Documentation/4.0/SlicerApplication/ExtensionCatalogPolicies

Introduction

Slicer functionality is extensible through plug-ins which can be added to the package. A website has been designed to support the finding, download and installation of Extensions for 3D Slicer 4. Access to this website is integral to Slicer 4 and facilitated by the Extensions Manager functionality. Please see here for information for software developers on how to add your extension to this website. The following text details the policies for Slicer Extensions.

Slicer Extensions Catalog

The download site will be called Slicer Extensions Catalog. Extensions Catalog will host two types of extensions:

• Category 1: Released Extensions
• Category 2: open source, contact exists.
• Category 3: all other extensions (work in progress, beta, etc).

The initial presentation when visiting the page will present only Category 1 extensions. Search will allow to search all extensions. The toplevel interface will have a link for developers to the pages describing the requirements.

Requirements for Category 1 Slicer Extensions

Category 1 extensions must meet the following conditions:

• comply with the Slicer License
• compile and install on all platforms supported by slicer
• have test coverage of better than 60%
• have documentation at a level of quality comparable to slicer core modules
• have a designated maintainer to answer emails in relation to the extension which are posted on the two slicer mailing lists.

Requirements for Category 2 Slicer Extensions

Category 2 extensions must meet the following conditions:

• open source
• contact person
• clear declaration about the license under which the code is distributed

Category 3 Slicer Extensions

Category 3 Slicer Extensions cover everything else, including developers who do not want to share their source code or extensions.

• I do not want to share my source code: When source code is not shared, it is not possible to inspect the code for malicious content. This is a potential security risk that we will not accept for the Slicer website.
• Developers are free to set up their own Midas servers for hosting extensions if they want to host category 3 extensions, or can just make .tar.gz files and set the module path in Slicer manually.