Plugin. What are plugins and what are their benefits? Plugin: what it is and what is it for

12.05.2019 Errors

Recently, there has been a rapid growth in the number of all kinds of programs. This is not surprising, since the computer industry is developing at an unprecedented pace.

The main requirement for many professional programs is their functionality, which would allow performing the maximum number of work tasks. And most of the applications fully satisfy this requirement, but specialists sometimes need such opportunities that only a certain plug-in can help. "What it is?" - you ask.

Roughly speaking, it can be called More scientifically speaking, it should be characterized as a module plugged into the main application. As you might have guessed, its purpose is to expand or supplement the functionality of the parent program.

To explain with a practical example, we invite you to think about the WordPress CMS, which has become incredibly popular among website and blog builders. Finding a plugin for "Press" (what it is, you already know) will not be difficult even for a beginner, since a huge number of them have been released.

There are plenty of purposes for this kind of add-ons. Some of them can add integration with social networks and services, some just make the site more beautiful, well, while others can be used to improve and simplify the work with the resource.

But not only for CMS, you may need a good plugin (what it is, we have already told). For example, it is difficult to imagine the popular Mozilla Firefox browser not equipped with a dozen or so similar add-ons that make the user's life much easier and more interesting.

For example, plugins for music allow you to directly download songs from popular social networks, search for the tracks you need or information about artists.

Other applications can reliably malicious scripts or warn in advance about a site's unreliable reputation. If we turn to music again, then we should not forget about the extensions for music players, which eliminate noise from the sound or serve as a replacement for the standard equalizer.

But among professional artists and designers plug-ins for "Photoshop" are of special honor. It's no secret that this program has already awe-inspiring functionality, but with such useful help it can be expanded almost indefinitely.

So, you can easily add new brushes, effects and filters, so dear to the heart of a true creator! It should be noted that many plugins are not developed by official developers, but by fan communities around the world.

So if you cannot figure out the development from foreign comrades, look for one on domestic resources. It is quite possible that a Russian-language analogue has existed for a long time.

Among other things, plugins have been around for a long time for a variety of instant messaging systems. You can recall one such add-on for the legendary QIP messenger, which showed the name of the current song from the Winamp player in the status bar!

It's great when there is a good and functional plugin for your favorite application! What it is and what it is needed for, you already know perfectly well!

Hello dear readers of the blog site. In simple terms, then plugin is an add-on(expansion of possibilities) for any program on your computer or site engine on the Internet. It is very difficult for developers to foresee all the wishes of users, so they enable third-party developers to satisfy these wishes by writing plugins (from the English plugin).

In addition, if all possible things are foreseen in one application, then it will become very heavy and cumbersome, and thanks to plugins this does not happen, because each user gets basic functionality, and he can get everything else by downloading or installing the extension he needs.

What is a plugin in simple terms and where can you download it?

By the way, some plugins themselves may even remind you to install them. Do you know such examples? For sure. All the same, when its presence will be necessary to play video content on an open page.

So let's summarize, what are plugins? In general, this is a software block that can be installed (connected) to the main application to expand its functionality (add new features). Please note that not every application has the ability to install plugins - it must provide this. As a rule, the plugin itself (without this application) cannot work on its own.

If we draw parallels and take this publication as an analogue of the application, then your comments, dear readers, can be equated with plugins. This "application" allows you to do this using the form for adding a comment, just as the real program offers the software add-on a data exchange protocol. Without this form, you will not be able to leave your comment if you want to.

Continuing the analogy, we can come to the conclusion that only those applications that are popular and are able to gather around themselves a huge number of users and interested plugin developers are overgrown with a large number of extensions. Likewise, my article will be able to collect a large number of comments only with its high popularity, relevance and topicality.

Where to download the plugin you need for each specific application, you can find out on the official website of this program or site engine. Enter the name of the application in Yandex or Google, and the first site in the organic search results is highly likely to be official.

This is very relevant because through unofficial plugin a virus has a chance to get to your computer or website (its signature may be contained in its code or crawl through a hole that the developer did not notice). How difficult it is to clean the computer later, not for me to tell you, but about that, I described in some detail. In any case, it takes a lot of energy and nerves.

