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SciJava Common is a shared library for SciJava software. It provides a plugin framework, with an extensible mechanism for service discovery, backed by its own annotation processor, so that plugins can be loaded dynamically. It is used by downstream projects in the SciJava ecosystem, such as ImageJ and SCIFIO.

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/*
 * #%L
 * SciJava Common shared library for SciJava software.
 * %%
 * Copyright (C) 2009 - 2017 Board of Regents of the University of
 * Wisconsin-Madison, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and Max Planck
 * Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics.
 * %%
 * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
 * modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
 * 
 * 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice,
 *    this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
 * 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice,
 *    this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation
 *    and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
 * 
 * THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS"
 * AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
 * IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
 * ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE
 * LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR
 * CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF
 * SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS
 * INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN
 * CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE)
 * ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE
 * POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
 * #L%
 */

package org.scijava.plugin;

/**
 * Top-level interface for plugins. Plugins discoverable at runtime must
 * implement this interface and be annotated with @{@link Plugin}.
 * 
 * What all plugins have in common is that they are declared using an annotation
 * (@{@link Plugin}), and discovered if present on the classpath at runtime.
 * 
 * 
 * The core types of plugins are as follows:
 * 
 * 
 * {@link org.scijava.app.App} - metadata about a SciJava application.
 * {@link org.scijava.command.Command} - plugins that are executable. These
 * plugins typically perform a discrete operation, and are accessible via the
 * application menus.
 * {@link org.scijava.console.ConsoleArgument} - plugins that handle
 * arguments passed to the application as command line parameters.
 * {@link org.scijava.convert.Converter} - plugins which translate objects
 * between data types.
 * {@link org.scijava.display.Display} - plugins that visualize objects,
 * often used to display module outputs.
 * {@link org.scijava.io.IOPlugin} - plugins that read or write data.
 * {@link org.scijava.module.process.PreprocessorPlugin} - plugins that
 * perform preprocessing on modules. A preprocessor plugin is a discoverable
 * {@link org.scijava.module.process.ModulePreprocessor}.
 * {@link org.scijava.module.process.PostprocessorPlugin} - plugins that
 * perform postprocessing on modules. A
 * {@link org.scijava.module.process.PostprocessorPlugin} is a discoverable
 * {@link org.scijava.module.process.ModulePostprocessor}.
 * {@link org.scijava.platform.Platform} - plugins for defining
 * platform-specific behavior.
 * {@link org.scijava.script.ScriptLanguage} - plugins that enable executing
 * scripts in particular languages as SciJava modules.
 * {@link org.scijava.service.Service} - plugins that define new API in a
 * particular area.
 * {@link org.scijava.tool.Tool} - plugins that map user input (e.g.,
 * keyboard and mouse actions) to behavior. They are usually rendered as icons
 * in the application toolbar.
 * {@link org.scijava.widget.InputWidget} - plugins that render UI widgets
 * for the {@link org.scijava.widget.InputHarvester} preprocessor.
 * 
 * 
 * @author Curtis Rueden
 * @see Plugin
 * @see PluginService
 */
public interface SciJavaPlugin {
	// top-level marker interface for discovery via annotation indexes
}