The jEdit plugin API uses BeanShell to create the top-level visible container of a plugin's interface. The BeanShell code is contained in a file named dockables.xml. It usually is quite short, providing only a single BeanShell expression used to create a visible plugin window.

The following example from the QuickNotepad plugin illustrates the requirements of the data file:

<?xml version="1.0"?>

<!DOCTYPE DOCKABLES SYSTEM "dockables.dtd">

<DOCKABLES>
	<DOCKABLE NAME="quicknotepad">
		new QuickNotepad(view, position);
	</DOCKABLE>
</DOCKABLES>

In this example, the <DOCKABLE> element has a single attribute, the dockable window's identifier. This attribute is used to key a property where the window title is stored; see the section called “The Property File”.

The contents of the <DOCKABLE> element itself is a BeanShell expression that constructs a new QuickNotepad object. The view and position are predefined by the plugin API as the view in which the plugin window will reside, and the docking position of the plugin.

A formal description of each element of the dockables.xml file can be found in the documentation of the DockableWindowManager class.