[Gimp-user] plug-in vs. script

[Kevin Cozens]

On 10/5/07, Bettina Lechner <lechner at newhouse.at> wrote:
> please, what is the difference between a plug-in and a script? I am asking
> because I never know if I should copy a plug-in (e.g. from the
> registry.gimp.org - site) in to the plug-in or the script folder.

In answer to the main point of the Bettina's message, it is easy to know what 
you need to do with items you get from the plug-in registry, and in which 
directory to put the files so you will be able to use them in GIMP.

If the file ends in .scm, it is a Script-Fu script and it belongs in the 
scripts directory.

If the file ends in .c, it is a C-coded source file which needs to be compiled 
(typically using gimptool if its a single file). The compiled file is an 
executable that will go in the plug-ins directory.

Everything else will go in to the plug-ins directory.

David Gowers wrote:
 > A plugin is an executable - ie. it's a program you can run, like you
 > can run Inkscape or GIMP.
 > A script is a set of text instructions which are run by a script
 > interpreter (script-fu).

For the most part, what David wrote is true. To muddy the waters a bit, when 
it comes to GIMP, text instructions in a file written using the Ruby, Perl, or 
Python languages, which makes them technically scripts, are plug-ins when it 
comes to GIMP and need to be put in the plug-ins directory. They should also 
be marked executable (when running GIMP under Linux).

-- 
Cheers!

Kevin.

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