Let's go over the most striking examples of plugins for various applications (browsers, programs and site engines) so that you better understand what was discussed here and how these or those plugins are actually useful.

Plugins for browsers and other programs on the computer

Let's start with browsers. The ancestor of the use of third-party software blocks to expand the functionality of the browser was, of course,. Actually, his huge current popularity just stems from the fact that he first introduced the idea of expanding functionality to infinity with the help of plugins and managed to score a lot of points on this, while the main competitors thought of repeating his experience.

For such a popular program in Runet as Photoshop, there is also a very rich assortment of add-ons, which are called, however, not plugins, but filters, but the essence of this does not change. Everything that is not included in the functionality of the basis of the program can, if desired, and with some luck, be implemented using plugins.

For example, save a graphic file in a format that is not initially supported (ico, for example). It is not difficult to install filters and you can read about it on thematic resources.

Plugins for site engines using the example of WordPress and Joomla

For webmasters, plugins are also associated with extensions for those (site engines) that they use. According to statistics, the most popular free ones are Joomla and WordPress, so we'll talk about them now.

The WordPress engine allows you to create blogs, and its functionality and usability is quite capable of competing with paid solutions. However, you will hardly find a blog that does not use at least one plugin. No matter how rich and varied the capabilities of the CMS itself are, there is always something that needs to be implemented, but it is impossible to do this without additional extensions.

At the same time, I only use free extensions, which is doubly nice. Download WordPress plugins you can from the official site (so they are checked for viruses and other nasty things) or directly from, by going to the tab from the left menu "Plugins" - "Add new".

The components of them are the most voluminous and sophisticated, and the modules are used to display content around the perimeter of the site (at the top, bottom or side of the main content). Plugin in Joomla is a special product that can, for example, react to any events and does not have such rich settings as a component.

Striking examples are such plugins for Joomla, like, and a number of others that are installed in it by default. Among the components are such as:

I hope that in general terms I was able to explain what plugins are, and you also remember that you can download them only from official sites, or install them directly from the program or the admin panel of the site engine. And so, a wonderful thing, without which our world would be much poorer and less usable than it is now.

Good luck to you! See you soon on the pages of the blog site

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What is a plugin: general information

The software products do not fully satisfy the needs of users. But creating multifunctional applications is irrational.

That's why:

The cost of developing and maintaining such a product would be high, resulting in exorbitant prices for ordinary users.
The larger the application, the more bugs are hidden in it. It is unrealistic to test such a program, which affects the stability of the work and the occurrence of fatal errors.
A large number of buttons and controls make it difficult for users to work with the application: it is difficult to find the desired function or perform an action.

These factors provoked the emergence of extensions.

So, a plugin (addition, extension) is a subroutine that extends the basic functionality of the application. The user selects and installs add-ons independently, depending on the purpose and specifics of using the product.

Computer add-ons

Programs can be modified. The only difference is the character of the upgrade. These can be updates, patches, mods and plugins. There are many applications on the PC that support extensions. Let's consider the main categories of software that can be functionally expanded.

Text and graphic editors. Products like Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Office, etc. support the installation of additional options. As a rule, these are specialized tools for creating special graphic design or data formatting.
Development environments. To simplify the work of programmers, special plugins have been created that greatly simplify and speed up the process of writing code. This feature is available for Visual Studio, Eclipse, Brackets, clients for WordPress. For example, the Emmet add-on significantly speeds up the process of writing code and minimizes the likelihood of making a syntax error.
ERP systems. Everyone has heard about 1C developers. So they are the ones who write plugins (bodies) for the general ledger. Moreover, the company itself can order to develop the necessary supplement for urgent needs.
Game launchers. Extensions in them perform a statistical function, with the help of which gamers find out "who is cooler" and monitor the game progress.

But plugins have gained the most popularity in browsers, so let's see what additional functionality they can offer to the average Internet layman.

Browser extensions

This is a real find for active Internet users. For example, downloading audio and video directly from social networks is implemented by plugins. Control of the safety of surfing the network and recommendations for visiting resources is implemented by the add-on from Avast !. For those who like to make purchases in online stores, there are solutions from Quicksearch that will help in two clicks to find an identical product in other markets and compare prices. And the AdBlock ad blocker will help make your life more peaceful.

