The Audio Plugins & Utilities category contains audio software plug-ins-accessory downloads designed to add or improve the functionality of other software programs, including iTunes, Mozilla.

In computing, a plug-in (or plugin, add-in, addin, add-on, or addon) is a software component that adds a specific feature to an existing computer program. When a program supports plug-ins, it enables customization.

Web browsers have historically allowed executables as plug-ins, though they are now mostly deprecated, which are a different type of software module than browser extensions. Two plug-in examples are the Adobe Flash Player for playing Adobe Flash content and a Java virtual machine for running applets.

A theme or skin is a preset package containing additional or changed graphical appearance details, achieved by the use of a graphical user interface (GUI) that can be applied to specific software and websites to suit the purpose, topic, or tastes of different users to customize the look and feel of a piece of computer software or an operating system front-end GUI (and window managers).

Purpose and examples[edit]

Applications support plug-ins for many reasons. Some of the main reasons include:

• to enable third-party developers to create abilities which extend an application
• to support easily adding new features
• to reduce the size of an application
• to separate source code from an application because of incompatible software licenses.

Types of applications and why they use plug-ins:

• Audio editors use plug-ins to generate, process or analyze sound. Ardour and Audacity are examples of such editors.
• Digital audio workstations (DAWs) use plug-ins to generate sound or process it. Examples include Logic Pro X and Pro Tools.
• Email clients use plug-ins to decrypt and encrypt email. Pretty Good Privacy is an example of such plug-ins.
• Video game console emulators often use plug-ins to modularize the separate subsystems of the devices they seek to emulate.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]} For example, the PCSX2 emulator makes use of video, audio, optical, etc. plug-ins for those respective components of the PlayStation 2.
• Graphics software use plug-ins to support file formats and process images. (c.f.Photoshop plugin)
• Media players use plug-ins to support file formats and apply filters. foobar2000, GStreamer, Quintessential, VST, Winamp, XMMS are examples of such media players.
• Packet sniffers use plug-ins to decode packet formats. OmniPeek is an example of such packet sniffers.
• Remote sensing applications use plug-ins to process data from different sensor types; e.g., Opticks.
• Text editors and Integrated development environments use plug-ins to support programming languages or enhance development process e.g., Visual Studio, RAD Studio, Eclipse, IntelliJ IDEA, jEdit and MonoDevelop support plug-ins. Visual Studio itself can be plugged into other applications via Visual Studio Tools for Office and Visual Studio Tools for Applications.
• Web browsers have historically used executables as plug-ins, though they are now mostly deprecated. Examples include Adobe Flash Player, Java SE, QuickTime, Microsoft Silverlight and Unity. (Contrast this with browser extensions, which are a separate type of installable module still widely in use.)

Mechanism[edit]

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.^[10][11]

Our website provides a free download of Color Picker 2.2 for Mac. The latest version of the program is supported on Mac OS X 10.7 or later. This free software for Mac OS X was originally produced by huangkai31. Colorslurp.

Programmers typically implement plug-in functionality using shared libraries, which get dynamically loaded at run time, installed in a place prescribed by the host application. HyperCard supported a similar facility, but more commonly included the plug-in code in the HyperCard documents (called stacks) themselves. Thus the HyperCard stack became a self-contained application in its own right, distributable as a single entity that end-users could run without the need for additional installation-steps. Programs may also implement plugins by loading a directory of simple script files written in a scripting language like Python or Lua.

Mozilla definition[edit]

In Mozilla Foundation definitions, the words 'add-on', 'extension' and 'plug-in' are not synonyms. 'Add-on' can refer to anything that extends the functions of a Mozilla application. Extensions comprise a subtype, albeit the most common and the most powerful one. Mozilla applications come with integrated add-on managers that, similar to package managers, install, update and manage extensions. The term, 'Plug-in', however, strictly refers to NPAPI-based web content renderers. Plug-ins are deprecated.^[12]

History[edit]

Plug-ins appeared as early as the mid 1970s, when the EDTtext editor running on the UnisysVS/9operating system using the UNIVAC Series 90mainframe computers provided the ability to run a program from the editor and to allow such a program to access the editor buffer, thus allowing an external program to access an edit session in memory.^[13] The plug-in program could make calls to the editor to have it perform text-editing services upon the buffer that the editor shared with the plug-in. The Waterloo Fortran compiler used this feature to allow interactive compilation of Fortran programs edited by EDT.

Very early PC software applications to incorporate plug-in functionality included HyperCard and QuarkXPress on the Macintosh, both released in 1987. In 1988, Silicon Beach Software included plug-in functionality in Digital Darkroom and SuperPaint, and Ed Bomke coined the term plug-in.^{[citation needed]}

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^'PCSX2 - The Playstation 2 emulator - Plugins'. pcsx2.net. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
2. ^Bernert, Pete. 'Pete's PSX GPU plugins'. www.pbernert.com. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
3. ^Team, Demul. 'DEMUL - Sega Dreamcast Emulator for Windows'. demul.emulation64.com. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
4. ^'Android Emulator Plugin - Jenkins - Jenkins Wiki'. wiki.jenkins.io. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
5. ^'KDE/dolphin-plugins'. GitHub. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
6. ^'OpenEmu/SNES9x-Core'. GitHub. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
7. ^'Recommended N64 Plugins'. Emulation General Wiki. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
8. ^'Playstation plugins & utilities!'. www.emulator-zone.com. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
9. ^'PS3 Homebrew Apps / Plugins / Emulators PSX-Place'. www.psx-place.com. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
10. ^Mozilla Firefox plugins – Description of the difference between Mozilla Firefox plugins and extensions under the general term add-on.
11. ^Wordpress Plug-in API – Description of the Wordpress Plug-in architecture.
12. ^Paul, Ian. 'Firefox will stop supporting plugins by end of 2016, following Chrome's lead'. PCWorld. IDG. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
13. ^EDT Text Editor Reference Manual, Cinnaminson, New Jersey: Unisys Corporation, 1975

Safari User Guide

Use these tips to make sure you get the correct versions of plug-ins.

Important: Safari supports the plug-in for Adobe Flash Player but no longer supports other plug-ins.

1. In the Safari app on your Mac, look for a placeholder on the page, such as “Plug-in missing” or “Click to use [Plug-in].”

2. Click the placeholder.

3. Follow the onscreen instructions.

   To change plug-in blocking, choose Safari > Preferences, click Websites, click the plug-in, then choose from the pop-up menu for the website. See Change Websites preferences in Safari on Mac.

4. Look for a link to install the plug-in.

5. Click the link to install the plug-in.

   If the plug-in is already installed, Safari will offer to turn it on for this website. You can turn it on for just this visit, or for all visits to the website.

6. Check the webpage for a recommendation.

   Websites often recommend the appropriate plug-in. If you can’t find a recommendation, contact the website’s owner.

7. In Safari, choose Safari > Preferences, then click Websites.

   View the list of your installed plug-ins (if any).