Plugin

Short description

Plugin is a program that interacts and extends functionality of your browser.

Long Description

Uses for plugin:

• read certain types of files eg audio/video

To install a plugin in mozilla, usually the package is extracted in a plugin sub directory When the package is installed the browser has to be restared to activate the plugin. eg. in Linux its located in ~/.mozilla/plugins/

Plugin is an addon to the main application that provides the service. Plugins depand on the core application and do not work by themselves.

The advantage of plugins is that it allows to add/update functionality without changing the main application.

• Plugins are different from Extensions:
  • Extensions modify existing functionality and can work independent of main application
  • Extensions offered to decrease the size of main application and offer optional functions
  • In mozilla, extensions reduce feature creap
• Plugins rely on main application to achive set of actions.

Resources

http://www.herts.ac.uk/ltdu/technology/what_is_a_plugin.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plugin