Let's take a look at the plugin installation process using Google Chrome as an example:

Errors related to routines

Similar problems arise if the add-on is downloaded as a separate archive or installation file and unpacked to the program location folder. This is due to the mismatch between the version of the program and the plug-in, which leads to constant malfunctions in the application and the loss of important information. Also, the reason may be a virus that came with the extension.

Attention! Check the compatibility of plugins and software versions. Scan the downloaded extensions with an antivirus program!

Viral (advertising) plugins

Sometimes, under the pretext of a "unique" offer, it is proposed to install an extremely useful add-on that will allow you to download files from file hosting services without registration and SMS. But apart from displaying aggressive ads, you cannot find any functionality. You were deceived. Go to your browser "Extensions" and examine the included plugins. If among them you find a suspicious one (which you have not personally installed), disable it. If ads disappear, go back to "Settings" and delete this unique offer. Be careful next time!

Hello dear reader! In this article, we'll talk about what plugins are and how they can be useful. Many even know how to install and remove them, but at the same time they do not fully understand what they are actually dealing with. In this issue, we will try to figure it out today.

What is a plugin? The word "plug-in" comes from the English plug-in (translation noun. Module, app. Removable, block). A plug-in is a module to a program that is created separately and, if necessary, can be connected to an already running application. The main task of the plugin is to expand the functionality of the main program.

For their work, it is imperative that the main program provides for the possibility of connecting additional modules (plugins). Thus, the plugin is completely dependent on the main program and cannot be used separately from it.

The main program, on the other hand, is capable of connecting and using plugins independently of each other. The functionality of the program may be reduced due to the lack of additional features provided by plugins.

With some programs, a somewhat inconvenient situation is possible when, after a new version is released, the plug-in for them is not immediately updated, and it may turn out that they are not able to work with each other. In this case, you need to wait for the update of the plug-in version to restore the functionality provided by it.

The installation of plugins in different applications can be quite different. For example, Adobe Flash Player will offer itself to install itself as an add-on to the browser. This will happen if you turn to a page on the Internet that contains information, for which you need to play it. One of the examples of plugin installation, you can read in my article "".

In other programs, a special tool has been created for managing plugins. I will give a mail program as an example of such an application. To manage plugins in it, you must click "Tools" - "Add-ons". In the window that appears, you can do all the necessary actions in the most convenient way: find, install and uninstall, enable and disable.

In general, the modularity principle that works with plugins is very good.

Installation example in Mozilla Firefox:

Judge for yourself. What's better? Have a program that has basic functionality in some area, and a large collection of plugins for it, which, if necessary, expand this functionality? Or a large program that can do a lot of things right away? I believe that it is much more practical to use a tool whose functionality can be expanded as needed, without wasting computer resources on unnecessary functions.

For clarity, here are some examples of useful and common plugins. Already mentioned above, Adobe Flash Player for various internet browsers is required to display video. A PDF browser plug-in from Foxit allows you to view * .pdf documents posted on the Internet right inside the browser.

There are many different plug-ins for Adobe Photoshop that allow you to apply various effects to images.

Plugins for mail programs are also widely used. These can be add-ons from third-party companies, for example, a plug-in from the developer of an antivirus program to check emails for SPAM and viruses. There are also many native plugins for email clients, for example, for spell checking and other additional features.

The popular file manager Total Commander, in general, implements all of its broadest functionality thanks to its plugins. All its add-ons are divided into groups according to the tasks they perform. During installation, you can usually select the version required for functionality. Depending on this, certain groups of plugins will or will not be installed.

Plugins can make many programs much easier to use, so they shouldn't be neglected.

Now that we have figured out what a plugin is, you can safely download them for your applications and get started.

See you soon on the blog!

P.S. Today for dessert - how a newlywed is joking at his wife, if, of course, this can be called a joke 😳.

