Thanks man. It turns out that it isn't too bad to load the class files on the fly from a jar, check which jar entries are classes that extend JEXPlugin, load them, get the @Plugin annotation, create a PluginInfo, then create my JEXPluginInfo from that (something I already had code for) which parses the other annotations I made for my plugins. I can then use this JEXPluginInfo to instantiate my fully functional JEXCrunchablePlugin (also code I already had) that actually does the image processing and can be added to my list of plugins available in the software. I only demonstrated feasibility today for getting to the functional JEXCrunchablePlugin instance and will incorporate more fully soon.
Thanks for pointing out that I should likely just rely on compiled jars and pointing out the addPlugin method. It made this process much simpler. Thanks Curtis and Mark for your help. Best, Jay > On Mar 19, 2015, at 1:15 PM, Curtis Rueden <ctrue...@wisc.edu> wrote: > > Hi Jay, > > > What might be the best way to include these compiled jars in my class > > path upon launching the binary? > > Well, one option would be to make JEX into a plugin for ImageJ, with a JEX > update site. Then JARs in the jars/ and plugins/ directories would > automatically be on the classpath, thanks to the ImageJ launcher. > > Otherwise, deployment of Java applications is a rough issue, man. If you > don't want to use ImageJ's solution (the Launcher), then you can research it > yourself and go your own way. There are a million and one ways to do it, and > they all have their pros and cons. One popular option is launch4j [1]. > Actually, I would love to switch ImageJ to something more industry standard > like that, but it's quite a lot of effort and surely there would be some > serious backwards incompatibilities... > > Regards, > Curtis > > [1] http://launch4j.sourceforge.net/ <http://launch4j.sourceforge.net/> > > On Thu, Mar 19, 2015 at 12:50 PM, Jay Warrick <jay.w.warr...@gmail.com > <mailto:jay.w.warr...@gmail.com>> wrote: > Sweet. Thanks for the clarification. I'm fine with requiring compiled jars. I > was prepared to use something like the addPlugins API but certainly see the > simplicity of the restart method and will likely try that for now. > > What might be the best way to include these compiled jars in my class path > upon launching the binary? Would one option be to edit the simple launch > script for the software by adding a classpath argument to the "java ..." > command? > > >> On Mar 19, 2015, at 11:36 AM, Curtis Rueden <ctrue...@wisc.edu >> <mailto:ctrue...@wisc.edu>> wrote: >> >> Hi Jay, >> >> > Person (A) also downloads the .java/.class file of a just a plugin >> > that would work within my software from third person (C). >> >> This is the scenario we are trying to move away from: distributing bare >> .java or .class files. As long as plugins are distributed as .jar files >> which contain the plugin annotation metadata (in >> META-INF/json/org.scijava.plugin.Plugin), then all is well. >> >> > Person (A) wants to run my binary and load/use the plugin from person >> > (C) at runtime. How would the SciJava plugin framework know how to >> > automatically discover this plugin? >> >> The plugin (as a .jar file) is placed somewhere where it will be included in >> the classpath at launch time. As long as the new .jar file is on the >> classpath, it will be discovered at runtime. >> >> > I thought that if my program is already compiled and running before I >> > specify where this "external plugin" resides and load the class, the >> > PluginService would be unaware of the external plugin. >> >> Is it really a requirement that users be able to load additional plugins >> _after_ your program starts up, without restarting the program? If not, then >> I wouldn't worry about making this work, as it adds complexity for little >> gain. Just put the new plugin somewhere on the classpath, start JEX, and all >> is well. >> >> If you really need to be able to load plugins after startup, this _can_ be >> done. But you have to manually add them to the plugin service via the >> addPlugins API method. >> >> Regards, >> Curtis >> >> On Thu, Mar 19, 2015 at 11:32 AM, Jay Warrick <jay.w.warr...@gmail.com >> <mailto:jay.w.warr...@gmail.com>> wrote: >> Thanks, Mark. I should likely be using this Handler methodology in a few >> places in my software, including in this case. However, I'm still concerned >> about detection of the plugin given the scenario I'm thinking of. But, maybe >> you can help me understand. I have already been able to build my software >> project around the SciJava plugin framework and ImageJ's PluginService to >> automatically recognize the plugins that are part of my own software >> project. The SciJava framework does its job beautifully to automatically >> discover the plugins I've developed within my software. However, what about >> the following scenario? >> >> Person (A) downloads the binary of my software from me (B). Person (A) also >> downloads the .java/.class file of a just a plugin that would work within my >> software from third person (C). Person (A) wants to run my binary and >> load/use the plugin from person (C) at runtime. How would the SciJava plugin >> framework know how to automatically discover this plugin? >> >> My recollection is that the list of plugins loaded by the PluginService are >> determined from a java annotation index file that is created during early in >> the build process. Thus, I thought that if my program is already compiled >> and running before I specify where this "external plugin" resides and load >> the class, the PluginService would be unaware of the external plugin. Am I >> correct? If it can detect it, then it appears I'm home free and am worrying >> for nothing, which would be awesome. >> >> Thanks! >> >> Jay >> >> >>> On Mar 19, 2015, at 8:51 AM, Mark Hiner <hi...