Do plugins give new functionality or different functionality?

[jmDesktop]

When you create a system that takes "plugins," does that mean that
your plugins give new additional methods that were not there in the
original plugin interface previously or does it only mean that I have
a set of interfaces that must be implemented and those new
implementations are my new functionality?

For example, if I have an IMath interface that has method signatures
that are called add and subtract, take two numbers, you get the idea,
does that mean that if I create a plugin that uses IMath, I only will
be creating implementations of add and subtract? If I created a
multiply and divide method, alongside my necessary add and subtract,
in my plugin is that now not a plugin but something else? Is that
just inheritance without the notion of plugin architecture, extension
rather than expected implementation?

Just trying to understand the fundementals. Thank you.

[=?ISO-8859-1?Q?G=F6ran_Andersson?=]

jmDesktop wrote:

When you create a system that takes "plugins," does that mean that
your plugins give new additional methods that were not there in the
original plugin interface previously or does it only mean that I have
a set of interfaces that must be implemented and those new
implementations are my new functionality?

For example, if I have an IMath interface that has method signatures
that are called add and subtract, take two numbers, you get the idea,
does that mean that if I create a plugin that uses IMath, I only will
be creating implementations of add and subtract? If I created a
multiply and divide method, alongside my necessary add and subtract,
in my plugin is that now not a plugin but something else? Is that
just inheritance without the notion of plugin architecture, extension
rather than expected implementation?

Just trying to understand the fundementals. Thank you.

The notion of a plugin is that it's something that you plug into an
existing system, which the system is aware of and can use in some way.

Thus, you have to use the means of interacting with the system that the
system provides for plugins. If you add something that the system is not
aware of, it can't use it.

--
Göran Andersson
_____
http://www.guffa.com

[jmDesktop]

On Aug 30, 7:58*am, Göran Andersson <[e-mail]:

jmDesktop wrote:

When you create a system that takes "plugins," does that mean that
your plugins give new additional methods that were not there in the
original plugin interface previously or does it only mean that I have
a set of interfaces that must be implemented and those new
implementations are my new functionality?

For example, if I have an IMath interface that has method signatures
that are called add and subtract, take two numbers, you get the idea,
does that mean that if I create a plugin that uses IMath, I only will
be creating implementations of add and subtract? *If I created a
multiply and divide method, alongside my necessary add and subtract,
in my plugin is that now not a plugin but something else? *Is that
just inheritance without the notion of plugin architecture, extension
rather than expected implementation?

Just trying to understand the fundementals. *Thank you.

The notion of a plugin is that it's something that you plug into an
existing system, which the system is aware of and can use in some way.

Thus, you have to use the means of interacting with the system that the
system provides for plugins. If you add something that the system is not
aware of, it can't use it.

--
Göran Andersson
_____http://www.guffa.com- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

So with my math example above, what am I describing? A plugin or an
extension? When I see something like wordpress and tons of plugins,
that makes me think that plugins provide something new the original
designers didn't think of.

[=?ISO-8859-1?Q?G=F6ran_Andersson?=]

jmDesktop wrote:

So with my math example above, what am I describing? A plugin or an
extension?

If you add methods that is not in the interface, it's not a plugin, as
the system using the interface has no way of calling the methods (short
of using reflection).

When I see something like wordpress and tons of plugins,
that makes me think that plugins provide something new the original
designers didn't think of.

Yes, but the plugins still do it within the environment that the
designers expose to the plugins.

--
Göran Andersson
_____
http://www.guffa.com