like:
+
+<pre><code>
+Administrator:
+  class: Administrator
+  authentication:
+    type: nick
+    nick: MyNick
+</code></pre>
+
+See the class docs for each subclass in @Autumn::Authentication@ for more info
+on how you should set up your configs.
+
+h3. Persistent Stores
+
+If you would like to use a persistent store for your leaf, you should install
+the DataMapper gem and a DataObjects gem for your database of choice (MySQL,
+PostgreSQL, or SQLite). DataMapper works almost identically to ActiveRecord, so
+if you have any Rails programming experience, you should be able to dive right
+in.
+
+Once you've got DataMapper installed, you should create one or more database
+connections in your <tt>config/seasons/[season]/database.yml</tt> file. A sample
+database connection looks like:
+
+<pre><code>
+connection_name:
+  adapter: mysql
+  host: localhost
+  username: root
+  password: pass
+  database: database_name
+</code></pre>
+
+or, in a smaller syntax:
+
+<code>connection_name: mysql://root@pass:localhost/database_name</code>
+
+If you are using the "sqlite3" adapter, the @database@ option is the path to the
+file where the data should be written (example:
+@leaves/fortune/data/my_database.db@). You can name your connection however you
+want, but you _should_ name it after either your leaf or your leaf subclass.
+(More on this below.)
+
+You should also create DataMapper model classes for each of your model objects.
+You can place them within your leaf's <tt>models</tt> directory. This works
+almost exactly the same as the <tt>app/models</tt> directory in Rails.
+
+Once your database, data models, and leaves have been configured, you can use
+the @rake db:migrate@ task to automatically populate your database.
+
+Now, unlike Rails, Autumn supports multiple database connections. Two leaves can
+use two different database connections, or share the same database connection.
+Because of this, it's important to understand how to manage your connections.
+Autumn tries to do this for you by guessing which connection belongs to which
+leaf, based on their names.
+
+For example, imagine you have a leaf named "Fortune" and an instance of that
+leaf in <tt>leaves.yml</tt> named "MyFortune". If you name your database
+connection either "Fortune" or "MyFortune" (or "fortune" or "my_fortune"), it
+will automatically be associated with that leaf. What this means is that for the
+leaf's command methods (such as @about_command@) and invoked methods (such as
+@did_receive_private_message@), the database connection will already be set for
+you, and you can start using your DataMapper objects just like ActiveRecord
+objects.
+
+If, on the other hand, you either *named your database connection differently
+from your leaf or subclass name* or you are *writing a method outside of the
+normal flow of leaf methods* (for instance, one that is directly called by a
+@Stem@, or a different listener), you will need to call the @database@ method
+and pass it a block containing your code.
+
+This is terribly confusing, so let me give you an example. Let's assume you've
+got a fortune bot running a leaf named "FortuneLeaf", so your
+<tt>leaves.yml</tt> configuration is:
+
+<pre><code>
+FortuneBot:
+  class: FortuneLeaf
+</code></pre>
+
+And you have a database connection for that leaf, named after the leaf's class:
+
+<pre><code>
+fortune_leaf:
+  adapter: sqlite3
+  database: leaves/fortune_leaf/data/development.db
+</code></pre>
+
+Let's further assume you have a simple DataMapper object:
+
+<pre><code>
+class Fortune
+  include DataMapper::Resource
+  property :id, Integer, :serial => true
+  property :text, String
+end
+</code></pre>
+
+Now, if we wanted to write a "!fortune" command, it would appear something like
+this:
+
+<pre><code>
+def fortune_command(stem, sender, reply_to, msg)
+  fortunes = Fortune.all
+  fortunes[rand(fortunes.size)].text
+end
+</code></pre>
+
+Autumn automatically knows to execute this DataMapper code in the correct
+database context. It knows this because your leaf's name is @FortuneLeaf@, and
+your database context is named the same.
