Plug-In Architecture for Mobile Devices

This technical note describes plug-in architecture for mobile devices (PAMD)—an architectural specification that extends the function of applications in mobile devices. Users gain major benefits when the functionality of applications that run on these devices can be extended through the addition of new services that don't require changes to the application itself. PAMD provides interoperability between applications and plug-ins without sacrificing the performance of the mobile devices on which they run. Because existing applications can be made PAMD compliant with little modification, the development time and costs of adding functionality to them can be reduced dramatically. As PAMD bears the burden of communicating with plug-ins, application and plug-in developers can develop their own products independently and easily use each other's products. This technical note also describes PAMD's interfaces, how applications and plug-ins interact with them, and the advantages of using PAMD. Also included are several scenarios that explain the architecture and how it can be implemented, and suggestions for extensions that enhance it.