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Using Plugins
Working with the Monkeybread Plugins
Issue: 10.1 (November/December 2011)
Author: Marc Zeedar
Author Bio: Marc taught himself programming in high school when he bought his first computer but had no money for software. He's had fun learning ever since.
Article Description: No description available.
Article Length (in bytes): 20,888
Starting Page Number: 66
Article Number: 10009
Resource File(s):
10009.zip Updated: 2011-11-01 12:14:25
Related Web Link(s):
http://www.monkeybreadsoftware.net/
http://www.monkeybreadsoftware.net/plugins-mbsrealstudioutilplugin.shtml
http://www.monkeybreadsoftware.net/plugins-mbsrealstudioutilplugin.shtml
http://www.monkeybreadsoftware.net/pluginpart-ee.shtml
Excerpt of article text...
You are probably aware that there are many add-ons to Real Studio in the form of code, classes, modules, and plugins. The simplest of these is finding code snippets and copying and pasting those into your own projects. With classes and modules, you drag them into your project (sometimes those are encrypted and thus can't be edited, but you can still use them in your applications). Then there are plugins.
Plugins can be intimidating. They usually cost money, can be complicated to use, and since they aren't a standard part of Real Studio, you're making your application dependent upon the plugin being there and working.
That said, there are many great reasons to use plugins. Plugins are written in C so they can be faster than straight REALbasic code for certain tasks, though only the original developer can modify the plugin. Plugins can expose powerful features of the native operating system that Real Studio doesn't use, which can simplify your work or allow you to create a more native-appearing application.
So, are plugins worth the hassle? Your mileage may vary, of course, but I recently had a project that required I use the Monkeybread Plugins and I'm delighted to say that through the process I have lost all reluctance to using plugins. I had minimal trouble and I don't know why I haven't been using them for years. I feel as silly as an iPhone user who never installs a new app and just sticks with what ships with the original phone!
Working with Plugins
To install a plugin, you simply drag the plugin file(s) to Real Studio's Plugins folder. You'll then have to relaunch Real Studio as plugins are only loaded when Real Studio starts up. That is one annoying aspect of plugin use. Having too many plugins installed can be another, as the more you have, the longer Real Studio takes to launch.
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