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In computing, a plug-in (also: plugin, addin, add-in, addon, add-on, snap-in or snapin; but see also extension) consists of a computer program that interacts with a host application (a web browser or an email client, for example) to provide a certain, usually very specific, function "on demand". Applications support plugins for many reasons. Some of the main reasons include:
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plugin:blog [DokuWiki]
The blog plugin can be configured using the DokuWiki configuration manager ... I configured the blog plugin to sort posts by their creation date. ...www.dokuwiki.org/plugin:blog[Plugin] SketchUp Blog
arqpadao sketchup blog. by Jim Foltz on 5/03/2009 2 comments Links to this post ... PhotoSketch Plugin for SketchUp. SketchUp Dynamic (Settable) Wall Clock ...sketchuptips.blogspot.com/WordPress Plugin Competition Blog
WordPress Plugin Competition Blog. Time to break out that old code. Sat 13 Sep 2008 ... Dodo is a Wordpress plugin that helps you personalize your blog homepage. ...weblogtoolscollection.com/pluginblog/Music - Yahoo! Gallery
plugins.yme.music.yahoo.com/Plug-in Partners
Plug-in Partners. Welcome to the National Plug-In Hybrid Campaign blog. ... longer be the official blog of the National Plug in Hybrid Campaign, we'll still ...pluginpartners.blogspot.com/In computing, a plug-in (also: plugin, addin, add-in, addon, add-on, snap-in or snapin; but see also extension) consists of a computer program that interacts with a host application (a web browser or an email client, for example) to provide a certain, usually very specific, function "on demand". Applications support plugins for many reasons. Some of the main reasons include:
- to enable third-party developers to create capabilities to extend an application
- to support features yet unforeseen
- to reduce the size of an application
- to separate source code from an application because of incompatible software licenses.
Examples of applications and their plug-ins include:
- Rockbox, a firmware for digital audio players, can use plug-ins, for example: play games, use the text editor
- Email clients use plug-ins to decrypt and encrypt email (Pretty Good Privacy) or to send oversized email attachments (Globalscape Mail Express)
- Graphics software use plug-ins to support file formats and process images (Adobe Photoshop)
- Media players use plug-ins to support file formats and apply filters (foobar2000, GStreamer, Quintessential, VST, Winamp, XMMS)
- Packet sniffers use plug-ins to decode packet formats (OmniPeek)
- Remote sensing applications use plug-ins to process data from different sensor types (Opticks)
- Software development environments use plug-ins to support programming languages (Eclipse, jEdit, MonoDevelop)
- Web browsers use plug-ins to play video and presentation formats (Flash, QuickTime, Microsoft Silverlight, 3DMLW)
- Some digital mixing consoles allow plug-ins to extend features such as reverberation effects, equalization and compression.
- Some Web content management systems use plug-ins to increase functionality.
Mechanism
The host application provides services which the plug-in can use, including a way for plug-ins to register themselves with the host application and a protocol for the exchange of data with plug-ins. Plug-ins depend on the services provided by the host application and do not usually work by themselves. Conversely, the host application operates independently of the plug-ins, making it possible for end-users to add and update plug-ins dynamically without needing to make changes to the host application.
Open application programming interfaces (APIs) provide a standard interface, allowing third parties to create plug-ins that interact with the host application. A stable API allows third-party plug-ins to continue to function as the original version changes and to extend the life-cycle of obsolete applications. The Adobe Photoshop and After Effects plug-in APIs have become a standardFact: date=October 2008 and competing applications have adopted them to some extent. Other examples of such APIs include Audio Units and VST.
