Signs: need to know a few things...

Hey guys,

I'm very new to developing plugins, but really enjoying it so far. However, I've hit a roadblock.

My plugin idea is, I'm trying to make a sensor block that searches a players inventory for a specified item with the data value/metavalue - and if they have the item, it triggers a switch to activate redstone. Sort of like the sensors in Craftbook/Falsebook, but for items.

My problem is, I can't work out how to make the sign "check" a players inventory, or find their location. I've searched around for about 3 hours and getting a little bored of it now...

What I need to know:
-How to check a players inventory, for an item specified on the sign
-How to check a players location in relation to the sign
-and how to let a player put these values on the sign (specify what item its looking for, and the radius)

Any help would be very much appreciated!

And yes, I did request this as a feature on both Craftbook and Falsebook, 5 times between them. Never got a response, and I need it... so decided to try myself in a standalone plugin.

 

For how to read a sign, have a look at the org.bukkit.block.Sign class.

Code:java

Sign sign = (Sign)block.getState();

make sure the block is a sign.
Array of online players:

Code:java

Player[] players = getServer().getOnlinePlayers();

Have a look at the org.bukkit.Location class.