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| <h1> |
| Proposal for Enterprise Component Platform |
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| <p>You are invited to join the project and to provide feedback using the |
| <a href="http://www.eclipse.org/newsportal/thread.php?group=eclipse.technology.ecp">eclipse.technology.ecp</a> |
| newsgroup. </p> |
| <h2>Introduction </h2> |
| <p>The outstanding flexibility of the Eclipse Platform is provided by |
| its comprehensive component model. The Eclipse Platform component model |
| targets tools development, tools integration and rich client |
| applications and offers users a strong GUI orientation. Unfortunately, |
| there is nothing similar to the Eclipse Platform available for |
| enterprise application developers. Existing components models do not |
| provide the flexibility for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterprise_application">enterprise |
| applications</a> that the Eclipse Platform does for GUI-oriented |
| applications. </p> |
| <p>The Enterprise Component Platform Project's goal is to create a |
| comprehensive component model for enterprise application development. |
| The component model will provide a great deal of flexibility for |
| building enterprise applications from components. In addition, |
| applications would benefit from the component approach by acquiring such |
| feature as adaptability e.g. ability to react on changes in environment |
| at runtime. Finally, the project will create the ability to easily |
| create enterprise application from existing components for development |
| teams and users.</p> |
| <p>A majority of the flexibility the Eclipse Platform inherited from the |
| OSGi Service Platform. Similarly, the Enterprise Component Platform |
| should also be based on and extend the OSGi Service Platform. The |
| Equinox along with Eclipse Core will serve as a container for the |
| enterprise components. </p> |
| <p>This document proposes the scope and organization of the |
| project. </p> |
| <h2>Why A New Enterprise Component Model? </h2> |
| <p>It is important to explore the specific market need for yet another |
| component framework. By definition, the word, "component" is |
| today much overloaded and overused. However, in this project, the |
| following definition will be used: A component is a software unit that |
| exposes the following features: </p> |
| <ul> |
| <li>Has well specified interface and explicit dependencies </li> |
| <li>Can be customized </li> |
| <li>Can be assembled </li> |
| <li>Reusable by nature </li> |
| <li>A unit of substitution </li> |
| <li>A unit of delivery and deployment</li> |
| </ul> |
| <p>The primary reason for utilizing components is to provide a faster |
| way to develop applications due to their high volume of reuse. In |
| addition, components help to maintain existing application because of |
| its customizability and substitutability. The following section |
| describes the current market challenges that limit the usage of a |
| component approach to develop enterprise applications and our |
| propositions how to solve them. </p> |
| <h2>Reusability </h2> |
| <p>Today, there are no wide Java enterprise components on the market. |
| The primary problem with this lack of diversity in the existing |
| component models is that component models are mostly interface or |
| object-oriented. They do not take in consideration that modern |
| programming technologies require developers to use many different |
| software artifacts such as services, resources, declarative programming |
| specifications or object/relational mappings. Developers can't expose |
| these artifacts as components because they are beyond of a component |
| model. As a result, applications become monolithic because all of the |
| artifacts are integrated into one big module such as war or ear.</p> |
| <p>The Enterprise Component Platform project proposes a component model |
| based on OSGi bundles that can contain different types of components and |
| XML descriptors that describe these components in terms of exposed |
| artifacts and required artifacts. Such components can be reused without |
| internal modifications but by customization in using components. Eclipse |
| plug-ins are a good example of such an approach. </p> |
| <h2>Adaptability </h2> |
| <p>All commonly used existing component models today are static (e.g |
| components are supposed to be installed and work all the time). These |
| component models do not define behavior of components when there are |
| some changes are under way within runtime environment. It makes |
| impossible or very difficult to maintain operational applications. |