+
+But what if you wanted to use that connection for other leaves too, so you named
+it something like "local_database"? Now, Autumn won't be able to guess that you
+want to use that DB context, so you have to specify it manually:
+
+<pre><code>
+def fortune_command(stem, sender, reply_to, msg)
+  database(:local_database) do
+    fortunes = Fortune.all
+    return fortunes[rand(fortunes.size)].text
+  end
+end
+</code></pre>
+
+If that is too tedious, you can specify the database connection manually in the
+<tt>leaves.yml</tt> file:
+
+<pre><code>
+FortuneBot:
+  class: FortuneLeaf
+  database: local_database
+</code></pre>
+
+OK, now onto the second special case. Imagine you want your fortune bot to also
+send a fortune in response to a CTCP VERSION request. So, you'd implement a
+method like so:
+
+<pre><code>
+def ctcp_version_request(handler, stem, sender, arguments)
+  fortune = random_fortune # Loads a random fortune
+  send_ctcp_reply stem, sender[:nick], 'VERSION', fortune.text
+end
+</code></pre>
+
+This will break -- why? Because the @ctcp_version_request@ method is in the
+realm of the @Autumn::CTCP@ class, _not_ the @Autumn::Leaf@ class. (You can see
+this by investigating the CTCP class docs; it shows you what methods you can
+implement for CTCP support.) Basically, the @CTCP@ class calls your method
+directly, giving the @Autumn::Leaf@ class no chance to set up the database
+first. So to fix it, make a call to @database@ first:
+
+<pre><code>
+def ctcp_version_request(handler, stem, sender, arguments)
+  fortune = database { random_fortune }
+  send_ctcp_reply stem, sender[:nick], 'VERSION', fortune.text
+end
+</code></pre>
+
+This will execute those methods in the scope of the database connection guessed
+by @Autumn::Leaf@. Of course, you can manually pass in a connection name if
+necessary.
+
+*Another important note:* You will need to make a call to @database@ in any
+child threads your leaf creates. The database context is not automatically
+carried over to such threads.
+
+h3. Your Leaf's Module; or, "What Do I Do About Namespace Conflicts?"
+
+So, if you have two database-backed leaves, it's entirely likely that both of
+them will use some sort of DataMapper resource named @Channel@, or something
+similar. You can't define the class @Channel@ twice in two different ways, so
+how do you deal with this?
+
+The answer is: It's already dealt with for you. Go ahead and define the class
+twice. Or three times.
+
+The longer explanation is: Secretly, behind the scenes, *all your leaf code is
+being cleverly loaded into a module named after your leaf*. So, when, in your
+<tt>controller.rb</tt> code, it says @class Controller < Autumn::Leaf@, you
+should read it as @class MyLeafName::Controller < Autumn::Leaf@. When you define
+your model with @class Channel@, it's really read as <code>class
+MyLeafName::Channel</code>.
+
+Don't worry about table names or associations or anything, either. Just go ahead
+and use it as if it weren't in a module. The <tt>libs/datamapper_hacks.rb</tt>
+file has all the necessary code changes to make this bit of trickery work.
+
+h3. Using Support Modules
+
+Helper modules placed in your leaf's <tt>helpers</tt> directory will
+automatically be loaded and included in your leaf controller and views. To
+create a helper module, place Ruby files to be loaded into the <tt>helpers</tt>
+directory. Make sure your helper modules' names end with the word "Helper".
+
+For instance, if your leaf's name is "Fortune", and you needed two helpers, a
+database helper and a network helper, you could create two modules named
+@DatabaseHelper@ and @NetworkHelper@. Any modules named in this fashion and
+placed in the <tt>helpers</tt> subdirectory will be loaded and appended to the
+controller and its views automatically.
+
+h3. Debugging Your Leaf
+
+If you make a simple code change to your leaf, you can reload it without having
+to restart the whole process. See the @Autumn::Leaf#reload_command@
+documentation for more information on when and how you can reload your leaf's
+code.
+
+If an error occurs on a live production instance, it will be logged to the log
+file for your season. You can inspect the log file to determine what went wrong.
