2.1. Plugin Identifier#

Plugin Key

plugin_identifier

Plugin Value Type

String

Sample
<entry>
  <string>plugin_identifier</string>
  <string>edu.example.plugin.publisherx.PublisherXPlugin</string>
</entry>
Description

A unique identifier for the plugin.

The plugin identifier uniquely identifies the plugin. It is used as part of AUIDs (the unique identifier of each AU) and to name a Java package where the plugin's Java code lives. As such, the plugin identifier is really a fully-qualified Java class name, which consists of a Java package name and a Java class name.

Just like a file path such as /home/jsmith/documents/myfile.txt is a hierarchical path from more general directories (home) to more specific directories (jsmith, then documents) and ending with a file name (myfile.txt), a fully-qualified Java class name is a hierarchical path starting with the institution responsible for the plugin (conventionally by reversed Internet domain name), for example edu.stanford.library for the organization whose Web site is library.stanford.edu), followed by more levels (typically the next one plugin, and then another to identify the plugin family or individual plugin), and finally ending with a "file name". The separators are periods.

Example

In the Global LOCKSS Network (GLN), the plugin maintained by the LOCKSS Program to process volumes of journals by Oxford University Press (OUP) hosted on the Silverchair platform has the identifier org.lockss.plugin.silverchair.oup.OupSilverchairPlugin:

  • org.lockss is the reverse of lockss.org.

  • plugin is the root level of all plugins maintained by the LOCKSS Program.

  • silverchair is a level grouping all Silverchair-based plugins.

  • oup is the most specific level identifying the OUP plugin.

  • OupSilverchairPlugin is the class name.

<entry>
  <string>plugin_identifier</string>
  <string>org.lockss.plugin.silverchair.oup.OupSilverchairPlugin</string>
</entry>

(You can find this plugin on GitHub at https://github.com/lockss/lockss-daemon/blob/master/plugins/src/org/lockss/plugin/silverchair/oup/OupSilverchairPlugin.xml.)

File Path

In a source code repository, the plugin identifier translates into a file path like so: org.lockss.plugin.silverchair.oup.OupSilverchairPlugin corresponds to org/lockss/plugin/silverchair/oup/OupSilverchairPlugin.xml.