| Usually, applications based on a static component model need to be |
| stopped, reconfigured or updated and then launched again.</p> |
| <p>We propose a model that allows dynamic changes in the environment. |
| Moreover applications can benefit from it by acquiring adaptability. In |
| the same way as Eclipse IDE can be extended by plug-ins the proposed |
| model allows extending enterprise applications.</p> |
| <h2>Flexible Target Platform </h2> |
| <p>The proposed component model will allow enterprise developers to |
| create enterprise components without targeting any specific environment |
| such as J2EE or J2SE. As a result, enterprise components can run both on |
| server or client sides. Theoretically, the enterprise components can be |
| deployed anywhere from a cell phone to grid infrastructure. The only |
| limitation is possibility of the environment to satisfy the component |
| dependencies. </p> |
| <h2>Versioning </h2> |
| <p>The proposed component model will have versioning will rely on the |
| OSGi Platform for components versioning. As a result it will allow great |
| level of adaptability for existing applications </p> |
| <h2>High level architecture </h2> |
| <p>This technical diagram illustrates the architecture of how the |
| Eclipse with the Enterprise Components may become a complete platform |
| for building business applications.</p> |
| <p><img border="0" src="highlevel.gif" width="577" height="302"></p> |
| <p>The architecture is comprised of the following:</p> |
| <p><b>Java Platform </b>- the Java virtual machine plus the API |
| specifications</p> |
| <p><b>Eclipse OSGi Framework (Equinox) </b>- The Equinox provides the |
| OSGi framework implementation and component model upon which the Eclipse |
| RCP, IDE platforms and Enterprise Component Platform run</p> |
| <p><b>Eclipse RCP </b>- Eclipse Rich Client Platform - The set of |
| plug-ins needed to build a rich client application</p> |
| <p><b>Enterprise Component Platform </b>- The proposed platform for |
| building enterprise application components. Unlike enterprise components |
| that run on server-side of the business applications, this Platform has |
| no such requirement. Enterprise Components may run in the same container |
| as RCP components. </p> |
| <p><b>Enterprise Components, Rich Client Component, Eclipse Plug-ins </b>- |
| The building blocks of the business applications and tools</p> |
| <p><b>Business Application </b>- Any application that performs business |
| functions and utilizes a GUI</p> |
| <h2>Roles and responsibilities </h2> |
| <p>We understand that the proposed platform will change the way how |
| business applications are developed. We propose to recognize the |
| following roles in software development process with the Enterprise |
| components: technology providers, component providers and application |
| developers. </p> |
| <h3>Technology provider </h3> |
| <p>Technology providers bundle their products into OSGi bundles. Some |
| technology components may be exposed as enterprise components. |
| Technology providers must have substantial knowledge of the OSGi |
| platform. Some knowledge of the Enterprise Component Platform may be |
| required. </p> |
| <h3>Component provider </h3> |
| <p>Component providers create business components that can be used to |
| build applications. Component providers must have basic knowledge of |
| OSGi platform and knowledge of Enterprise Components model (must know |
| what component descriptors are). Components are developed using commonly |
| used Java technologies (JavaBeans, JSP, JSF etc.). Component bundles |
| contain Enterprise Component descriptor(s) if necessary. </p> |
| <h3>Application developer </h3> |
| <p>Application developers customize and assemble business components |
| together to satisfy end users needs. Application developers must be |
| familiar with OSGi platform (must know what bundle and service is) and |
| Enterprise Component model (must know what component descriptors are). |
| Application developers use Enterprise Component Development Tools to |
| compose and customize applications.</p> |
| <p><img border="0" src="roles.gif" width="468" height="881"></p> |
| <h2>Project Scope </h2> |
| <p>The Enterprise Component Platform Project will focus on the |
| development of an enterprise component model, framework and common |
| services that support this model and set of tools to support development |
| and runtime management of enterprise components.</p> |
| <p>The items below describe the scope of the proposed Enterprise |
| Component Platform project. </p> |
| <h3>Enterprise Component Model </h3> |
| <p>The following principles should be employed during the enterprise |
