How does switching out standard frames work in general?

[Chalybeum]

Hey there, just signed up and for now I have just a little question for my general understanding.

Let's say I want to write an addon that replaces some UI element, like the vendor interface. Is my new frame loaded after the standard ones and therefore automatically replacing the old one? That would imply I simply name the frame the same as the standard one.
Or do I simply hide the original and display my version. That would mean both would be processed which doesn't seem to be desirable as far as I can tell.

I am aware, that this is a very broad question but it should only serve to broaden my own understanding. I hope some of you can shed some light on this one. 'Till then, have a nice day.

[Xrystal]

What I have seen for the most part is hiding the blizzard frame and replacing it with your own with it's own unique name. This would include functionality and not just visuals. This way other addons accessing the same frame won't affect yours.

However, if you just want to change the visuals and not the functional you might be able to do that by looking at the layout of the frame(s) in question and replace the art with your own.

Depending on what you were hoping to replace and with what would depend on what you should look into.

One step I would take is to see if someone has created a similar addon and see how they did it and learn from that.

Also, we have the blizzard code source here : https://www.townlong-yak.com/framexml/live which is a good go to place to see how they do some of their frames ( that are available that is )

[Chalybeum]

Hey, thanks for your answer. I don't have any particular plans at this point. I was just interested in the general strategy when tackling such things.

The info you provided will come in handy, when it's time to actually start such a project.