Please turn off your receipt request when posting. ::>-----Original Message----- ::>From: Nayak, Prashant [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ::>Sent: Tuesday, November 11, 2003 12:35 PM ::>To: Jakarta General List ::>Subject: [Proposal] HiveMind Service Framework ::> ::> ::> ::>Proposal for the HiveMind Project ::> ::>(0) Rationale ::> ::>HiveMind is a simple framework for creating pluggable, configurable, ::>reusable services. ::> ::>Simple: HiveMind is a way to create a network of services in terms of ::>Java interfaces and classes; it cherry picks the most useful ideas from ::>Service Oriented Architectures such as J2EE, JMX and SOAP, but removes ::>the aspects that are typically overkill for most applications, such as ::>service remoteability and language neutrality. HiveMind creates a ::>natural network of related services and configuration data, all ::>operating within a single JVM. ::> ::>Pluggable: HiveMind enforces a complete separation of service definition ::>and implementation. This is manifested by a division of services into an ::>interface definition and a service implementation as well as a split ::>between defining a service (as part of a HiveMind module) and providing ::>the implementation of that service (potentially, in a different module). ::> ::>Configurable: HiveMind integrates a service oriented architecture to a ::>sophisticated configuration architecture; the configuration architecture ::>is adapted from the Eclipse plug-in model, wherein modules may define ::>configuration extension points and multiple modules may provide ::>contributions to those extension points. ::> ::>Reusable: HiveMind is a framework and container, but not an application. ::>The HiveMind framework and the services it provides may be easily ::>combined with application-specific services and configurations for use ::>in disparate applications. ::> ::>The API for HiveMind allows thread-safe, easy access to services and ::>configurations with a minimal amount of code. The value-add for HiveMind ::>is not just runtime flexibility: it is overall developer productivity. ::>HiveMind systems will entail less code; key functionality that is ::>frequently an after-thought, such as parsing of XML configuration files, ::>logging of method invocations, and lazy creation of services, is handled ::>by the HiveMind framework in a consistent, robust, and well-documented ::>manner. ::> ::>HiveMind fits into an area that partially overlaps the Apache Avalon ::>project, with significant differences. HiveMind's concept of a ::>distributed configuration is unique among the available service ::>microkernel's (Avalon, Keel, Spring, Picocontainer, etc.). Avalon is ::>firmly rooted in a type-1 inversion of control pattern (whereby services ::>must explicitly, in code, resolve dependencies between each other using ::>a lookup pattern similar to JNDI). HiveMind uses a mix of type-2 and ::>type-3 IoC, whereby the framework (acting as container) creates ::>connections between services by setting properties of the services ::>(type-2) or making use of particular constructors for the services ::>(type-3). ::> ::>HiveMind represents a generous donation of code to the ASF by WebCT ::>(http://www.webct.com). HiveMind originated from internal requirements ::>for a flexible, loosely-coupled configuration management and services ::>framework for WebCT's industry-leading flagship enterprise e-learning ::>product, Vista. Several individuals in WebCT's research and development ::>team in addition to Mr. Howard Lewis Ship contributed to the ::>requirements and concepts behind HiveMind's current set of functionality ::>including Martin Bayly, Diane Bennett, Bill Bilic, Michael Kerr, ::>Prashant Nayak, Bill Richard and Ajay Sharda. HiveMind is already in use ::>as a significant part of Vista. ::> ::>(1) Scope of the package ::> ::>The package shall entail a core framework JAR (containing essential ::>classes and services), a standard library JAR (containing generically ::>useful services), along with ancillary artifacts such as Maven plug-ins ::>and, of course, documentation, all distributed under the Apache Software ::>License. ::> ::>(1.1) Interaction with other packages ::> ::>HiveMind has dependencies on several standard commons packages, ::>including: commons-lang, commons-beanutils, commons-collections and ::>commons-logging. ::> ::>HiveMind makes use of the Javassist bytecode generation library, which ::>is available under the MPL (Mozilla public license). ::> ::>(2) Identify the initial source for the package ::> ::>The initial code base has been developed by Howard M. Lewis Ship within ::>the Jakarta Commons incubator. ::> ::>http://jakarta.apache.org/commons/sandbox/hivemind ::> ::>(2.1) Identify the base name for the package ::> ::>org.apache.hivemind ::> ::>Note: the current code base reflects an alternate package name, ::>org.apache.commons.hivemind. Subsequent research has shown that ::>HiveMind is not a suitable candidate for the Jakarta Commons. The ::>existing code base will be migrated to the new package during the ::>transition out of the sandbox. ::> ::>(2.2) Identify the coding conventions for this package ::> ::>The code follows a modified version of Sun's standard coding ::>conventions, with the following stylistic changes: ::>- instance variables are prefixed with an underscore ::>- a newline is inserted before all braces ::> ::>(3) Identify any Jakarta resources to be created ::> ::>(3.1) mailing lists ::> ::>[EMAIL PROTECTED] -- User discussions ::>[EMAIL PROTECTED] -- Developer discussions and CVS update ::>notifications ::> ::>(3.2) CVS repositories ::> ::>The package will use a root branch of the hivemind CVS repository (to be ::>created). ::> ::>(3.3) Bugzilla ::> ::>The package should be listed as top level component, "HiveMind". ::> ::>(4) Identify the initial set of committers to be listed in the Status ::>File. ::> ::>Howard M. Lewis Ship <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ::>Prashant Nayak <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ::>Martin Bayly <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ::>Christian Essl <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ::>Harish Krishnaswamy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ::>Knut Wannheden <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ::> ::>This list represents the most active HiveMind participants within WebCT ::>and on the Jakarta Commons Developer mailing list. Notably, Mr.s Essl, ::>Krishnaswamy and Wannheden, among others, have already been actively ::>mentoring other interested users on the mailing list in how to use ::>HiveMind as well as contributing design ideas and patches to the ::>framework itself. ::> ::>--- ::> ::>Prashant Nayak ::>Senior Architect, WebCT Inc. ::>Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ::> ::> ::>--------------------------------------------------------------------- ::>To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ::>For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ::>
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