The application programmer can create custom bins packed with elements to perform a specific task. This allows you, for example, to write an Ogg/Vorbis decoder with just the following lines of code:
int main (int argc char *argv[]) { GstElement *player; /* init */ gst_init (&argc, &argv); /* create player */ player = gst_element_factory_make ("oggvorbisplayer", "player"); /* set the source audio file */ g_object_set (G_OBJECT (player), "location", "helloworld.ogg", NULL); /* start playback */ gst_element_set_state (GST_ELEMENT (player), GST_STATE_PLAYING); [..] }
Custom bins can be created with a plugin or an XML description. You will find more information about creating custom bin in the Plugin Writers Guide.