Changes between Version 4 and Version 5 of PluginDevelopmentGuide

Timestamp:

07.04.2013 17:54:48 (12 years ago)

Author:

jri

Comment:

The plugin turn-around cycle

PluginDevelopmentGuide

@@ -5 +5 @@
 DeepaMehta is made to be extensible by 3rd-party developers. Developers extend DeepaMehta by developing plugins (resp. "modules" resp. "applications" which is all synonymous).
 
-== Setup the development environment ==
-
-The best way to start with DeepaMehta plugin development is to build DeepaMehta from source. This way you get a hot-deploy environment, that is DeepaMehta redeploys your plugin automatically once you compile it. This is very handy while development.
+== Build DeepaMehta from source ==
+
+The best way to develop DeepaMehta plugins is to build DeepaMehta from source first. This way you get a hot-deploy environment, that is DeepaMehta redeploys your plugin automatically once you compile it. This is very handy while plugin development.
 
 Requirements:
@@ -24 +24 @@
 }}}
 
-This builds all components of the DeepaMehta Standard Distribution and installs them in your local Maven repository.
-
-After a minute or so you'll see:
+This builds all components of the DeepaMehta Standard Distribution and installs them in your local Maven repository. You'll see a lot of information logged, cumulating in:
 
 {{{
@@ -39 +37 @@
 
 
-== A very simple plugin: Tagging ==
-
-Let's start with a very simple plugin. This plugin will just create a new topic type called `Tag`. Once the plugin is installed the topic type will appear in the DeepaMehta webclient's //Create// menu, so you can create instances. And you will be able to fulltext search for tags.
-
-Developing such a simple plugin involves no Java coding at all. All is declarative, mainly in JSON format.
-
-Of course the topic type could be created interactively as well, by using DeepaMehta's type editor. However, being packaged as a plugin you can publish it. When other DeepaMehta users install your plugin they can use your type definitions.
-
-=== Create the plugin ===
-
-You create the plugin just by creating directories and text files. A DeepaMehta plugin project adheres to a certain directory structure and file name conventions.
-
-Setup a directory structure as follows:
+== The plugin turn-around cycle ==
+
+This section illustrates how to begin a plugin project, how to build and how to deploy a plugin, and how to re-deploy the plugin once you made changes in its source code. In other words, this section illustrates the plugin development turn-around cycle.
+
+Let's start with a very simple plugin called //DeepaMehta 4 Tagging//. This plugin will just create a new topic type called `Tag`. Once the plugin is activated the topic type will appear in the DeepaMehta webclient's //Create// menu, so you can create tag topics and associate them with arbitrary topics. And you will be able to fulltext search for tags.
+
+Developing a plugin whose only purpose is to provide new topic type definitions requires no Java or JavaScript coding. All is declarative, mainly in JSON format.
+
+Of course the topic type could be created interactively as well, by using the DeepaMehta webclient's type editor. However, being packaged as a plugin means you can distribute it. When other DeepaMehta users install your plugin they can use your type definitions.
+
+=== Begin a plugin project ===
+
+From the developer's view a DeepaMehta plugin is just a directory on your hard disc. The directory can have an arbitrary name and exist at an arbitrary location. By convention the plugin directory begins with `dm4-` as it is aimed to the DeepaMehta 4 platform. The directory content adheres to a certain directory structure and file name conventions. The files are text files (xml, json, properties, java, js, css) and resources like images.
+
+To create the //DeepaMehta 4 Tagging// plugin setup a directory structure as follows:
 
 {{{
@@ -64 +64 @@
                 plugin.properties
 }}}
-
-The plugin directory can have an arbitrary name and exist at an arbitrary location. By convention the plugin directory begins with `dm4-` as it is aimed to the DeepaMehta 4 platform.
 
 Create the file **`pom.xml`** with this content:
@@ -151 +149 @@
 }}}
 
-This starts DeepaMehta in development mode, that is with hot-deployment activated. You'll see a lot of information logged, commulating with:
+This starts DeepaMehta in development mode, that is with hot-deployment activated. You'll see a lot of information logged, cumulating with:
 
 {{{