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Is it possible to write plugins for the existing apps? I am not asking if I can write an Android app having a plugin architecture, like here.

For example, let's say I want to add a button in the official Android 6 Camera that takes high quality photos (not time-lapses) repeatedly with a timeout, for an unlimited amount of time. The existing camera app only provides a 3 and 10 seconds delay until the picture is taken, but I want to customize this functionality to have whatever delay between snapshots, for whatever amount of time (even until memory is full). I just simply want the camera to be automatically triggered without the need for a person to press the button repeatedly.

I didn't find anywhere if customizing the existing apps is supported by Android.

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Alexandru Irimiea
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The closest thing that Android provides is Intents. An Intent is broadcasted an can be picked up by other applications.

Beyond that, there's not really an architecture for plugins. Whether an application has plugin hooks for a specific functionality, depends on the application.

For your specific requirement, I don't think the built-in camera app provides a hook or an Intent that you can use.
What you could do, is look for an open source camera app and add this functionality. Or create your own camera app.

S.L. Barth is on codidact.com
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  • I am surprised Android doesn't provide an easy API for plugins. Creating my camera app would be cumbersome for such a simple task that I want to implement. Nevertheless, I think the best solution for my needs is to modify an existing opensource app, as you suggested. – Alexandru Irimiea Jan 18 '17 at 20:29