Photoshop PlugIns

From RealWorld Wiki

There is a plug-in for RealWorld applications that is in turn able to run Adobe Photoshop plug-ins. This is a Menu Commands plug-in, meaning that it is impossible to use it from batch mode, but on the other hand it is possible to add, remove, or configure PS plug-ind very quickly and painlessly. A Operation plug-in is available as well and it can be used from batch mode.

[edit] The architecture

RealWorld plug-ins are isolated and reentrant and it is perfectly valid to use them from multiple threads (working with single or multiple documents concurrently). Adobe Photoshop plug-ins on the other hand use a functional interface with multiple global callback functions lacking any context parameter.

To overcome the architectural differences, each running filter gets its own set of virtualized interface. If the plug-in does not use any global variables and supports scripting interface, it is possible to run the plug-in in parallel. If these conditions are not met, the results may be unexpected. In any case, running different filters at once is possible without limitations.

[edit] Usage scenarios

Menu Commands plug-in defines a fragment of application menu tree. The menu tree is assembled according to configuration. Each entry in the configuration references a single plug-in and holds its actual (scripting compatible) configuration. Each entry has a localizable name and description, and an optional icon, keyboard shortcut and category.

Photoshop plug-in may be referenced in multiple entries and (if it supports scripting properly) each entry will have its own configuration.