---
id: html-plugins
title: "HTML Plug-ins"
category: "Frontend"
status: "draft"
verification_status: "conceptual"
canonical_id: ""
aliases: ["HTML plugins", "object element", "embed element", "<object>", "<embed>", "browser plug-ins"]
duplicate_of: ""
source_trust_level: "B"
confidence_score: 0.88
created_at: 2026-06-23
updated_at: 2026-06-23
review_reason: ""
merge_history: []
tags: ["html", "web", "frontend", "plugins", "object", "embed", "w3schools"]
raw_sources: ["https://www.w3schools.com/html/html_object.asp"]
applied_in: []
github_commit: ""
---

# [[HTML Plug-ins]]

## 🎯 한 줄 통찰 (One-line insight)
Plug-ins once extended browsers with extra functionality (Java applets, ActiveX, Flash), but most are now unsupported; the `<object>` and `<embed>` elements remain the standard, browser-supported ways to embed external content. [S1]

## 🧠 핵심 개념 (Core concepts)
- **Plug-ins = helper programs** — computer programs that extend the standard functionality of the browser. [S1]
- **Historical uses** — plug-ins were used to run Java applets, run Microsoft ActiveX controls, display Flash movies, display maps, scan for viruses, and verify a bank id. [S1]
- **Largely deprecated** — most browsers no longer support Java applets and plug-ins; ActiveX controls are no longer supported in any browser; support for Shockwave Flash has also been turned off in modern browsers. [S1]
- **`<object>`** — defines an embedded object within an HTML document; supported in all browsers; originally designed for plug-ins but can also embed HTML pages, images, and other media. [S1]
- **`<embed>`** — also defines an embedded object; supported in all major browsers. It has no closing tag and cannot contain alternative (fallback) text. [S1]
- **`<embed>` standardization** — long supported by browsers, but it was not part of the HTML specification before HTML5. [S1]

## 🧩 추출된 패턴 (Extracted patterns)
- **Object-embed pattern** — `<object data="..." width height></object>` embeds external content with a closing tag. [S1]
- **Embed pattern** — `<embed src="..." >` embeds content with no closing tag and no fallback text. [S1]
- **HTML-in-HTML pattern** — `<object data="snippet.html">` embeds another HTML page. [S1]

## 📖 세부 내용 (Details)
**Plug-ins** — plug-ins are computer programs that extend the standard functionality of the browser. They were designed to be used for many different purposes: to run Java applets, to run Microsoft ActiveX controls, to display Flash movies, to display maps, to scan for viruses, to verify a bank id, and so on. [S1]

**Warning:** Most browsers no longer support Java applets and plug-ins. ActiveX controls are no longer supported in any browsers. The support for Shockwave Flash has also been turned off in modern browsers. [S1]

**The `<object>` element** — defines an embedded object within an HTML document. It was designed to embed plug-ins (like Java applets, PDF readers, and Flash players) in web pages, but can also be used to include HTML in HTML, or images. It is supported in all browsers. [S1]

Embed an image with `<object>`: [S1]
```html
<object width="100%" height="500px" data="snippet.html"></object>
```

The `<object>` element can also display an image: [S1]
```html
<object data="audi.jpeg"></object>
```

**The `<embed>` element** — also defines an embedded object within an HTML document, and is supported in all major browsers. The `<embed>` element does not have a closing tag and cannot contain alternative text. [S1]

Embed an image with `<embed>`: [S1]
```html
<embed src="audi.jpeg">
```

Embed an HTML page with `<embed>`: [S1]
```html
<embed width="100%" height="500px" src="snippet.html">
```

**Note:** The `<embed>` element does not have a closing tag, so it cannot contain alternative text to be displayed if the resource cannot be loaded. The element was not part of the HTML specification before HTML5, even though it had been supported by browsers for a long time. [S1]

## 🛠️ 적용 사례 (Applied in summary)
The examples above are the canonical applied uses: embedding an external HTML page or an image with `<object>` (which supports a closing tag and fallback content) versus `<embed>` (a self-closing element with no fallback). No external project/commit applications found in the source.

## 💻 코드 패턴 (Code patterns)
Embed an HTML page with `<object>` (HTML):
```html
<object width="100%" height="500px" data="snippet.html"></object>
```
Embed an image with `<embed>` (HTML, no closing tag):
```html
<embed src="audi.jpeg">
```

## ⚖️ 비교 및 선택 기준 (Comparison & decision criteria)
The source contrasts `<object>` and `<embed>`: both embed external objects and are supported in all major browsers, but `<object>` has a closing tag (so it can hold alternative/fallback content), while `<embed>` has no closing tag and cannot contain alternative text. `<object>` has long been part of HTML; `<embed>` was not part of the HTML specification before HTML5 despite long browser support. Prefer `<object>` when you need fallback content; `<embed>` is a terser self-closing alternative. [S1]

## ⚖️ 모순 및 업데이트 (Contradictions & updates)
No contradictions found in the source. The dominant update is deprecation: the classic plug-in ecosystem (Java applets, ActiveX, Flash/Shockwave) is no longer supported in modern browsers, so native HTML5 elements ([[HTML Video]], [[HTML Audio]], [[HTML Canvas]], [[HTML SVG]]) have replaced most plug-in use cases. [S1]

## ✅ 검증 상태 및 신뢰도
- **상태:** draft
- **검증 단계:** conceptual (실제 적용 사례 발견 시 applied/validated로 승격 가능)
- **출처 신뢰도:** B (W3Schools — widely used educational reference, not a primary standards body)
- **신뢰 점수:** 0.88
- **중복 검사 결과:** 신규 생성 (New discovery)

## 🔗 지식 그래프 (Knowledge Graph)
- **상위/루트:** [[HTML Tutorial]]
- **관련 개념:** [[HTML Media]], [[HTML Video]], [[HTML Audio]], [[HTML5]]
- **참조 맥락:** Referenced when embedding external objects (HTML pages, images, media) or when migrating away from deprecated browser plug-ins.

## 📚 출처 (Sources)
- [S1] W3Schools — HTML Plug-ins — https://www.w3schools.com/html/html_object.asp

## 📝 변경 이력 (Change history)
- 2026-06-23: Initial draft synthesized from the W3Schools "HTML Plug-ins" page (Astra wiki-curation, P-Reinforce v3.1 format).
