Event driven plugin architecture for importing scanned image data into a production workflow

A system that facilitates importing scanned image data into a production workflow, comprising:

• a processor that receives a configuration file that describes a plurality of image processing plugins, and generates trigger event messages, wherein one or more of the plurality of plugins is registered to a trigger event message, which trigger event message is at least one of an Import trigger event, a Pre-scan trigger event, an In-scan trigger event, and a Post-scan trigger event;
• a memory that stores the configuration file;
• and
• a plugin handler that receives the trigger event message from the processor and dynamically invokes one or more plugins registered to the trigger event message without requiring a main service to have direct knowledge of a function associated with the respective registered plugins;
• wherein the function associated with the respective plugin is separate from the trigger associated with the plugin, and
• wherein the plugin handler invokes plugins having a common event trigger in an order specified in the configuration file when the common trigger occurs.

A scanning platform, comprising:

• a scanner that generates electronic images of documents for information retrieval;
• a memory that stores a received configuration file, which defines an action for at least one plugin that allows the plugin to execute custom code that is at least one of a script or compiled code, and associates one or more plugins with respective trigger events to which the one or more plugins are registered, which trigger events include one or more of an Import trigger event, a Pre-scan trigger event, an In-scan trigger event, and a Post-scan trigger event;
• and
• a plugin handler that recognizes an event trigger and dynamically invokes one or more plugins registered to the event trigger to process image data without requiring a main service to have direct knowledge of a function associated with the respective registered plugins;
• wherein the function associated with the respective plugin is separate from the trigger event for which the respective plugin is registered, and
• wherein the configuration file associates plugins with event triggers and an order in which plugins associated with a common trigger are to be invoked relative to each other when the common trigger occurs.