+
+If the error happens before the logger is available, oftentimes it will appear
+in the <tt>autumn.output</tt> or <tt>autumn.log</tt> files. These files are
+generated by the daemon library and note any uncaught exceptions or standard
+outs. They are in the <tt>tmp</tt> directory.
+
+The most tricky of errors can happen before the process is daemonized. If your
+process is quitting prematurely, and you don't see anything in either log file,
+consider running @autumn start@, allowing you to see any exceptions for
+yourself.
+
+Unfortunately, it's still possible that the bug might not appear when you do
+this, but only appear when the process is daemonized. In this situation, I'd
+recommend installing rdebug (@sudo gem install rdebug@) and stepping through the
+code to figure out what's going wrong. In particular, make sure you step into
+the @Foliater@'s @start_stems@ method, when it creates the new threads. It's
+possible your exception will rear its head once you step into that line of code.
+
+h2. Stems
+
+@Autumn::Stem@ is a full-featured IRC client library, written from the ground up
+for Autumn. It makes extensive use of implicit protocols, meaning that most
+features are accessed by implementing the methods you feel are necessary.
+
+Most of the time, you will only work with stems indirectly via leaves. For
+instance, if you want an "!opped" command that returns true if the sender is an
+operator, it would look like this:
+
+<pre><code>
+def opped_command(stem, sender, reply_to, msg)
+  stem.channel_members[reply_to][sender[:nick]] == :operator ? "You are opped." : "You are not opped."
+end
+</code></pre>
+
+Let's break this down. In order to figure out if someone is opped or not, we
+need three pieces of information: their nick, the channel they are in, and the
+IRC server they are connected to.
+
+The @stem@ parameter contains the @Autumn::Stem@ instance that received this
+message. It is our link to that server. Through it we can perform IRC actions
+and make requests.
+
+@Autumn::Stem@ includes an attribute @channel_members@, a hash of channels
+mapped to their members. The channel that received the message is passed via the
+@reply_to@ parameter. So we call @channel_members[reply_to]@ and we receive a
+hash of member names to their privilege levels. The @sender@ parameter contains
+information about the person who sent the command, including their nick. So we
+use their nick to resolve their privilege level.
+
+Complicated? Sure it is. That's the price we pay for separating stems from
+leaves. But what if you, like probably 90% of the people out there who use
+Autumn, only have one stem? Why should you have to call the same damn stem each
+and every time?
+
+Fortunately, your pleas are not in vain. For leaves that run off only one stem,
+the stem's methods are rolled right into the leaf. So, that "!opped" command
+method becomes:
+
+<pre><code>
+def opped_command(stem, sender, reply_to, msg)
+  channel_members[reply_to][sender[:nick]] == :operator ? "You are opped." : "You are not opped."
+end
+</code></pre>
+
+OK, so it's not like a world-class improvement, but it helps.
+
+The primary thing your leaf will probably do with a @Stem@ instance is use it to
+send messages, like so:
+
+<pre><code>
+def about_command(stem, sender, reply_to, msg)
+  stem.message "I am a pretty awesome bot!", reply_to
+end
+</code></pre>
+
+Fortunately, if you just return a string, @Autumn::Leaf@ will automatically send
+it for you, simplifying our method:
+
+<pre><code>
+def about_command(stem, sender, reply_to, msg)
+  "I am a pretty awesome bot!"
+end
+</code></pre>
+
+You would still interact with the stem directly if you wanted to do something
+like announce your leaf's presence to everyone. To do this, you'd have to send
+a message to every channel of every stem the leaf is a listener for:
+
+<code>stems.each { |stem| stem.channels.each { |channel| stem.message "Hello!", channel } }</code>
+
+But! @Autumn::Stem#message@ will automatically send a message to every channel
+if you don't specify any channels, simplifying our code to:
+
+<code>stems.each { |stem| stem.message "Hello!" }</code>
+
+It gets even better. *You can call methods on the @stems@ array as if it were a
+stem itself!* This simplifies the line significantly:
+
+<code>stems.message "Hello!"</code>
+
+Pretty nifty, huh? This also works for functions as well as methods; for
+instance, the @Autumn::Stem#ready?@ function, which returns true if a stem is
+ready:
+
+<code>stems.ready? #=> [ true, true, false, true ]</code> (for example)
+
+h3. The nitty-gritty of stems
+
+The section above dealt with stems as they relate to leaves. But when would you
+need to deal with a stem directly? Generally, never. However, if you find that
+@Autumn::Leaf@ doesn't have what you need, you may have to turn to
+@Autumn::Stem@ to get the functionality you are looking for. So let's take a
+look at how Stem works.
