How to build a Module or Plugin Based Application

Question

Hi, Where can I find information on building a Module Based or Plugin Based (not sure which si correct) application?

Example - Say I have a productiion application and and I want to add a shipping module. Basically my users can click "Add Module" from my application and select a CAB or Zipped file and my shipping module can then be added to the app.

Answer 1

Since you've got the .net tag, I'm assuming you're looking at implementing this app in .net. Take a look at the Managed Extensibility Framework (MEF)

Answer 2

Also, if you are targeting Silverlight or WPF, take a look at the PRISM framework.

Answer 3

Define an interface that all the plugins must implement. Upon app startup or a user initiated process (uploading a file), discover which plugins are available and adhere to the interface.

Use Convention over Configuration. Your app discovering what modules are available is preferred over defining the available modules via configuration files.