Javadoc is now online! I still have more ideas for hacking on it, but it's good enough to open up for more people to start filling in documentation.
Some important classes.... When you deploy an application, all annotations and xml are merged into one single meta-data tree by this class. After this point, annotations and xml are no longer read or referenced. It outputs an AppModule which is a mutable object and a little bit "fancy." - http://tomee.apache.org/tomee-8.0/javadoc/org/apache/openejb/config/AnnotationDeployer.html - http://tomee.apache.org/tomee-8.0/javadoc/org/apache/openejb/config/AppModule.html The next major step is this class which will take this data and analyze it, figuring out what corresponding container parts would need to be built in order to run the app as described. It outputs an AppInfo which is an immutable data object that can have no methods or logic whatsoever. After this point, the complexity of roughly 100k lines of deployment code is erased and all that remains is the AppInfo tree. This tree can be thought of as an AST (abstract syntax tree) using compiler terms. - http://tomee.apache.org/tomee-8.0/javadoc/org/apache/openejb/config/ConfigurationFactory.html - http://tomee.apache.org/tomee-8.0/javadoc/org/apache/openejb/assembler/classic/AppInfo.html The AppInfo is blindly built by the Assembler. The Assembler does no validation. It should have been done in the steps leading to the creation of the AppInfo. The objects built by the Assembler are the true, thread-safe, runtime objects that make your apps actually work (aka the "runtime"). The Assembler is the only bit of code allowed to see both the AppInfo and the runtime classes. The runtime classes themselves are not allowed to see the AppInfo tree or the Assembler. After this point the AppInfo tree and Assembler itself are gone. - http://tomee.apache.org/tomee-8.0/javadoc/org/apache/openejb/assembler/classic/Assembler.html Now you have a working and running container wrapped around your code and ready to serve requests. This runtime is completely unaware of what came before it or built it and therefore it's most simple self. This runtime is as immutable as possible and thread-safe. This process is a major part of why TomEE is so light at runtime. The deployment process is a bit like launching a space shuttle where heavy bits keep falling away until only a tiny part remains. The best way to understand that code is to study the Assembler is it is the last "heavy bit" that builds the actual runtime, before falling away itself. Contribution Opportunity: - Take this email and try and fill out the Javadoc of the referenced classes -- David Blevins http://twitter.com/dblevins http://www.tomitribe.com
