Notes on NPAPI based plugins

I am sharing the following diagram to (hopefully) lessen some pain from folks who intend to write NPAPI based plugins (Firefox, Chrome etc.).


STEP 1: the host browser loads the library corresponding to the MIME type expressed in the embed element tag.

STEP 2: the host browser calls the NP_Initialize function of the library and passes a reference to the public API of the browser (i.e. the NPNetscapeFuncs starting with NPN_ in the Mozilla documentation). The host browser also calls the NPP_New function in order to instantiate a "plugin instance".

STEP 3: the host browser calls the NP_GetValue function (with the variable NPPVpluginScriptableNPObject ) of the library. See step 4.

STEP 4: the plugin calls the NPN_CreateObject (through the reference provided in step 2) to instantiate a "scriptable NPObject". This object serves as proxy to the embed object declared on the source web page.

STEP 5: the web page can interact with the "scriptable object".

Cloud Computing Mind Map

I invite anybody wishing to share their knowledge of the Cloud Computing market to edit (click the MindMeister image on the bottom righthand side of the map or here) the following wikimap:

Update: I'd like to thank Jim Dowson ( linkedin profile ) for his extended contribution!

Update 2: I would suggest collaborators complete their Skype profile when registering with MindMeister: this facilitates group discussion. Thanks!