4.1. Definition

A plugin in this application is just a regular Java JAR file which contains the necessary classes and resources implementing a FileHandler.

Such a FileHandler has to implement a specific Java Interface and advertise its properties in a defined way. See the development documentation (JavaDoc) for the details about this.

It should also conform to the semantic contract of being a FileHandler, which means to respect the meaning of the properties which can be manipulated through the implemented interface. This ensures proper integration with this application (e.g. respecting the setting allow-edit to (dis-)allow modifications).

FileHandlers come in a variety of flavors:

Each plugin states the supported operations and can thus be assigned to one of the above categories.