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>I. Introduction</H1
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> <SPAN
CLASS="application"
>GStreamer</SPAN
> is an exremely powerful and versatile framework for creating
streaming media applications. Many of the virtues of the <SPAN
CLASS="application"
>GStreamer</SPAN
>
framework come from its modularity: <SPAN
CLASS="application"
>GStreamer</SPAN
> can seamlessly
incorporate new plugin modules. But because modularity and power often
come at a cost of greater complexity (consider, for example, <A
HREF="http://www.omg.org/"
TARGET="_top"
>CORBA</A
>), writing new
plugins is not always easy.
</P
><P
> This guide is intended to help you understand the <SPAN
CLASS="application"
>GStreamer</SPAN
> framework
(version 0.7.4) so you can develop new plugins to extend the
existing functionality. The guide addresses most issues by following the
development of an example plugin - an audio filter plugin -
written in C. However, the later parts of the guide also present some
issues involved in writing other types of plugins, and the end of the
guide describes some of the Python bindings for <SPAN
CLASS="application"
>GStreamer</SPAN
>.
</P
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>Table of Contents</B
></DT
><DT
>1. <A
HREF="chapter-intro-preface.html"
>Preface</A
></DT
><DD
><DL
><DT
>1.1. <A
HREF="chapter-intro-preface.html#section-preface-who"
>Who Should Read This Guide?</A
></DT
><DT
>1.2. <A
HREF="section-preface-reading.html"
>Preliminary Reading</A
></DT
><DT
>1.3. <A
HREF="section-preface-structure.html"
>Structure of This Guide</A
></DT
></DL
></DD
><DT
>2. <A
HREF="chapter-intro-basics.html"
>Basic Concepts</A
></DT
><DD
><DL
><DT
>2.1. <A
HREF="chapter-intro-basics.html#section-basics-elements"
>Elements and Plugins</A
></DT
><DT
>2.2. <A
HREF="section-basics-pads.html"
>Pads</A
></DT
><DT
>2.3. <A
HREF="section-basics-data.html"
>Data, Buffers and Events</A
></DT
><DD
><DL
><DT
>2.3.1. <A
HREF="section-basics-data.html#sect2-buffer-allocation"
>Buffer Allocation</A
></DT
></DL
></DD
><DT
>2.4. <A
HREF="section-basics-types.html"
>Mimetypes and Properties</A
></DT
><DD
><DL
><DT
>2.4.1. <A
HREF="section-basics-types.html#sect2-types-basictypes"
>The Basic Types</A
></DT
></DL
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