show_full_control_panel_end hook and adding new content

Hi Everyone-

I’m currently writing an extension that will add a preference to the weblog prefs. I’ve looked at another extension, “Required Category”, that makes additions to the weblog prefs page by doing a preg_match on the $out variable from show_full_control_panel_end hook locating the closing table tag and appending it with the code that relates to their extension. While this works, it doesn’t seem like the most efficent way to append code to the prefs table.

Can anyone give me any tips how to achieve this without having to do a preg_match. It’s not that I mind doing that, but since I have their extension installed, I’ve already run into a conflict.

Also, aside from the basic info on the extension hooks, is there any more in-depth explanation of these anywhere else? Since I’m new to this, some of these seem a little vague.

Thanks in advance and happy holidays!

Mike