Plugins can be defined as components that provide additional features or extensions, in an extensive application without hindering existing functionality of the application. These are small and lightweight software components that enhance the functionality or add features to the application by just installing them. Some common examples of plugins are AdBlock, Grammarly, Yoast SEO, WPForms, Nik Collection, etc.
A plugin is like giving your favorite tool superpowers and then choose what powers it has.
We will currently focus on developing a plugin for Notepad++. Notepad++ is a powerful open–source application, which means developing plugins for Notepad++ is like contributing to a widely used project and customizing it according to our requirements and needs.
Types of plugins:
Utility plugins: These provide the functionality of sorting, searching and formatting.
Language-specific plugins: These provide features such as code formatting, linting or compiling for a particular language.
Interactive plugins: These provide UI features such as dialog boxes, panels and external communication tools, including AI prompts and chat interfaces.
In this blog, we will dwell on the plugin we are currently developing for Notepad++ - AI Force Assistant. It includes several features such as code generation, code summarization, unit test development, code refactoring and code migration.
These plugins are written in C++ and compiled as DLL files that Notepad++ loads at startup. Once loaded, plugins can:
- Interact directly with the text editor component (Scintilla)
- Respond to user actions or file events
- Integrate with external services (e.g., REST APIs, databases, file systems)
- Customize or even automate the entire editing experience
Additionally, by using plugins, we can tailor the editor to match our workflow. These are well-known for enhancing productivity by automating repetitive tasks and scripts. They can be interacted with on the web using API Integration. Now it has become a community innovation, where developers from around the world are building and sharing with others to use and make significant contributions.
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