+
+A stem interacts with interested parties via the listener protocol. Your leaf
+signals its interest to a stem by calling @Autumn::Stem#add_listener@. When a
+leaf or any other object becomes a stem's listener, that stem then invokes
+methods on the listener whenever an IRC event occurs.
+
+Let's take a simple example. Assume you wanted to build a basic textual IRC
+client using Stem. You'd first want to indicate that your client is a listener:
+
+<pre><code>
+class MyClient
+  def initialize(stem)
+    @stem = stem
+    @stem.add_listener self
+  end
+end
+</code></pre>
+
+Now the stem will send method calls to your @MyClient@ instance every time an
+IRC event occurs. None of these methods are required -- you can implement as few
+or as many as you want. The different methods that @Stem@ will send are
+documented in the @Autumn::Stem#add_listener@ method docs. One very important
+method is the @irc_privmsg_event@ method. Let's implement it:
+
+<pre><code>
+def irc_privmsg_event(stem, sender, arguments)
+  puts "#{arguments[:channel]} <#{sender[:nick]}> #{arguments[:message]}"
+end
+</code></pre>
+
+Now we've got the most important part of our IRC client done -- receiving
+messages.
+
+You can also send IRC events using stem. It's simple: Every IRC command (such as
+JOIN and PRIVMSG and MODE) has a corresponding method in @Stem@ (such as @join@
+and @privmsg@ and @mode@). These methods aren't in the API docs because they're
+implemented using @method_missing@. Their arguments are exactly the same as the
+arguments the IRC command expects, and in the same order.
+
+So how do we send a message? Well according to RFC-1459, the basic IRC spec, the
+PRIVMSG command takes two arguments: a list of receivers, and the text to be
+sent. So, we know our method call should look something like this:
+
+ @stem.privmsg recipient, message
+
+Astute readers will note that the spec shows a _list_ of recipients, and indeed,
+you can call the method like so:
+
+ @stem.privmsg [ recipient1, recipient2 ], message
+
+That's the basics of how @Autumn::Stem@ works, but there's one other thing worth
+mentioning, and that's listener plugins. The details are in the
+@Autumn::Stem#add_listener@ method docs, but the short of it is that these are
+special listeners that bestow their powers onto other listeners.
+
+The best example of this is the @Autumn::CTCP@ class. This class is indeed a
+@Stem@ listener: It listens to PRIVMSG events from the stem, and checks them to
+see if they are CTCP requests. However, it _also_ gives you, the author of
+another listener (such as your leaf) the ability to implement methods according
+to _its_ protocol.
+
+For example, say you wanted to respond to CTCP VERSION requests with your own
+version information. You do it like so:
+
+<pre><code>
+def ctcp_version_request(handler, stem, sender, arguments)
+  send_ctcp_reply stem, sender[:nick], 'VERSION', "AwesomeBot 2.0 by Sancho Sample"
+end
+</code></pre>
+
+What's going on here? Because the @Autumn::CTCP@ class is a listener plugin, it
+is sending its own method calls as well as implementing @Stem@'s method calls.
+One such call is the @ctcp_version_request@ method, which you can see in the
+@CTCP@ class docs. Somewhere deep in the annals of @Autumn::Foliater@, there is
+some code similar to the following:
+
+<pre><code>
+ctcp = Autumn::CTCP.new
+stem.add_listener ctcp
+</code></pre>
+
+Thus, every stem comes pre-fab with a CTCP listener plugin. That plugin is
+intercepting PRIVMSG events and checking if they're CTCP requests. If they are,
+it is invoking methods, such as @ctcp_version_request@, in all of the stem's
+other listeners, among which is your leaf. Hopefully you understand how this all
+fits together.
