Windows 7: Chrome Plugin v. Extension - what's the difference?

Ok, I'm now on Chrome 6.0.401.1 dev. version. I hear all this stuff about Plugins but I can't seem to find a definition. What's the difference between a Plugin and an Extension?
What can dev version do that beta 5 can't?

Seems to be a whole lot of no information.

What is the difference (if any) between a plugin and an extension?

I stumbled upon this question because I couldn't refind my auto-extension updater extension. Reason? It was called a plug-in checker... (Secbrowsing).

I am posting more here: How to auto update Google Chrome extensions

Peace!

Devvie

~~~ devnullius@googlewave.com ~~~

Cuisvis hominis est errare, nullius nisi insipientis in errore persevare
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All spelling mistakes are my own and may only be distributed under the GNU General Public License! - (© 95-1 by Coredump; 2-10 by DevNullius)

What is the difference between chrome extensions and plugins…?

From: Chrome Extensions –> “An additional info: At Chrome there is (up to now) no real difference between the word extension and plugin. Chrome plugins are just called “extension”.”

From: Chrome Plugin v. Extension - what's the difference? –> no answer yet, but still an active discussion…

FROM: Google Chrome - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, the following three snippets:

—> “Typically, plugins such as Adobe Flash Player are not standardized and as such, cannot be sandboxed as tabs can be. These often need to run at, or above, the security level of the browser itself. To reduce exposure to attack, plugins are run in separate processes that communicate with the renderer, itself operating at “very low privileges” in dedicated per-tab processes. Plugins will need to be modified to operate within this software architecture while following the principle of least privilege.[15] Chrome supports the Netscape Plugin Application Programming Interface (NPAPI),[56] but does not support the embedding of ActiveX controls.[56] ”

AND / OR / BUT : )

—> “Version 4.0 was released for Windows on 25 January 2010, adding extension support, bookmark synchronization, improved developer tools, better HTML5 support, performance improvements, and increased security.[37][38]”

AND

—> ‘” Improved plugin performance and reliability. Spell checking for input fields. Improved web proxy performance and reliability. Tab and window management updates. “, for version 0.3 (2008-10-29).

So in short… I THINK that plugins made by 3th parties to supply “default’ services for their properietair service (like flash, adobe, …). If not provided by the Chrome browser itself (like Flash with version 5), then it has to be run as an insecure process, managed outside the sandbox.

Extensions on the other hand are written for the Chrome Extensions Galery. The sourcecode is public???? Viewable for other programmers??? And they can run INSIDE the sandbox???

SO, if what I THINK actually is true… The question that remains is: IS THERE AN EXTENSION UPDATER for Chrome?? Not being a plugin updater like Secbrowsing extension…

Feadback much appreciated!

Peace,

Devvie

~~~ devnullius@googlewave.com ~~~

Cuisvis hominis est errare, nullius nisi insipientis in errore persevare
——
All spelling mistakes are my own and may only be distributed under the GNU General Public License! – (© 95-1 by Coredump; 2-10 by DevNullius)

I just found on this page: Updating Google Chrome Extensions - Super User the following information...

Extensions in Google Chrome are updated automatically. No user intervention is needed. A force update still is possible, via the extensions-page in Chrome (top-buttons).

Thank you,

Devvie

The COMPLETE ANSWER: what is the difference (chrome, firefox, internet explorer) between a plug-in, an extension or an add-on?

I found the complete answer (I'll paste copy below) on this (excellent!) page:
Difference Between Add-on and Plug-in | Difference Between | Add-on vs Plug-in

Copy-paste:
Difference Between Add-on and Plug-in

Whenever we buy software for our computers, we always want the one that has the most features that are already included. But oftentimes the problem with software is either they don’t have the right functionalities that you are looking for or they have too many features that it is impossible to find the one that you are looking for quickly. In order to customize the look and feel of their programs, software makers have allowed the use of plug-ins or add-ons.

Plug-in and Add-on are two terms that are pointing to the same functionality; they are simply extensions that extends the usability of the program. It just depends on the software maker on what to call the software extensions of their programs. These extensions could be made by other companies, individuals, or by the software makers themselves.

Plug-in is the term that is usually used when referring to third party software that is meant to interact with a certain program. Take for example your web browser; you would need to install a plug-in called flash player in order to play videos. Flash player is not native to any browser but is made by a separate company altogether. It is also compatible with all of the popular web browsers like IE, Firefox, and Opera.

An Add-on also extends the functionality of a certain program but they are usually meant to function on a certain program. Taking the web browser for comparison, add-ons that are meant for Firefox would only work with Firefox and so would for other browsers. These are usually not full blown software but are simply pieces of code that you can use to modify the interface. The most common add-ons for browsers are toolbars which take a little bit more space and give you instant shortcuts to certain online services. Add-ons are also very prominent in online games like World of Warcraft, where players who have a little know-how can create their own add-ons to help other players.

The separation between an add-on and a plug-in is not really that clear. They are both made to do specific functions that are suited to a certain user’s preference. The primary reason why these codes are not embedded into the program in the first place is that they are not really that essential and while some people might appreciate having that, others might not and find it a nuisance. These are also tools that a software maker can utilize to motivate the members of their community to get involved in improving the software.

So we know... ; )

Devnullius.

@devnullius not really. I had to go through a certain problem during my development and learned the basic difference of plugin and extension.

An extension is really a simple program which you can use to tweak up your browser, like toolbars, grease monkey scripts, to do many things e.g bookmark managing, etc

A plug-in on the other hand is a very powerful program that can do almost anything. Like i had to interface my application to interact with a webpage at run time and this is only possible through a custom designed plugin. An extension can do nothing outside the scope of that browser, an extension can interact with your computer (native code) and the browser but at the same time it comes at the cost of additional security risk.

In any case, I simply could not get AutoCopy to work with this build. That's what always gets me with Chromium builds. The latest seems great until about an hour when you find something you need no longer works. What's really annoying is you disable AutoCopy and the selection still disappears when you let go of the mouse button. You can't simply disable and go back to the traditional way of copying text.

So then I have to hunt through earlier and earlier builds until one works that's newer than what I started with. I should be doing something else at 4:00 AM!! Sheesh!!