How many versions of an NPAPI browser plugin do I have to make?

Question

I know that if I write a C++ plugin, then I need to have Linux, Mac, Windows versions at least but what's the full list of combinations? NPAPI is supported by many browsers so does that mean the exact same compiled NPAPI plugin binary/installer/whatever for Windows is ready for use in all those browsers on Windows which support NPAPI? Or do you have to 'compile' the same plugin code separately for each browser in some way?

Answer 1

Yes, a single NPAPI plugin runs in every NPAPI-supporting browser on a given platform, as long as you don't do anything to specifically undermine that (e.g., some people make NPAPI plugins but then add XPCOM code to them, making them Firefox-specific).

Answer 2

Additionally, as you probably saw in the answer to your other question, FireBreath can be used to create a single plugin that can be made to work cross platform on pretty much all browsers, including IE on windows.

FireBreath strongly discourages using things like XPCOM for exactly the reason that smorgan mentioned.