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== Introduction ==

{{VLC}} is a very popular, but quite large and complex piece of software.<br />
It uses a large number of [[Contrib Status|3rd party libraries]]. 

VLC development is open source, and then a large community of developers worldwide contribute to it.<br />
However, entering a project such as {{VLC}} can be long and complex for new developers. 

This '''guide''' seeks to help understanding the VLC code base and VLC internals to quickly get up to speed.<br />
''NB: this guide is '''not''' about [[Compile|compiling]] VLC.''


A very good introduction to VLC can also be found on (an archived copy of the site) [//web.archive.org/web/20141204234622/http://www.enjoythearchitecture.com/vlc-architecture.html enjoythearchitecture].

== The layers of VLC and libVLC ==

=== VLC's Core / libVLCcore ===

The most important (and probably most complex) part of VLC is the core, located in src/ in the repository. 

*[[{{#rel2abs:/Core}}|Introduction to the core]]
** This is a '''MUST-READ''' for developers. 
*[[Documentation:VLC Modules Loading|VLC modules loading]]
** How the numerous VLC modules work and are loaded.
*[[{{#rel2abs:/Input}}|Input]]
** How the main input chain works (slightly outdated)
*[[{{#rel2abs:/Object Management}}|VLC Object Management]]
*[[{{#rel2abs:/Variables}}|VLC variables]]
*[[{{#rel2abs:/VLM Internals}}|VLM Internals]]

=== Plugins / Modules ===

[[{{#rel2abs:/How To Write a Module}}|How to write a VLC module]].

==== Input ====
*[[{{#rel2abs:/Access}}|Access]] 
** An access module provides a byte stream from a location string [[MRL]], like support for files, HTTP streams, webcams...
*[[{{#rel2abs:/Demux}}|Demuxer]]
** A demux module parses a byte stream and splits it into [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elementary_stream elementary streams] (tracks).
*[[{{#rel2abs:/Access Demux}}|Access-Demuxer]]
** An access_demux module combines the functionality of access and demux (and bypass any stream filters), splitting elementary streams directly from a location string. It's used where the bytestream abstraction is inadequate.
*[[{{#rel2abs:/Stream Filters}}|Stream Filters]]
** A stream filter module converts a byte stream into another byte stream. It could be used for file or byte stream decryption, as it is already used for decompression (gzip, Bzip2, XZ) and multi-part files.
*[[{{#rel2abs:/Decoder}}|Decoder]]
** A decoder takes an elementary stream and convert into raw video, audio or text data, reading for output.

==== Audio ====

*[[{{#rel2abs:/Audio Filters}}|Audio Filters]] 
*[[{{#rel2abs:/Audio Output}}|Audio Output]]

==== Video ====

*[[{{#rel2abs:/Video Filters}}|Video Filters]] 
**[[{{#rel2abs:/Video Filters/Deinterlace}}|Deinterlace]]
*[[{{#rel2abs:/Video Output}}|Video Output]]

==== Interfaces ====
*[[{{#rel2abs:/Interfaces}}|Interfaces]]

==== Modules types not documented (yet) ====
===== Misc =====
*[[{{#rel2abs:/Visualization}}|Visualization]] 
*[[{{#rel2abs:/Packetizers}}|Packetizers]]

===== Streaming output =====
*[[{{#rel2abs:/Encoder}}|Encoder]] 
*[[{{#rel2abs:/Mux}}|Mux]] 
*[[{{#rel2abs:/Stream Output}}|Stream Output]] 
*[[{{#rel2abs:/Access Output}}|Access Output]]

=== libVLC and bindings ===

*Using [[{{#rel2abs:/libvlc}}|libvlc]] 
*bindings

== VLC source code overview ==

*[[{{#rel2abs:/VLC source tree}}]] 
*[[{{#rel2abs:/Modules source tree}}]] 
*[[{{#rel2abs:/Preferences}}|VLC Preferences]] 
*[[{{#rel2abs:/Playlist}}|VLC Playlist and Media Library]]

== Coding for VLC ==

*[[Patch]]ing 
*[[Sending Patches]] 
*[[Code Conventions]]
*[[Code Signing]] 
*[[{{#rel2abs:/How To Write a Module}}|Adding a module]] 
*[[Documentation:Unicode]] 
*[http://www.videolan.org/developers/vlc/doc/doxygen/html/ Doxygen Documentation] 
*[[C Types]] 
*[[Strings]]

== User Experience ==

*[[Playback States]] 

== Testing ==

*[[Test Suite]]

== Mozilla plugins ==

* [[Plugins/Mozilla|Plugins in Mozilla]]

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