AssistantBase:

To use: 

1. put AssistantBase.js into your app/models folder.
2. In sources.json, add: {"source": "app/models/AssistantBase.js"}
3. When adding an assistant, create your assistant class as follows:

var YourAssistant = Class.create(AssistantBase, {})

where the data in the hash is the class's functions and member variables. For more information on Prototype's Class.create() function, see http://www.prototypejs.org/api/class/create .

As a heads up, if you do want to override initialize, setup, cleanup, or deactivate, add $super as the first parameter for those functions, then call $super() as the first line.

===========

Preferences

To use:

1. put Preferences.js into your app/models folder.
2. In sources.json, add: {"source": "app/models/Preferences.js"}
3. set up the defaults. I personally have this as a global in stage-assistant.js. Defaults need to be a hash in the following form:

{
    1: { // version number
        preference1: 'default for pref1',
        preference2: 'default for pref2'
    },
    2: { // next version
        preference3: 'default for pref3'
    }
}

4. Now, whenever you need to add a new preference option, you simply add a version number and that preference, and it's automatically handled!

Ways to use:

1. For every assistant, have a preferences member variable that is a new Preferences object(passing in the name and defaults, of course); call 'load' as necessary, which will usually be in your activate function.
2. Have a global Preferences object.