Page 238 - DCAP303_MULTIMEDIA_SYSTEMS

Multimedia Systems

notes 14.1.3 History
Plug-ins appeared as early as the mid-1970s, when the EDT (text editor) running on the Unisys
VS/9 operating system using the Univac 90/60 series mainframe computer provided the ability
to run a program from the editor and to allow such a program to access the editor buffer, thus
allowing an external program to access and edit session in memory. The plug-in program could
make calls to the editor to have it perform text-editing services upon the buffer that the editor
shared with the plug-in. The Waterloo Fortran compiler used this feature to allow interactive
compilation of Fortran programs edited by EDT.
Very early PC software applications to incorporate plug-in functionality included HyperCard
and QuarkXPress on the Macintosh, both released in 1987. In 1988, Silicon Beach Software
included plug-in functionality in Digital Darkroom and SuperPaint, and Ed Bomke coined the
term plug-in.
Currently, programers typically implement plug-in functionality using shared libraries
compulsorily installed in a place prescribed by the host application. HyperCard supported a
similar facility, but more commonly included the plug-in code in the HyperCard documents
(called stacks) themselves. Thus, the HyperCard stack became a self-contained application in its
own right, distributable as a single entity that end-users could run without the need for additional
installation-steps.
14.1.4 Most Useful firefox plug-ins for Web Developers

firebug
Firebug integrates with Firefox to put a wealth of development tools at your fingertips while you
browse. You can edit, debug, and monitor CSS, HTML and JavaScript live in any Web page. It is
main plug-in for every Web developer.

pixel perfect
Pixel Perfect is a Firefox/Firebug extension that allows Web developers and designers to easily
overlay a Web composition over top of the developed HTML.
firepHp
FirePHP enables you to log to your Firebug Console using a simple PHP method call. All data is
sent via response headers and will not interfere with the content on your page.
firescope
FireScope is a Firefox add-on that integrates with Firebug, to extend it with reference material
for HTML and CSS.
fireshot

FireShot is an extension for Firefox and Internet Explorer that captures, edits, annotates, organizes,
exports and prints screenshots of your Web pages.

14.2 text

Text is the most widely used and flexible means of presenting information on screen and conveying
ideas. The designer should not necessarily try to replace textual elements with pictures or sound,
but should consider how to present text in an acceptable way and supplementing it with other
media. For a public system, where the eyesight of its users will vary considerably, a clear reasonably
large font should be used. Users will also be put off by the display of large amounts of text and
will find it hard to scan. To present tourist information about a hotel, for example, information

232 LoveLy professionaL University