releases/3.3.0/NewAndNoteworthy/libra.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="../../development/news/new_and_noteworthy.xsl"?>
<release name="Libra 0.1" root="../../../..">
	<greeting>
		The goal of the Libra project is to integrate the existing tooling
		provided by the Plug-in Development Environment project and the Web
		Tools Platform project to work together for implementing OSGi
		Enterprise scenarios.
		<br />
		<br />
		This is the first milestone release of the Libra project. It delivers two features: 
		<ul>
			<li><a href="#facet">OSGi Bundle Facet</a></li>
			<li><a href="#warproducts">WAR Products</a></li>
		</ul>
		Libra can be installed by following <a href="http://wiki.eclipse.org/Libra/FAQ#Installation_and_Use">these instructions</a>. 
	</greeting>
	<component name="OSGi Bundle Facet">
		<item title="Creating Bundle Projects">
			<description>
	<a name="facet"> </a>
	The OSGi Bundle facet adds the Plug-in nature to any project that takes
	advantage of the Faceted Project Framework. This effectively allows any
	project to behave as an OSGi Bundle project.  
				<br />
				<br />
	The OSGi Bundle facet integrates well with WTP's Dynamic
	Web Project and JPA project wizards. Combining the OSGi
	Bundle facet with the Dynamic Web facet and the JPA facet
	results in the creation of OSGi Web Application Bundles and OSGi
	Persistent Bundles, respectively.  
				<br />
				<br />
	A few facet configurations are defined for convenience: 
				<ul>
					<li>OSGi Java Bundle - creates a plain Java OSGi Bundle project. </li>
					<li>OSGi Persistent Bundle - creates a Persistent Bundle project. </li>
					<li>OSGi Web Application Bundle - creates a Web Application Bundle project. </li>
				</ul>
				<br />
				<br />
				<img src="libra/osgi_bundle_facet.png" alt="OSGi Bundle Facet" />
				<br />
				<br />
	Basic OSGi Bundle manifest entries can be configured during facet installation in the WTP wizards. 
				<br />
				<br />
				<img src="libra/osgi_bundle_facet_install_page.png" alt="OSGi Bundle Facet Configuration Wizard Page" />
				<br />
				<br />
	When uninstalling the facet from a project, an uninstall dialog is
	shown with options for various uninstall strategies. 
				<br />
				<br />
				<img src="libra/osgi_bundle_facet_uninstall_page.png" alt="Facet Uninstall Wizard Page" /> 
			</description>
		</item>
		<item title="Wizard For Converting Existing Projects to OSGi Bundle Projects">
			<description>
	Existing projects can easily be converted into OSGi Bundle projects by invoking
	<b>Convert</b> -> <b>Convert to OSGi Bundle Projects</b> action from the context menu
	of the selected projects. 
				<br />
				<br />
				<img src="libra/convert_to_osgi_bundle_projects_wizard.png" alt="Convert to OSGi Bundle Projects wizard" />
			</description>
		</item>
	</component>
	<component name="WAR Products">
		<item title="Initial Contribution">
			<description>
	<a name="warproducts"> </a>
	The WAR Products are similar to Eclipse Products, but much more
	lightweight. They can be used to export a Server-Side Equinox
	Application into a .war archive.
				<br />
				<br />
	All you have to do to export a RAP application is to create a
	.warproduct based on a working launch configuration and press 'export'.
	The exported .war file is ready to deploy. There is a function included
	that validates your .war file content before you've exported it.				
			</description>
		</item>
	</component>
</release>