The Plugins Interface

The IPlugin interface

VSTs and built in plugins are managed through a shared interface named IPlugin.

This allows to handle them as only one type and eventually extend the framework by creating new built in plugins that can be mixed together with external VSTs.

Here is a list of properties and methods that can be used on both external and built in plugins.

public interface IPlugin
{
    // The plugin state
    bool Enabled { get; set; }

    // Name of the plugin
    string PluginName { get; set; }

    // Unique ID of the plugin
    string PluginId { get; }

    // The type of the plugin (effect or instrument)
    PluginType PluginType { get; }

    // Should be called only by the plugin itself to process/generate sound
    void Process(float[] input, float[] output, int samplesRead);

    // Used to send or handle received midi events
    void ReceiveMidiEvent(MidiEvent midiEvent);

    // Toggles the plugin state
    public void Toggle()
    {
        Enabled = !Enabled;
    }

    // Releases the resources used by the plugin
    void Dispose();

    // Shows the plugin interface if any
    void OpenPluginWindow();

    // Hides the plugin interface if any
    void ClosePluginWindow();
}

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