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VIATHINKSOFT/WEBFAN                                         D. Marschall
SPECIFICATION No. 18                                        ViaThinkSoft
First Draft: 2024                                         5 January 2025


     === Plugin Type+Metadata Mechanism for Windows DLL Plugins ===

Abstract

   This document describes a method for plugins written as Windows DLL
   files, to present the plugin's type and metadata.

Identification of this Document

   Revision:  2025-01-05
   State:     In Force
   Filename:  viathinksoft-std-0018-dll-plugin-info.txt
   URN:       urn:x-viathinksoft:std:0018:2025-01-05
   OID:       1.3.6.1.4.1.37476.3.3.1
              { iso(1) identified-organization(3) dod(6) internet(1)
                private(4) enterprise(1) 37476 specifications(3)
                interface(3) dll-plugin-info(1) }
   WEID:      weid:pen:SX0-3-3-1-0
   IETF/RFC:  (None)

Attachments

   (None)

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2011-2025 ViaThinkSoft and the persons identified as
   the document authors.  All rights reserved.

   Licensed under the terms of the Apache 2.0 License.
















Marschall                                                       [Page 1]
VTS/WF STD. 18 DLL Plugin Info 5 January 2025 Table of Contents 1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1.1 Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2 Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3 Parameter Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3.1 Input Paramters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3.2 Return Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 4 Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 5 RA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 6 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 6.1 Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 6.2 Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Marschall [Page 2]
VTS/WF STD. 18 DLL Plugin Info 5 January 2025

1 Introduction

This recommendation applies to applications written for Microsoft Windows (EXE files) that use plugins which have a DLL file structure. It defines a method that can be used to check if the plugin is compatible with the application, and also returns metadata about the plugin.

1.1 Terminology

The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in BCP 14 [RFC2119] [RFC8174] when, and only when, they appear in all capitals, as shown here.

2 Definition

The undecorated method is defined as follows: Delphi: function VtsPluginID(lpTypeOut: PGUID; lpIdOut: PGUID; lpVerOut: PDWORD; lpAuthorInfo: Pointer): HRESULT; stdcall; C++: HRESULT __stdcall VtsPluginID(GUID* lpTypeOut, GUID* lpIdOut, DWORD* lpVerOut, void* lpAuthorInfo);

3 Parameter Description

All data MUST BE little endian.

3.1 Input Paramters

if lpTypeOut is not NULL, then the method MUST write a GUID that defines the plugin "type" (note that an application might support multiple plugin "types"). If lpIdOut is not NULL, then the method MUST write a GUID that is unique to this plugin, but stays the same for different versions of that plugin. If lpVerOut is not NULL, then the method MUST write a DWORD in the following structure: - 1 byte major version - 1 byte minor version - 1 byte patch - 1 byte build Example: 0x01020304 means version 1.2.3.4 Marschall [Page 3]
VTS/WF STD. 18 DLL Plugin Info 5 January 2025 If lpAuthorInfo is not NULL, then the method MUST write a variable size structure which contains the following information in order: - PluginName - PluginAuthor - PluginVersion - PluginCopyright - PluginLicense - PluginMoreInfo Each string is an UTF-16 string (WideString) prepended by a 16-bit WORD that defines the length of the string. No zero terminator bytes. Note that the caller must make sure that the size of the memory location is big enough; recommended 4096 bytes.

3.2 Return Value

A valid HRESULT should be returned.

4 Security Considerations

None

5 RA Considerations

OID: 1.3.6.1.4.1.37476.3.3.1 WEID: weid:pen:SX0-3-3-1-0 ASN1: { iso(1) identified-organization(3) dod(6) internet(1) private(4) enterprise(1) 37476 specifications(3) interface(3) dll-plugin-info(1) } IRI: /ISO/Identified-Organization/6/1/4/1/37476/Specifications/ Interface/DLLPluginInfo

6 References

6.1 Normative References

[RFC2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2119>.

6.2 Informative References

None Marschall [Page 4]
VTS/WF STD. 18 DLL Plugin Info 5 January 2025 Authors' Addresses Daniel Marschall Postfach 11 53 69243 Bammental Germany Email: daniel-marschall@viathinksoft.de URI: https://www.viathinksoft.com/ Marschall [Page 5]