In-place definition of software extensions

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium coupled to one or more processors and having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations for providing one or more in-place extensions to an application, the operations comprising:

• receiving, by the one or more processors, one or more artifacts associated with the application, the application comprising a computer-executable program;
• graphically depicting, by the one or more processors, a representation of at least one artifact of the one or more artifacts on a display, the at least one artifact comprising one or more extension points defined by a developer of the application;
• receiving, by the one or more processors, first user input indicating a first extension to the at least one artifact, the first extension being associated with an extension point of the one or more extension points and being applied to the representation, to provide an impression of an extended artifact to indicate to the developer that the first extension is directly changing the at least one artifact, while the at least one artifact remains unchanged in view of the first extension being applied to the representation;
• determining, by the one or more processors, a delta defined as a difference between the impression of the extended artifact and the at least one artifact, such that the delta leaves the at least one artifact unchanged in view of the first extension;
• and
• storing, by the one or more processors, the delta in an extension repository that is separated from a storage of the one or more artifacts, the delta being usable to extend the one or more other artifacts.

A system, comprising:

• a computing device comprising one or more processors;
• and
• a computer-readable storage device coupled to the computing device and having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations for providing one or more in-place extensions to an application, the operations comprising:
• receiving, by the one or more processors, one or more artifacts associated with the application, the application comprising a computer-executable program;
• graphically depicting, by the one or more processors, a representation of at least one artifact of the one or more artifacts on a display, the at least one artifact comprising one or more extension points defined by a developer of the application;
• receiving, by the one or more processors, first user input indicating a first extension to the at least one artifact, the first extension being associated with an extension point of the one or more extension points and being applied to the representation, to provide an impression of an extended artifact to indicate to the developer that the first extension is directly changing the at least one artifact, while the at least one artifact remains unchanged in view of the first extension being applied to the representation;
• determining, by the one or more processors, a delta defined as a difference between the impression of the extended artifact and the at least one artifact, such that the delta leaves the at least one artifact unchanged in view of the first extension;
• and
• storing, by the one or more processors, the delta in an extension repository that is separated from a storage of the one or more artifacts, the delta being usable to extend the one or more other artifacts.