How often did each of the users of a personal computer lack a component that would make his favorite and most needed program almost perfect? Perhaps in most cases. After all, software developers cannot foresee every moment of operating their own solutions, and also take into account all the requirements that numerous end users can make. For example, most Internet browsers lack a number of features, so why not use tools to view web pages? Of course not! Such solutions as the plugin come to the aid of simple users, what is this component plugin we will try to figure out below.
The plug-in is what this concept is, many users ask, taking the first steps in mastering the intricacies of using applications that allow solving a wide range of problems. Plugin what is this word? This term means that the features of the program, which were initially absent in the delivery package, can still be realized. At its core, plugins are add-ons that are embedded in the body of the program and become an integral part of it. Add-on plugins can expand the functionality of most popular applications, so their use helps users combine ways to solve many seemingly unrelated tasks in one program.
In technical terms, to explain the plugin what is possible. The plugin is an independently compiled software module that has the ability to dynamically connect to the main program. In general, the purpose of this module is to expand and / or use all the features of the application. Most often, plugins are created as shared libraries.
The main application provides the services used by the add-on. These services are represented by various capabilities - the ability of the plug-in to register itself in an extensible application, a protocol that allows plug-ins to exchange data with each other, as well as some other components. Plugins have an inherent dependence on the services that are provided by the main program and in almost all cases they cannot be used separately from the application for which they were created. In contrast to add-ons, the main application has the ability to freely operate plug-ins, which makes it possible for end users to add, remove and update add-ons dynamically, without having to change the main application.
As an example of an application for which plugins are released, a graphical editor can be used . Most often, various filters are offered for such applications, which are essentially plug-ins. A fairly common situation is when, in the form of plug-ins, support for some file formats is implemented. For example, this state of affairs is very often observed in popular players of multimedia files, in office application packages, as well as applications used for processing sound and graphics. Sound processing also requires the use of plug-ins - they are used to process and create various sound effects and additional features, for example, mastering, applying the equalizer and compressing the dynamic range. Some plugins have the ability to change the technical characteristics of audio tracks, represented by depth, sampling rate, and many others. Especially popular among Internet users is the browser protection plug-in, which allows you to protect your PC from the aggressive environment of the global network.
This, of course, does not end with the list of functions that programs acquire after installing plugins - each developer tries to bring something new to his application, and third-party enthusiastic programmers are unusually susceptible to the desire to expand the capabilities of the programs and configure them “for themselves”.