
.. _Options for Extending the edX Platform:

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Options for Extending the edX Platform
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There are several options for extending the Open edX Platform to provide useful
and innovative educational content in your courses.

This section of the developers' documentation lists and explains the different ways to extend the platform, starting with the following table. Click the name of the extension type in the column header for more information.

.. list-table::
   :widths: 10 10 10 10 10 10
   :header-rows: 1

   * - 
     - :ref:`Custom JavaScript Applications`
     - LTI
     - External Graders
     - XBlocks
     - Platform Customization
   * - Development Cost
     - Low
     - Low
     - Medium
     - Medium
     - High
   * - Language
     - JavaScript
     - Any
     - Any
     - Python
     - Python
   * - Development Environment Needed
     - No
     - No
     - Yes
     - Yes
     - Yes
   * - Self-hosting Needed
     - No
     - Yes
     - Yes
     - No
     - No
   * - Need edX Involvement
     - No
     - No
     - Yes
     - Yes
     - Yes
   * - Clean UI Integration
     - Yes
     - No (see LTI)
     - Yes
     - Yes
     - Yes
   * - Mobile enabled
     - Possibly
     - Possibly
     - Yes
     - Yes
     - Yes
   * - Server Side Grading
     - Possibly (See JavaScript)
     - Yes
     - Yes
     - Yes
     - Yes
   * - Usage Data
     - No (See JavaScript)
     - No
     - Limited
     - Yes
     - Yes
   * - Provision in Studio
     - No
     - No
     - No
     - Yes
     - No
   * - Privacy Loss Compared to Hosting Open edX
     - No
     - Possibly
     - Possibly
     - No
     - No

