Do I care? This guide explains how to write new modules for GStreamer. It is relevant to: Anyone who wants to add support for new input and output devices, often called sources and sinks. For example, adding the ability to write to a new video output system could be done by writing an appropriate sink plugin. Anyone who wants to add support for new ways of processing data in GStreamer, often called filters. For example, a new data format converter could be created. Anyone who wants to extend GStreamer in any way: you need to have an understanding of how the plugin system works before you can understand the constraints it places on the rest of the code. And you might be surprised at how much can be done with plugins. This guide is not relevant to you if you only want to use the existing functionality of GStreamer, or use an application which uses GStreamer. You lot can go away. Shoo... (You might find the GStreamer Application Development Manual helpful though.) Preliminary reading The reader should be familiar with the basic workings of GStreamer. For a gentle introduction to GStreamer, you may wish to read the GStreamer Application Development Manual. Since GStreamer adheres to the GTK+ programming model, the reader is also assumed to understand the basics of GTK+.