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| <h2>Plug-ins and fragments</h2> |
| <p>Features are described in terms of the plug-ins that comprise them. |
| This means that plug-ins are the fundamental unit for packaging |
| function. </p> |
| <p>While features are organized for the purposes of distributing and updating |
| products, plug-ins are organized to facilitate the development of the product |
| function among the product team. The development team determines when to |
| carve up program function into a separate plug-in. </p> |
| <p>Plug-ins are packaged in a <a href="../reference/misc/plugin_archive.html">plug-in |
| archive</a> file and described using a <a href="../reference/misc/plugin_manifest.html">plug-in |
| manifest file</a>, <b>plugin.xml</b>. </p> |
| <p>Plug-in <b>fragments</b> are separately packaged files whose contents are |
| treated as if they were in the original plug-in archive file. They are |
| useful for adding plug-in functionality, such as additional national language |
| translations, to an existing plug-in after it has been installed. |
| Fragments are ideal for shipping function that may trail the initial product |
| release, since they can be used to add function without repackaging or |
| reinstalling the original plug-in. When a fragment is detected by the |
| platform, its contents are merged with the function in the original |
| plug-in. In other words, if you query the platform plug-in registry, you |
| would see the extensions and other function provided in the fragment as if it |
| was in the original plug-in.</p> |
| <p>Fragments are described using a fragment manifest file, <b>fragment.xml.</b> |
| It is similar to the plug-in manifest file. Since a fragment shares many |
| properties with its plug-in, some attributes in the plug-in manifest are not |
| valid, such as the plug-in class and plug-in imports.</p> |
| <p><a href="../reference/misc/plugin_archive.html">Plug-in |
| archive</a> files can contain plug-ins or fragments. </p> |
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