Patent ID: 8539497

Claim:
A system for securely executing a first extension of a first extendable application comprising: a processor; an installation service separate from the first extendable application and the first extension that maintains a catalog of categories, each category having a respective extendable application and one or more respective extensions that implement the category wherein the installation service separate from the first extendable application and the first extension maintains, for each category in the catalog, information including at least a partial description of a contract between the respective extendable application and the one or more respective extensions, an extension point for the respective extendable application, a list of the one or more respective extensions, and configuration settings for creating a separate, isolated execution environment for the one or more respective extensions; and an activation service that creates a first execution environment for the first extendable application and a second execution environment different from the first execution environment for the first extension, wherein the first extendable application specifies a first category, wherein the activation service queries the installation service separate from the first extendable application and the first extension for a list of extensions that implement the first category, wherein the installation service returns the list of extensions that implement the first category, and wherein the list comprises the first extension.