This section describes functions used for the client-side plugin API. They enable management of client plugins. For a description of the st_mysql_client_plugin structure used by these functions, see Section 29.2.4.2.3, “Client Plugin Descriptors”.

It is unlikely that a client program needs to call the functions in this section. For example, a client that supports the use of authentication plugins normally causes a plugin to be loaded by calling mysql_options() to set the MYSQL_DEFAULT_AUTH and MYSQL_PLUGIN_DIR options:

char *plugin_dir = "path_to_plugin_dir";
char *default_auth = "plugin_name";

/* ... process command-line options ... */

mysql_options(&mysql, MYSQL_PLUGIN_DIR, plugin_dir);
mysql_options(&mysql, MYSQL_DEFAULT_AUTH, default_auth);

Typically, the program will also accept --plugin-dir and --default-auth options that enable users to override the default values.