@wisc.edu >>> <mailto:hi...@wisc.edu>> wrote: >>> >>> Hi Jay, >>> >>> >One of the main things I can't quite envision is how to process the >>> >annotations of an external .java file at runtime so that I can utilize >>> >that information >>> >>> You shouldn't have to do this yourself. By using the SciJava plugin >>> framework you get discovery of all annotated plugins on your classpath, and >>> processing/indexing of those plugins, for free. >>> >>> I'm assuming the paradigm that would match your needs is a >>> HandlerService[1]. The service would perform some function (e.g. opening a >>> path) and the behavior of that function would be extensible via >>> HandlerPlugins[2] (e.g. a plugin for handling URLs, files on disk, files in >>> a database, etc...). >>> >>> The simplest example of "service chooses a plugin appropriate for the >>> circumstances" is the AnimalService tutorial[3]. Note that it's not >>> actually a HandlerService but could easily be converted to one. More >>> complex examples would be the IOService[4] or SCIFIO's FormatService[5]. >>> >>> Best, >>> Mark >>> >>> [1] >>> https://github.com/scijava/scijava-common/blob/scijava-common-2.39.0/src/main/java/org/scijava/plugin/HandlerService.java >>> >>> <https://github.com/scijava/scijava-common/blob/scijava-common-2.39.0/src/main/java/org/scijava/plugin/HandlerService.java> >>> [2] >>> https://github.com/scijava/scijava-common/blob/scijava-common-2.39.0/src/main/java/org/scijava/plugin/HandlerPlugin.java >>> >>> <https://github.com/scijava/scijava-common/blob/scijava-common-2.39.0/src/main/java/org/scijava/plugin/HandlerPlugin.java> >>> [3] >>> https://github.com/imagej/imagej-tutorials/tree/00394f9f5010d1787b9bf584b6e90eed01beec0d/create-a-new-plugin-type/src/main/java >>> >>> <https://github.com/imagej/imagej-tutorials/tree/00394f9f5010d1787b9bf584b6e90eed01beec0d/create-a-new-plugin-type/src/main/java> >>> [4] >>> https://github.com/scijava/scijava-common/blob/scijava-common-2.39.0/src/main/java/org/scijava/io/IOService.java >>> >>> <https://github.com/scijava/scijava-common/blob/scijava-common-2.39.0/src/main/java/org/scijava/io/IOService.java> >>> [5] >>> https://github.com/scifio/scifio/blob/scifio-0.21.1/src/main/java/io/scif/services/FormatService.java >>> >>> <https://github.com/scifio/scifio/blob/scifio-0.21.1/src/main/java/io/scif/services/FormatService.java> >>> >>> On Wed, Mar 18, 2015 at 6:42 PM, Jay Warrick <jay.w.warr...@gmail.com >>> <mailto:jay.w.warr...@gmail.com>> wrote: >>> Hi All, >>> >>> I am using the scijava plugin framework, ImageJ2, and its Plugin service. I >>> would like to allow other people to write a plugin for my software. I'm >>> open to suggestions but I'd probably like to enable them to place their >>> java/jar/class plugin file in a folder, and I could look into that folder >>> to load their plugin. I'm thinking along the lines of how how old ImageJ >>> did things. Does anyone have suggestions or example code (e.g., in FIJI >>> somewhere) for loading/compiling such plugin files during runtime. One of >>> the main things I can't quite envision is how to process the annotations of >>> an external .java file at runtime so that I can utilize that information >>> (e.g., in conjunction with the PluginService). If there is an inherent >>> problem in what I'm hoping to do, please let me know :-) (e.g., if I am >>> provided compiled code, I suspect I might need an annotation index to go >>> with it if I need that information). >>> >>> I figured you guys have tackled this problem thoroughly already and thus >>> would be a good resource. Thanks in advance! >>> >>> Regards, >>> >>> Jay >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> ImageJ-devel mailing list >>> ImageJ-devel@imagej.net <mailto:ImageJ-devel@imagej.net> >>> http://imagej.net/mailman/listinfo/imagej-devel >>> <http://imagej.net/mailman/listinfo/imagej-devel> >>> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> ImageJ-devel mailing list >> ImageJ-devel@imagej.net <mailto:ImageJ-devel@imagej.net> >> http://imagej.net/mailman/listinfo/imagej-devel >> <http://imagej.net/mailman/listinfo/imagej-devel> >> >> > > > _______________________________________________ > ImageJ-devel mailing list > ImageJ-devel@imagej.net <mailto:ImageJ-devel@imagej.net> > http://imagej.net/mailman/listinfo/imagej-devel > <http://imagej.net/mailman/listinfo/imagej-devel> > > > _______________________________________________ > ImageJ-devel mailing list > ImageJ-devel@imagej.net > http://imagej.net/mailman/listinfo/imagej-devel
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