View source for Documentation/CTK Plugin Framework: Getting Started

'''This page is not updated anymore. Please go to [[Documentation/Plugin_Framework]]'''

The CTK Plugin Framework is directly based on the OSGi specifications, hence any material explaining OSGi also applies to CTK (without the Java specifics, of course). You may want to read the [[Documentation/CTK_Plugin_Framework:_Introduction | Introduction]] to get a high-level overiew about the framework.

=== CTK Plugin Tutorials ===

This is a list of existing (or planned) tutorials:

* [{{fullurl:Documentation/CTK_Plugin_Framework: Setting up a project}}?action=purge Setting up a project using the CTK Plugin Framework]
* [{{fullurl:Documentation/CTK_Plugin_Framework: Embedding the CTK Plugin Framework}}?action=purge Embedding the CTK Plugin Framework in an existing application]
* Starting and configuring the Framework
* [[Documentation/CTK_Plugin_Framework: Creating a new CTK Plugin | Creating a new CTK Plugin]]
* Listen to service events

=== CTK Plugin Documentation ===

CTK provides default implementations for some OSGi specifications and other functionality.

The following list points to the sub-projects inside the CTK Plugin Framework. Sub-projects are either implementations of certain functionality in plug-ins (e.g. OSGi Compendium Service Specifications) or distinct functionality inside the CTK Plugin Framework library.

==== OSGi Compendium Services ====

* [[Documentation/CTK_Plugin_MetaType | MetaType Service]] {{Done}} [ [http://www.osgi.org/Download/File?url=/download/r4v42/r4.cmpn.pdf Chapter 105, Service Compendium Version 4.2] ]
* [[Documentation/CTK_Plugin_EventAdmin_local | Event Admin (local event bus)]] {{Done}} [ [http://www.osgi.org/Download/File?url=/download/r4v42/r4.cmpn.pdf Chapter 113, Service Compendium Version 4.2] ]
* [[Documentation/CTK_Plugin_EventAdmin_remote | Event Admin (remote event bus)]] {{Doing}} [ [http://www.osgi.org/Download/File?url=/download/r4v42/r4.cmpn.pdf Chapter 113, Service Compendium Version 4.2] ]
* [[Documentation/CTK_Plugin_ConfigAdmin | Config Admin]] {{Done}} [ [http://www.osgi.org/Download/File?url=/download/r4v42/r4.cmpn.pdf Chapter 104, Service Compendium Version 4.2] ]
* [[Documentation/CTK_Plugin_Log | Log Service]] {{Doing}} [ [http://www.osgi.org/Download/File?url=/download/r4v42/r4.cmpn.pdf Chapter 101, Service Compendium Version 4.2] ]

=== API Documentation ===

The [http://www.commontk.org/docs/html/group__PluginFramework.html API documentation] is also a good place to learn more about the CTK Plugin Framework capabilities.

=== OSGi Tutorials ===

There are many OSGi tutorials for the major OSGi frameworks ([http://www.eclipse.org/equinox Equinox], [http://www.knopflerfish.org Knopflerfish], and [http://felix.apache.org Apache Felix]) on the web. The principles are the same and can be applied to CTK.

You may also want to read [http://njbartlett.name/osgibook.html Neil Bartlett's free book on OSGi], which is available as a preview draft. You can skip the first 20 pages about Java class dependencies and read the rest of Part I. Basically everything described in Part I applies to the CTK Plugin Framework.

=== Specifications ===

The original [http://www.osgi.org/Release4/Download OSGi specifications] are a great read for detailed technical information about the plugin framework itself and the provided interfaces and implementations for the compendium services. The CTK Plugin Framework is based on OSGi Release 4 Version 4.2, with some API inspired by the upcoming Version 4.3.