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Posted to users@felix.apache.org by David Griffin <da...@parasense.co.uk> on 2011/09/27 13:31:28 UTC
Graphical OSGi development tools?
Hi all,
just a little feedback on my previous question regarding the best IDE for OSGi bundle development.
NetBeans (v7.0.1)
=================
I have been able to:
1. Manually create a Java project consisting of the OSGi in action Chapter 13 paint example top-level app. sources and build it.
2. Manually create a Java project consisting of the OSGi in action Chapter 13 paint example square bundle sources.
3. Manually modify the manifest.mf file to specify the bundle Activator method and build the bundle.
3. Put the two together (by adding a "bundles" folder into the "dist" sub-folder of the top-level app. project folder and copying in the built square bundle jar file.
4. Run the top-level app and see the square icon appear and be able to place squares in the window, i.e. application, framework and auto-deploy bundles working.
As of yet, I have not seen any graphical interface to configure the bundle information (i.e. the META-INF folder contents). Does anyone know if there is such an interface as standard, or if there is a NetBeans add-on available, which will provide a more graphical interface to bundle creation/maintenance? I saw Richard mention "Maven Bundle Plugin", which I have not looked into as yet. That's next on my list.
Using Eclipse Java (Indigo Service Release 1 Build id: 20110916-0149):
======================================================================
I could not find any project template for creating OSGi bundles, despite seeing a web article that suggested there was at least one template available under the root type "plugin" (which is not present in the above version of Eclipse).
I assumed that I would be able to manually create the Java projects as previously achieved with NetBeans, so did not explore this option.
I've experimented a little with BndTools under Eclipse, which looks like it provides a more graphical interface, but I am finding that setting the configuration options is not obvious (is there any documentation for this tool?).
Summary
=======
As a user with little experience with OSGi based Java development, I'm struggling to find simple to use tools. That said, I think the fact that there are so many free tools and related information available is impressive.
Aside from buying Richards book ("OSGi in Action") which I think I'll need to do next, can anyone provide me any pointers to good graphical (as opposed to command line based) tools for OSGi development?
Dave
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Re: Graphical OSGi development tools?
Posted by Jean-Philippe Clement <je...@sogeti.com>.
"[...] A lot of the complexitiy of OSGi comes from the classloader and
the dynamic nature at runtime. [...] What could be interesting is a
dependency injection framework like spring or guice."
Try Karaf and blueprint :)
JeanPhi
What you need is OSGi blueprint.
Quoting Christian Schneider <ch...@die-schneider.net>:
> I am not sure.
>
> karaf is typically used as a server to run your bundles on. I am not
> sure how well Karaf could work in a kind of embedded mode.
> Generally I am not sure if you really need OSGi for that case. A lot of
> the complexitiy of OSGi comes from the classloader and the dynamic
> nature at runtime.
> I think you will not really need those two features. You probably
> simply want a kind of plugin system without much overhead.
>
> What could be interesting is a dependency injection framework like
> spring or guice. You can configure it to scan the classpath for classes
> with special annotations.
> So you could create every wizard dialog as a annotated class and put it
> into a jar. Then you could start the container and it would pick up the
> classes and inject them into a kind of main app.
>
> Christian
>
>
>
> Am 27.09.2011 14:06, schrieb David Griffin:
>> Thanks Christian.
>>
>> What I'm looking to develop is an application which embeds the OSGi
>> framework launcher and uses bundles to extend its functionality.
>> The actual application will be fairly simple (a graphical
>> configuration wizard), my idea was to use OSGi and bundles to
>> provide a core configuration tool application with a bundle per
>> wizard dialog which will allow the creation of multiple
>> configuration tools with different combinations of wizards which
>> are then suited to various products that we produce.
>>
>> Do you still think Karaf is worth a look?
>>
>> Dave
>>
>>
>>
>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>> To unsubscribe, e-mail: users-unsubscribe@felix.apache.org
>> For additional commands, e-mail: users-help@felix.apache.org
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> --
> Christian Schneider
> http://www.liquid-reality.de
>
> Open Source Architect
> Talend Application Integration Division http://www.talend.com
>
>
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Re: Graphical OSGi development tools?
Posted by Christian Schneider <ch...@die-schneider.net>.
I am not sure.
karaf is typically used as a server to run your bundles on. I am not
sure how well Karaf could work in a kind of embedded mode.
Generally I am not sure if you really need OSGi for that case. A lot of
the complexitiy of OSGi comes from the classloader and the dynamic
nature at runtime.
