Build modular applications on Eclipse by defining custom extension points and using OSGi servicesAbout This Book
- Master Eclipse plug-in development with this example-based and practical guide
- Define new JFace wizards, custom extension points, and new commands for the Eclipse console
- Get to grips with OSGI services and events to dynamically wire applications and communicate between plug-ins
Who This Book Is For
If you are a Java developer who is familiar with the Eclipse plug-in environment, this book covers the advanced concepts that you need to know to achieve true expertise. Prior experience in creating Eclipse plug-ins is assumed for this book.
What You Will Learn
- Create a custom extension point to allow other plug-ins to contribute
- Employ Declarative Services and Blueprint for dynamic OSGi contributions
- Extend the Common Navigator Framework to provide nested content
- Build commands to extend the built-in Gogo shell
- Use fragments to contribute native code to plug-ins
- Fix code using the service loader and wrap non-OSGi-friendly JARs
- Discover how to build modular applications with decoupled design patterns
In Detail
Mastering Eclipse Plug-in Development shows you how to build an extensible application using custom extension points and dynamic OSGi services in Eclipse. Dynamic design patterns such as whiteboard and extender are covered along with specific techniques to deal with native and legacy code.
This book dives right into the details and teaches you how to define new JFace wizards and extend Eclipse with custom extension points. Then the book moves quickly on to the details of how to define new commands for the Eclipse console and how to include native code in a plug-in. You will engage with modular application design patterns and Thread Context ClassLoaders before getting the details on how to create as well as manage P2 sites and write help documentation for an Eclipse plug-in.
Dr Alex Blewitt has been developing Java applications since Version 1.0 was released in 1996, and has been using the Eclipse platform since its first release as part of the IBM WebSphere Studio product suite. He even migrated some plugins from Visual Age for Java to WebSphere Studio/Eclipse as part of his PhD on Automated Verification of Design Patterns. He got involved in the open source community as a tester when Eclipse 2.1 was being released for Mac OS X, and then subsequently as an editor for EclipseZone, including being a finalist for Eclipse Ambassador in 2007.
More recently, Alex has been writing for InfoQ, covering generic Java and specifically, Eclipse and OSGi subjects. He keynoted the 2011 OSGi Community Event on the past, present, and future of OSGi. The coverage of both new releases of the Eclipse platform and its projects, as well as video interviews with some of the Eclipse project leads can be found via the InfoQ home page, for which he was nominated and won the Eclipse Top Contributor 2012 award.
Alex currently works for an investment bank in London. He also has a number of apps on the Apple AppStore through Bandlem Limited. When he's not working on technology, and if the weather is nice, he likes to go flying from the nearby Cranfield airport.
Alex writes regularly at his blog, http://alblue.bandlem.com, as well as tweets regularly from Twitter and App.Net as @alblue.
