The internet can be an incredible tool for your business, but like most tools, it can sometimes work better with other tools working with it. These tools are called plug-ins, and today, we’re going to discuss what they are and how you can use them to make your internet experience a little better.
What is a Plug-In?
Simply, a plug-in is an application that supplements the browser, in order to perform additional and new functions that it couldn’t do alone. These applications can be super useful, and they can automatically run the browser’s code instead of opening it on their own. They can allow you to view the content of whatever website you are on while working at the same time, in order to allow for more capabilities.Â
Here are a few plug-ins you might recognize: Flash Player, Adobe Acrobat, QuickTime Player, java, and Silverlight.
Where Do Plug-Ins Come From?
From the beginning of the internet, when HTML code wasn’t able to handle advanced tasks, like gaming or video content, plug-ins were used. In order to get this type of content working, a plug-in was used to do so.
This is still used today, and the technology has gotten better and better. While plug-ins originally worked separately, even while interacting with the webpage you were on, they can now be even more closely integrated, and the two can work together much more easily than before.
Isn’t This the Same as a Browser Extension?
This is not exactly correct. The major difference between the two is the information that they are allowed to access. Plug-ins can work in the same way as a browser extension, but they are specifically added to an individual page. They can only use what is on that page, not what is in the entire browser. An extension has access to any page at any time.
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