| component model development: </p> |
| <ul> |
| <li>The component model should be based on the OSGi Service |
| Platform. </li> |
| <li>The component model should support multiple software artifacts |
| such as resources, JavaBeans, OR mappings and process definitions in |
| the same way as service components are supported by Service |
| Component Runtime (see OSGi Service compendium: 112 Declarative |
| Services Specification) </li> |
| <li>The component model should specify dynamic behavior of the |
| components. The components should adapt to the dynamic availability |
| (the arrival or departure) of the services or other components they |
| are using </li> |
| <li>The component model should employ XML descriptors (non-intrusive |
| model) and/or Java 5 annotations to describe, customize and |
| assembling components </li> |
| <li>The component model should allow converting existing software |
| artifacts into enterprise components without any modifications in |
| the artifacts </li> |
| </ul> |
| <h3>Enterprise Component Framework </h3> |
| <p>The project will specify and develop a framework and runtime services |
| that support and enforce the enterprise component model. The framework |
| would include XML descriptor definitions for every component type |
| defined by the component model, descriptor parsers, runtime support for |
| registering/un-registering components and component dependencies |
| resolving. In addition, the framework would provide a way to develop |
| component applications that are sets of components that work together |
| within the same context. </p> |
| <h3>Enterprise Component Tools </h3> |
| <p>The project goal is to provide a set of tools for the enterprise |
| component development and runtime component management. Such tools would |
| include managing lists of installed components, component dependencies |
| resolving and validation, search/install/publish components from/into |
| the component repository, wizards for component creation, import/export |
| component project from/to a bundle, conversion software artifacts into a |
| components, editors for component descriptors. </p> |
| <h3>Enterprise Component Repository </h3> |
| <p>The Enterprise Component Repository is a service that provides |
| storage for components. The Component Repository would also provide |
| search and retrieval of components. An optional runtime service would |
| provide automatic discovery, download, install and activation of |
| required components from the repository. </p> |
| <h2>Out of scope </h2> |
| <p>The initial project would not focus on compatibility with the |
| existing enterprise component models such as EJB or currently developing |
| such as SCA. Nevertheless, components that provide such services could |
| be created within the boundaries of the basic enterprise component |
| model.</p> |
| <p>The project would not focus on a security model. The security model |
| is defined in OSGi Service Platform specification.</p> |
| <p>The project would not focus on packaging and deployment. The OSGi |
| Service Platform specification defines module layer for these purposes.</p> |
| <p>The project would not define any specific component set that should |
| be preinstalled at runtime. Only component dependencies can specify what |
| is required at runtime. </p> |
| <h2>Relationship with other Eclipse Projects </h2> |
| <p>The Enterprise Component Framework will strongly rely on Equinox. The |
| tool set will be built upon the Eclipse Platform as set of plug-ins. |
| Project may have a relationship with RCP for UI components. </p> |
| <h2>Interested Parties </h2> |
| <p>There are two major interested parties in this project - potential |
| contributors and potential adopters. The project leads have talked to |
| many companies have expressed their interest in participating to this |
| project as potential adopters: AIG, HSN, ABN AMRO Bank, Deutsche Bank, |
| CNet and Echopass. To express support, concern, or constructive opinion |
| regarding the formation of this proposed project, all are encouraged to |
| utilize the newsgroup. </p> |
| <h3>Initial committers </h3> |
| <ul> |
| <li>Igor Shabalov, Exadel, Project Lead </li> |
| <li>Alex Antonau, Exadel, Project Architect and Committer </li> |
| <li>Nick Belaevski, Exadel, Committer </li> |
| <li>Andrew Yanchevsky, Exadel, Committer </li> |
| </ul> |
| <h3>Code contributions </h3> |
| <p>Initial code contribution will be based on Exadel development of |
| Eclipse-based Components Framework. We also encourage other parties to |
| contribute Enterprise Components based on exiting and new open source |
| technologies.<br /> |
| </div> |
| </div> |
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