Re: OSGi based OFBiz framework

[Jacques Le Roux]

Thanks Raj,

I had a 1st look at some demos, it's very impressive indeed...
The RAP <=> RCP aspect is interesting...

Jacques

From: "Raj Saini" <rajsa...@gmail.com>

Hi Jacques,

These are few off the top of my head:

Pros:
1. Rich and responsive UI similar to the desktop applications.

2. Programming model similar to the desktop application and no need to deal with request, response, URLs etc. 3. Single sourcing that is application written for web can run on desktop and vice-versa with minimal or no changes to the code. 4. Applications can come and go on they fly without restarting the server as RAP is also based on OSGi runtime. 5. Applications can be developed as small plug-ins. Plug-ins can be written by third parties who do not have access to the source code of current application.

Cons:

1. Steep learning curve for those who are not familiar with SWT/JFace programming. 2. In contrast to other technology, scaling the RAP application will need more server side resources as most client side events are relayed to the server. 3. Comparatively new to the market. However, it is going to be integral part of the Eclipse 4 release and it may become more popular than other similar technologies.

Regards,

Raj


On 18/04/10 03:31, Jacques Le Roux wrote:

Thanks Chris and Raj,

I remember now, Raj, that you already spoke about RAP.

I think I will have a look, but have you alreay any opinion about pros and cons?

Jacques

From: "Raj Saini" <rajsa...@gmail.com>

Hi Jacques,

Yes it is Rich Ajax Platform (RAP). RAP enabled Eclipse based applications to run on web without or very minimal changes. This is called single sourcing that is write your applications once and run them either as web or desktop application. Programming model of RAP is same as Eclipse Plugin-ins.

Thanks,

Raj

On 17/04/10 17:58, chris snow wrote:

Hi Jacques, I think for the client Raj is using RAP from eclipse - the
following link describes it in a few words: http://www.eclipse.org/rap



On Sat, Apr 17, 2010 at 12:09 PM, Jacques Le Roux<
jacques.le.r...@les7arts.com>  wrote:

Hi Raj,

Could you please explain more the client-side section? Did you use
something GWT, or?

Thanks

Jacques

From: "Raj Saini"<rajsa...@gmail.com>
To:<user@ofbiz.apache.org>
Cc: "BJ Freeman"<bjf...@free-man.net>
Sent: Friday, April 16, 2010 11:27 AM
Subject: Re: OSGi based OFBiz framework



  Hi BJ,

Purpose of the demo is to show how to:

Service side
-------------

1. Run OFBiz inside a OFBiz container using OSGi based runtime such as Apache Felix and Eclipse Equinox and reap the benefits of OSGi. You can find

about OSGi benefits at this URL http://www.osgi.org/About/WhyOSGi.
2. Make OFBiz more modular that is separating the framework (entity
engine, service engine etc) from the applications.
3. Provide remoting capabilities to OFBiz services using OSGi remote
services.
4. Use other technologies such as JPA along with OGBiz entity engine.

Client side
-----------

1. Create Rich applications with the similar capabilities and ease of use

of Desktop based applications.

2. Run the single client application either on web or desktop with minimal

or no changes to the code.
3. Plug-in based development of application that is, to add new

functionality to the application, you do not need access to source code. You

can simply create new bundles/plug-ins and they add to the existing
application, same as Eclipse Plug-ins.

To get the feel of the application, try double clicking on the examples in the left pane. Try editing the example in the right pane. See how changes are populated from one pane to another even without saving the application. Try changing the column width, you will get the same feel as a desktop application. Try emptying the name field and see the validation decoration

with a tool tip.

Regards,

Raj

On 16/04/10 13:59, BJ Freeman wrote:

could you explain what I am looking at and what it shows that you
consider important, relative to ofbiz?

=========================
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Raj Saini sent the following on 4/16/2010 12:37 AM:

Those who want to peek into running example without installing the
application, here is the link:

http://www.viithiisys.com:9999/demo?startup=example

Thanks,

Raj

On 16/04/10 01:51, Raj Saini wrote:

Hi,

I have been working on OSGi and OFBiz integration for a while. I could

successfully, run the OFBiz framework (entity engine and service

engine) as OSGi services. With this integration it is possible to run

Framework only OFBiz and use the OFBiz service engine for non form

widget applications (e.g. GWT, JSF etc). This should be interesting

for people wanting to use the service engine and entity engine.

For my experiment I have Eclipse RAP (http://www.eclipse.org/rap) for presentation layer and ported the part of Example application. My RAP example application is using OFBiz entity engine to fetch some of the

data and service engine to create and update the examples.

I have uploaded the installable bundle at SF and it is available at

https://sourceforge.net/projects/ofbiz-osgi/files/osgi-ofbiz.tar.bz2/download

Requirements:

Platform - Current distribution works only on Linux (x86_64) systems.

This restriction is due to the executable including in the

distribution. It should be possible to run it using java -jar command

but it will need some configuration which is not ready yet.

Database - PostgreSQL DB server with database named 'ofbiz' and owned

by user 'ofbiz' and password 'ofbiz'.  It is possible to use other

databases but there are not JDBC driver bundles yet. Database server must be running on localhost. It is possible to use the server running

on other hosts but it will need the change in entityengine.xml.

Demo data - OFBiz demo data loaded in the database as I am using
example and other related entities in the demo application.

Install&   Run:

1. Extract the tar achieve on your hard disk.
2. Change to osgi-ofbiz folder.
3. Execute ./ofbiz -console.

4. point your browser to http://localhost:8080/demo?startup=example

Example application is written using Eclipse RAP. On application
startup, you should see a table with existing examples in the left
pane. Try changing the length of the columns.

Double clicking on a example should open it in the right pane editor.

Changing a field value in the editor should show instantly in the
right left panel (table view). Try emptying the name field in the

editor and it should show you a validation decorator. Hovering mouse on decorator should show you the validation message. As soon as you change any field, an asterisk (*) should appear next to the title on editor pane. Trying closing the editor and you should see a dialog box prompting to save before closing. Save the example by clicking on save

button on toolbar.

3. Try creating an new example. Save the example and you should see

the newly added example in the left pane without browser refresh.

Should you need any further help, feel free to ask me. Look forward to

your feedback.

Regards,

Raj