I think you will not really need those two features. You probably simply
want a kind of plugin system without much overhead.
What could be interesting is a dependency injection framework like
spring or guice. You can configure it to scan the classpath for classes
with special annotations.
So you could create every wizard dialog as a annotated class and put it
into a jar. Then you could start the container and it would pick up the
classes and inject them into a kind of main app.
Christian
Am 27.09.2011 14:06, schrieb David Griffin:
> Thanks Christian.
>
> What I'm looking to develop is an application which embeds the OSGi framework launcher and uses bundles to extend its functionality. The actual application will be fairly simple (a graphical configuration wizard), my idea was to use OSGi and bundles to provide a core configuration tool application with a bundle per wizard dialog which will allow the creation of multiple configuration tools with different combinations of wizards which are then suited to various products that we produce.
>
> Do you still think Karaf is worth a look?
>
> Dave
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> To unsubscribe, e-mail: users-unsubscribe@felix.apache.org
> For additional commands, e-mail: users-help@felix.apache.org
>
>
--
--
Christian Schneider
http://www.liquid-reality.de
Open Source Architect
Talend Application Integration Division http://www.talend.com
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RE: Graphical OSGi development tools?
Posted by David Griffin <da...@parasense.co.uk>.
Thanks Christian.
What I'm looking to develop is an application which embeds the OSGi framework launcher and uses bundles to extend its functionality. The actual application will be fairly simple (a graphical configuration wizard), my idea was to use OSGi and bundles to provide a core configuration tool application with a bundle per wizard dialog which will allow the creation of multiple configuration tools with different combinations of wizards which are then suited to various products that we produce.
Do you still think Karaf is worth a look?
Dave
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Re: Graphical OSGi development tools?
Posted by Christian Schneider <ch...@die-schneider.net>.
If you intend to write server side applications then you should
definately take a look at Karaf and the maven bundle plugin.
There is no UI support but it is quite simple in most cases.
I have written some tutorials for Karaf:
http://www.liquid-reality.de/display/liquid/Karaf+Tutorials
The first tutorial shows how to create a little client and server as
OSGi bundles that communicate over an OSGi service and are built with maven.
Christian
Am 27.09.2011 13:31, schrieb David Griffin:
> Hi all,
>
> just a little feedback on my previous question regarding the best IDE for OSGi bundle development.
>
> NetBeans (v7.0.1)
> =================
> I have been able to:
> 1. Manually create a Java project consisting of the OSGi in action Chapter 13 paint example top-level app. sources and build it.
> 2. Manually create a Java project consisting of the OSGi in action Chapter 13 paint example square bundle sources.
> 3. Manually modify the manifest.mf file to specify the bundle Activator method and build the bundle.
> 3. Put the two together (by adding a "bundles" folder into the "dist" sub-folder of the top-level app. project folder and copying in the built square bundle jar file.
> 4. Run the top-level app and see the square icon appear and be able to place squares in the window, i.e. application, framework and auto-deploy bundles working.
>
> As of yet, I have not seen any graphical interface to configure the bundle information (i.e. the META-INF folder contents). Does anyone know if there is such an interface as standard, or if there is a NetBeans add-on available, which will provide a more graphical interface to bundle creation/maintenance? I saw Richard mention "Maven Bundle Plugin", which I have not looked into as yet. That's next on my list.
>
>
> Using Eclipse Java (Indigo Service Release 1 Build id: 20110916-0149):
> ======================================================================
>
> I could not find any project template for creating OSGi bundles, despite seeing a web article that suggested there was at least one template available under the root type "plugin" (which is not present in the above version of Eclipse).
>
> I assumed that I would be able to manually create the Java projects as previously achieved with NetBeans, so did not explore this option.
>
> I've experimented a little with BndTools under Eclipse, which looks like it provides a more graphical interface, but I am finding that setting the configuration options is not obvious (is there any documentation for this tool?).
>
>
> Summary
> =======
> As a user with little experience with OSGi based Java development, I'm struggling to find simple to use tools. That said, I think the fact that there are so many free tools and related information available is impressive.
>
> Aside from buying Richards book ("OSGi in Action") which I think I'll need to do next, can anyone provide me any pointers to good graphical (as opposed to command line based) tools for OSGi development?
>
>
> Dave
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> To unsubscribe, e-mail: users-unsubscribe@felix.apache.org
> For additional commands, e-mail: users-help@felix.apache.org
>
>
--
--
Christian Schneider
http://www.liquid-reality.de
Open Source Architect
Talend Application Integration Division http://www.talend.com
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