+
+The lesson to take home here is two-fold: Firstly, if you'd like CTCP support in
+your leaf, know that it's the @Autumn::CTCP@ class that is providing the method
+calls to your leaf, not the @Autumn::Stem@ class. Secondly, this should
+hopefully give you some ideas should you want to write your own listener plugin
+to enhance @Stem@'s functionality.
+
+h2. Autumn's Logging
+
+Autumn uses Ruby's @Logger@ class to log; however, it uses @Autumn::LogFacade@
+to prepend additional information to each log entry. The @LogFacade@ class has
+the exact same external API as @Logger@, so you can use it like a typical Ruby
+or Ruby on Rails logger. Many objects (such as @Leaf@ and @Stem@) include a
+@logger@ attribute:
+
+<pre><code>
+logger.debug "Debug statement"
+logger.fatal $!
+</code></pre>
+
+See the @LogFacade@ class docs for details.
+
+h2. Tasks
+
+The included Rakefile contains a number of useful tasks to help you develop and
+deploy your leaves. You can always get a list of tasks by typing @rake --tasks@.
+The various commands you can run are:
+
+Application tasks:
+
+| @rake app:start@ | Starts the Autumn daemon in the background. |
+| @rake app:stop@ | Stops the Autumn daemon. |
+| @rake app:restart@ | Reloads the Autumn daemons. |
+| @rake app:run@ | Starts the Autumn daemon in the foreground. |
+| @rake app:zap@ | Forces the daemon to a stopped state. Use this command if your daemon is not running but <tt>autumn</tt> thinks it still is. |
+
+Database tasks:
+
+| @LEAF=[leaf name] rake db:migrate@ | Creates all the tables for a leaf, as specified by the leaf's model objects |
+
+Documentation tasks:
+
+| @rake doc:api@ | Generates HTML documentation for Autumn, found in the <tt>doc/api</tt> directory. |
+| @rake doc:leaves@ | Generates HTML documentation for your leaves, found in the <tt>doc/leaves</tt> directory. |
+| @rake doc:clear@ | Removes all HTML documentation. |
+
+Logging tasks:
+
+| @rake log:clear@ | Clears the log files for all seasons. |
+| @rake log:errors@ | Prints a list of error-level log messages for the current season, and uncaught exceptions in all seasons. |
+
+h3. Custom leaf tasks
+
+You can define your own leaf-specific tasks in the <tt>tasks</tt> subdirectory
+within your leaf's directory. Any <tt>.rake</tt> files there will be loaded by
+rake. The tasks will be added within a task-group named after your leaf. Use
+Scorekeeper as an example: If you type @rake --tasks@, you'll see one other
+task, @rake scorekeeper:scores@. The "scores" task is defined in the
+<tt>leaves/scorekeeper/tasks/stats.rake</tt> file, and placed in the
+"scorekeeper" task group by Autumn.
+
+Also, if you open that file up, you'll notice that you have to refer to your
+leaf's classes by their _full_ names, including the leaf module. (See *Your
+Leaf's Module* if you're confused.)
+
+h2. Scripts
+
+Autumn includes some scripts to help you control it.
+
+h3. <tt>script/console</tt>
+
+Bootstraps an IRb console with the Autumn environment configured. Stems and
+leaves are accessile from the Foliater instance. DataMapper models can be used.
+Does not start any stems (in other words, no actual server login occurs).
+
+Usage: @script/console [options]@
+
+where [options] may contain:
+
+| @--irb@ | Invoke a different Ruby terminal. |
+
+You can alter the season by setting the @SEASON@ environment variable.
+
+h3. <tt>autumn start|stop|status|restart PROJECT [options]</tt>
+
+The @autumn@ command controls the Autumn daemon. 
