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Question - What is the difference between a macro and a plugin? (1 Viewer)

Hulkman

n1 have 1 cool trick?
Joined
Nov 3, 2018
RedCents
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Hello

I confused as to what is going on. Now from what I understand

A Plugin is a in game add on command and a Macro is the INI file. So why is it we are talking as if they are two separate entities ?

A Plugin is like loading the /mac Kissassist and the Macro is the actual INI scripted file.

I still trying to learn all the commands but I try to keep it simple as possible. Less confusion the better for me anyways.


If anyone can clarify this in SIMPLISTIC as possible terms would be great
thanks
 
Solution
A plugin is written in C++ and compiled into a dll file that you then load using /plugin SomePluginName. In order to change a plugin, the code has to be written and compiled again. Multiple plugins can be running at the same time. Their original intent was NOT automation, but to extend the functionality of what macros could do.

A macro is written in macro script, a custom MQ language, and it is saved as a text file with the .mac extension. You launch a macro using /mac SomeMacroName. You can change a macro by just editing the file and changing the logic. Their original intent was automation, but only one can be run at a time.

MacroQuest has Lua scripts which have benefits of both, it's designed to be an alternative to macro...
a plugin in the colloquial terms we're currently speaking of here at redguides with /plugin name is just compiled code into a .dll file (dynamic link library).

If you wanted to step outside of the use case that you and i are referring to now, other things could also be considered plugins (like boxhud written in Lua), but that's not what we're talking about.

a macro is not compiled code, and uses the MacroQuest macro language and can be used with /mac name

any time you are loading a macro with /mac name you are having it launch a .mac file, which is a script in the macroquest macro code language (which isn't a #real langauge) a .ini file is just a configuration file, many plugins also have configuration files, some even use .ini file formats for those configuration files


MQ2FeedMe - which is MQ2FeedMe.DLL in your plugins folder ---> Plugin
MQ2Camera - which is MQ2Camera.DLL in your plugins folder ---> Plugin

KissAssist - which is kissassist.mac in your macro folder ---> macro
Overseer - which is overseer.mac in your macro folder ---> macro

etc

you can't just right click and open a .dll in a text editor, make changes, and then re-run it, you need the source code and then compile it in the context of all the other things it needs access to.

a macro you could open in a text editor, make changes, and then just restart the macro to be able to have use out of those changes.
 
Last edited:
A plugin is written in C++ and compiled into a dll file that you then load using /plugin SomePluginName. In order to change a plugin, the code has to be written and compiled again. Multiple plugins can be running at the same time. Their original intent was NOT automation, but to extend the functionality of what macros could do.

A macro is written in macro script, a custom MQ language, and it is saved as a text file with the .mac extension. You launch a macro using /mac SomeMacroName. You can change a macro by just editing the file and changing the logic. Their original intent was automation, but only one can be run at a time.

MacroQuest has Lua scripts which have benefits of both, it's designed to be an alternative to macro script. You launch them with /lua run SomeScriptName. You can change Lua script by editing the file. You can run multiple at once, so they have the benefits of a macro as far as ease of editing goes and the benefits of a plugin otherwise.

INI files are none of the above. INI files are configuration storage. Most things in all three categories above use INI to store config, but there are other ways as well (json, yaml, sqlite, Lua tables). They are the "persistent storage" so that when you turn off "whatever" and turn it back on, the settings you have are kept. What they end up being, in terms of macros though, is "how you run your character" so I can see why it might be confused with automation. But they don't do anything by themselves.
 
Solution
Another note, you can have many plugins loaded at the same time, you can only run one mac at a time. If using Next, you can also run multiple Lua scripts at the same time in addition to the loaded plug-ins and a running mac.
 
Question - What is the difference between a macro and a plugin?

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