I totally forgotten how to make pancakes!!!

So i decided to search thru the pancake recipes online.. AND suddenly..

i felt as though i haven't done flour-related stuffs in the longest time!!!

I start to qn myself.. which i seriously need some answers.. so help me if u can..

- Is all-purpose flour the same as plain flour?

- Muz we really add in baking powder to the pancake mixture?!

- Is the baking powder added to make the bubbling effect when we pan-fry the pancake?

- Is vanilla extract really neccessary?

- Why do u need to add salt and sugar to the pancake mixture? can't i juz add sugar since i like my pancakes sweet?

Gawd...

I never knew pancake recipes were that hard to understand.. -_-'''