se/SE/stuff/dita-ot-3.3.3/docsrc/topics/custom-plugins.dita

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<!DOCTYPE concept PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DITA Concept//EN" "concept.dtd">
<!--  This file is part of the DITA Open Toolkit project. See the accompanying LICENSE file for applicable license.  -->

<concept id="custom-plugins">
  <title>Working with plug-ins</title>
  <shortdesc id="plugins-creating">You can install or create DITA-OT plug-ins to change the default output types in
    various ways, add entirely new kinds of output formats, or implement DITA topic specializations.</shortdesc>
  <prolog>
    <metadata>
      <keywords>
        <indexterm>DITA<indexterm>specializations</indexterm></indexterm>
        <indexterm start="plugins">plug-ins</indexterm>
        <indexterm>plug-ins<indexterm>benefits</indexterm></indexterm>
        <indexterm>plug-ins<indexterm>working with</indexterm></indexterm>
      </keywords>
    </metadata>
  </prolog>

  <conbody>

    <p>A plug-in consists of a directory, typically stored within the <filepath>plugins/</filepath> subdirectory of the
      DITA-OT installation. Every plug-in is controlled by a file named <filepath>plugin.xml</filepath>, which is
      located in the root directory of the plug-in.</p>

    <section id="plugin-benefits">
      <title>Plug-in benefits</title>
      <p>Plug-ins allow you to extend the toolkit in a way that is consistent, easy-to-share, and possible to preserve
        through toolkit upgrades.</p>
      <p>The DITA-OT plug-in mechanism provides the following benefits:</p>
      <ul>
        <li>Plug-ins can easily be shared with other users, teams, or companies. Typically, all users need to do is to
          unzip and run a single installation command. With many builds, even that installation step is automatic.</li>
        <li>Plug-ins permit overrides or customizations to grow from simple to complex over time, with no increased
          complexity to the extension mechanism.</li>
        <li>Plug-ins can be moved from version to version of DITA-OT by reinstalling or copying the directory from one
          installation to another. There is no need to re-integrate code based on updates to DITA-OT core
          processing.</li>
        <li>Plug-ins can build upon each other. If you like a plug-in, simply install that plug-in, and then create your
          own plug-in that builds on top of it. The two plug-ins can then be distributed to your team as a unit, or you
          can share your own extensions with the original provider.</li>
      </ul>
    </section>

    <section>
      <title>Plug-in details</title>
      <p>The following topics provide additional information on working with plug-ins and creating your own.</p>
    </section>
  </conbody>
</concept>