[MERLIN] accessing Merlin via JNDI

[Stephen McConnell <mc...@apache.org>]

Have just completed the implementation of a utility that enables the 
establishment of a Merlin Kernel via JNDI. Currently this is nothing 
more that access to the root kernel based on a set of properties 
containing the system and home path, the root block and internal kernel 
logging priority.

Using the JNDI context, a servlet can do something like the following:

    Context context = new InitialContext();
    Context env = (Context) context.lookup("java:comp/env");
    Kernel kernel = (Kernel) env.lookup("merlin/ServiceFactory");
    // then use the kernel to get the service that you want

There are a number of areas I would like to improve this.  Firstly, the 
current implementation relies on the fact that the server.xml has the 
definition of the root block to be loaded.  I think that this 
could/should be changed such that the we application declares the root 
block(s) to be loaded and the server.xml simply handles the declaration 
of the Merlin system installation parameters.

A second concern is the return argument.  Currently I'm returning the 
kernel, however it seems to me that it should be possible to return a 
naming context from which services are access via JNDI lookups.  However 
- being somewhat unfamiliar with JNDI, I was wondering what others 
thought/preferred.  If the initial lookup returns a context then it 
should be possible to eliminate knowledge of the kernel - and keep 
things focussed on simply accessing services.  This also brings in the 
potential for including JNDI url resolution of services (i.e. service 
resolution with arguments) which seems to me a desirable direction.

Any thoughts on this highly appreciated.

Cheers, Steve.

-- 

Stephen J. McConnell
mailto:mcconnell@apache.org
http://www.osm.net



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