Architected Futures™

Tools and strategies ... for boiling the ocean

EATS Eclipse Dynamic Configuration

Preface

The focus of this section is how the dynamic configuration features of EATS are implemented on the Eclipse platform.

Background

EATS has always had a dynamic configuration aspect incorporated in its design. Largely this was driven by external XML configuration files. The configuration files specified the structure and processing capabilities of the system for a given installation. Based on the assigned capabilities defined in the configuration, the core system expected to find the appropriate set of modules available in the environment classpath to implement those capabilities.

With the migration to Eclipse this scheme has been changed. The new scheme is based on an easier to control and manage process based on Eclipse "p2" provisioning and Eclipse's Extension Point architecture.

With p2 provisioning an Eclipse product can be assembled dynamically from a core product and zero, one or more add-on features. Features define a collection of plug-in modules, or bundles1, that together provide some capability set which is desired to be added to the product. Features define the collection. The actual capabilities are implemented by the plug-ins. Plug-ins consist of one or more Java packages which contain one or more Java classes which perform some [group of] function[s]. 

  • 1. Plug-in and bundle are synonymous terms from the perspective of this discussion. We will tend to use the term plug-in because it is more graphically concise. Plug-in is the Eclipse term for the concept. Bundle is the OSGi term for the same concept.

Add new comment

Plain text

  • No HTML tags allowed.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
SystemsThinking