Good day, dear readers of the site. In this article I will try to tell you about plugins as easily as possible - what they are and how to work with them. Naturally, we will not bypass the practical part - with examples I will show how to install plugins for the Mozilla Firefox browser and for sites running CMS WordPress. Another lesson on this topic, I took out in a separate article (there is a lot of material) - this is instructions for installing and updating the Adobe Flash Player plug-in -.

What is a plugin in simple terms?

This word got into our language without distortion from English (English plugin - plug-in) along with dozens of others (for example, or).

Plugins are small program codes that add functionality to the main application for which they are created. Simply put, these are add-ons, additions or fixes, thanks to which the original program becomes better (more functional) from the point of view of a particular user. The peculiarity of the modules is that they cannot work independently, these are only add-ons that work within the main program. At the same time, the base program for which the plugins are created can do fine without them.

An example of a plugin that every web user has come across is the aforementioned Adobe Flash Player, which allows web browsers () to display video and other content based on flash technologies. Without this add-on, browsers fulfill their main purpose - they open websites and work with Internet services, but, for example, cannot “watch” videos from Youtube.

Add-ons are created for different categories of programs, but the most popular are such "gadgets" for applications that work with the Internet, such as web browsers, for sites, more precisely for their control systems and for games (in the game world, the term "Mod" is more common - modification - it's the same plugin). Many offline programs also use plugins like Photoshop.

Why are plugins needed?

Now about the purpose - for what purpose are plugins created? It may seem strange why developers do not immediately endow their applications with all the necessary functionality, why bother with individual modules - download them, enable them, update them - do all this extra customization work - it's easier to use the product out of the box.

Indeed, it is simpler, but not more expedient. The individual modules perform 3 important functions:

1. Make individual settings for applications

All people are different and use the same programs for different purposes. Using plugins makes it possible to adjust a specific version of the program to the needs and preferences of a particular person.

2. Reduce size and speed up programs

If all programs are initially released with a full package of all sorts of functions, they will become very large and will take up extra space, consume computer resources, which will reduce their performance.

For example, webmasters often have to work with various parameters of sites, for them there are special browser plugins such as RDS bar, other people like to see weather or traffic jams in the browser panel, others need the exchange rate - if you show all possible information, then half of the screen will be occupied by unnecessary icons instead of showing the work area.

3. Allows you to improve programs

The use of a modular scheme in the work of programs, where each plugin can be connected or disconnected without causing disruptions in the operation of the main functions, allows you to improve programs not only by the developers, but also by any other programmers. For example, if you need to add a function to a program, you just write the add-on code, and do not wait for the developer to decide to add the functionality you need.

How do I install plugins?

There are three different installation methods depending on the specific program:

Manual - by direct copying of files with code to a special folder of the program;
Automated - by setting through the menu in the program itself, if such a possibility is implemented;
Automatic - through a special launch file that finds itself where and what to copy (such as Adobe Flash Player)

For any program, the process of installing modules is individual. As I said, most often I come across two types of plugins - for my sites and for web browsers. I'll tell you more about them.

How to install plugin on CMS WordPress?

WordPress is a dedicated site management software that I use for my resources. She, just, is famous for having a huge number of all kinds of plugins. My recommended list of WordPress plugins.

Video tutorial on installing modules on WordPress (I showed how everything works in the most accessible and detailed way):

How do I install plugins for the Firefox browser?

For a web browser, all add-ons are installed automatically when you open any pages or applications, or they can be installed manually through the plug-in search built into the program shell. The installation process itself in different browsers is identical, at least in Google Chrome and Yandex Browser it is almost the same as in Firefox.

The first step is to open the settings menu in the form of three horizontal stripes.

In this menu, look for the "Add-ons" item and go to it:

After that, you can select the necessary modules from the recommended lists or use the search, specifying the desired functions, parts of names or any words that characterize the purpose of the plugin.

For example, I typed "ad blocking" in the search and got a list of two add-ons that match the description. All you need to install them is to click the install button.

Conclusion

Plugins are powerful tools to make our lives easier. As a rule, the time spent on finding and installing the required add-on will pay off many times over in the future due to the resulting functionality. So don't be afraid to search and try and install the plugins you want.

Uspekhov, Dmitry Zhilin