+PROJECT is the path to your autumn bot's root directory.
+
+Usage: @autumn [command] [options] -- [application options]@
+
+where [command] is one of:
+
+| @start@ | start an instance of the application |
+| @stop@ | stop all instances of the application |
+| @restart@ | stop all instances and restart them afterwards |
+| @status@ | show the status of an application |
+
+and where [options] are:
+
+| @-D, --daemonize@ | Daemonize the bot |
+| @-m, --monitor@ | Try to restart from crashes in daemon mode |
+
+Common options:
+
+| @-h, --help@ | Show usage |
+
+h3. <tt>script/destroy</tt>
+
+Destroys the files for leaves, seasons, and other objects of the Autumn
+framework.
+
+Usage: @script/destroy [options] [object] [name]@
+
+| [object] | The object type to destroy. Valid types are "leaf" and "season". |
+| [name] | The name of the object to destroy. For example, you can call @script/destroy leaf Scorekeeper@ to remove a leaf named Scorekeeper. |
+
+| @--help, -h@ | Displays this usage information. |
+| @--vcs, -c@ | Remove any created files or directories from the project's version control system. (Autodetects CVS, Git, and Subversion.) |
+
+h3. <tt>script/generate</tt>
+
+Generates template files for leaves, seasons, and other Autumn objects.
+
+Usage: @script/generate [options] [template] [name]@
+
+| [template] | The template to create. Valid templates are "leaf" and "season". |
+| [name] | The name to give the created template. For example, you can call @script/generate leaf Scorekeeper@ to create a leaf named Scorekeeper. |
+
+| @--help, -h@ | Displays this usage information. |
+| @--vcs, -c@ | Add any created files or directories to the project's version control system. (Autodetects CVS, Git, and Subversion.) |
+
+h3. <tt>autumn start</tt>
+
+Runs Autumn from the command line. This script will not exit until all leaves
+have exited. You can set the @SEASON@ environment variable to override the
+season.
+
+h2. Thread Safety
+
+Autumn is a multi-threaded IRC client. When a message is received, a new thread
+is spawned to process the message. In this thread, the message will be parsed,
+and all listener hooks will be invoked, including your leaf's methods. The
+thread will terminate once the message has been fully processed and all methods
+invoked.
+
+I have made every effort to ensure that @Autumn::Stem@ and @Autumn::Leaf@ are
+thread-safe, as well as other relevant support classes such as @Autumn::CTCP@.
+It is now in your hands to ensure your leaves are thread-safe! This basically
+means recognizing that, while your leaf is churning away at whatever command it
+received, things can and will change in the background. If your command requires
+your leaf to have operator privileges, write your code under the assumption that
+operator could be taken from your leaf in the middle of executing the command.
+Write data in critical blocks, use transactions in your database calls ... you
+know the deal. Don't assume things will be the same between one line of code and
+the next.
+
+h2. Getting Ready for Deployment
+
+There's only a few things you need to do once your leaf is ready to greet
+the Real World:
+
+# Create a new production season. Configure your stems, leaves, and database
+  as necessary for your production environment.
+# In <tt>config/global.yml</tt>, set the season to your production season.
+# If desired, in <tt>autumn start -D</tt>, set the -m option.
+  This will spawn a monitor process that will relaunch Autumn if it crashes.
+
+h2. Other Information
+
+Please consult the "list of known bugs":http://github.com/RISCfuture/autumn/wikis/known-bugs
+and "version history":http://github.com/RISCfuture/autumn/wikis/version-history
+for more information.
+
+*_Why do you require Facets?_, I hear you ask. Facets doesn't add any super
+awesome new features to Ruby like Daemons or DataMapper does. It does, however,
+improve code reuse, and I'm a big fan of that. Why should a million different
+Ruby projects all write the same @Symbol#to_proc@ method or the same
+@Hash#symbolize_keys@ method? I use Facets because that job has already been
+done, and staying DRY means staying DRY _between_ codebases, not just within
+them.