How to extend the Vordel XML Gateway with Maven

One of the strengths of the Vordel XML Gateway is the ability of the product to be extended using Java. You can do this in two ways: JavaScript and through writing custom Filters. The really clever part about how the XML Gateway is engineered is that the underlying XML layers are written in native code so the product is really fast even when you have to use Java to customize it.

Recently, I had a customer ask "How do I build filters using Maven?". This is obviously a person after my own heart. I had spent a lot of time last year working with Maven, in particular for the OES/Spring/JBOSS/AOP integration I did. So, these are the steps for building the Example Filter using Maven.

Step 1 - Load the Dependencies into the Local File System

This for me is always the trickiest part. For things that are "non-Maven" you need to get them loaded as dependencies - but how? In order to get the XML Gateway APIs loaded into the local repository, you need to use the install:install-file goal to load some of the jars. As I continue to invest in this solution, look for other more elegant approaches, but for now this is what I'm going with.

This is the commands I ran, in my linux environment:

mvn install:install-file  -Dfile=/opt/vordel/vordelgateway/system/lib/circuit.jar  -DgroupId=com.vordel.vordelgateway -DartifactId=circuit -Dversion=6.0.3  -Dpackaging=jar

mvn install:install-file  -Dfile=/opt/vordel/vordelgateway/system/lib/server.jar  -DgroupId=com.vordel.vordelgateway -DartifactId=server -Dversion=6.0.3  -Dpackaging=jar

mvn install:install-file  -Dfile=/opt/vordel/vordelgateway/system/lib/entityStore.jar  -DgroupId=com.vordel.vordelgateway -DartifactId=entityStore  -Dversion=6.0.3 -Dpackaging=jar

mvn install:install-file -Dfile=/opt/vordel/vordelgateway/system/lib/manager.jar
-DgroupId=com.vordel.vordelgateway -DartifactId=manager -Dversion=6.0.3 -Dpackaging=jar

mvn install:install-file -Dfile=/opt/vordel/vordelgateway/system/lib/common.jar
-DgroupId=com.vordel.vordelgateway -DartifactId=common -Dversion=6.0.3 -Dpackaging=jar

mvn install:install-file -Dfile=/opt/vordel/vordelgateway/system/lib/client.jar
-DgroupId=com.vordel.vordelgateway -DartifactId=client -Dversion=6.0.3 -Dpackaging=jar

mvn install:install-file   -Dfile=/opt/vordel/policystudio/plugins/org.eclipse.gef_3.2.101.v20070814.jar  -DartifactId=gef -DgroupId=org.eclipse -Dversion=3.2.101  -Dpackaging=jar

mvn install:install-file  -Dfile=/opt/vordel/policystudio/plugins/org.eclipse.jface_3.3.1.M20070910-0800b.jar  -DgroupId=org.eclipse -DartifactId=jface -Dversion=3.3.1  -Dpackaging=jar

mvn install:install-file  -Dfile=/opt/vordel/policystudio/plugins/org.eclipse.swt.gtk.linux.x86_3.3.2.v3347.jar  -DgroupId=org.eclipse -DartifactId=swt -Dversion=3.3.2 -Dpackaging=jar

Step 2 - Create a Parent POM

The parent POM references all of the dependencies, as well as simplifies the rest of the building process:

<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
 xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
 <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
 <groupId>com.vordel.vordelgateway</groupId>
 <artifactId>parent</artifactId>
 <version>6.0.3</version>
 <packaging>pom</packaging>
 <build>
  <plugins>
   <plugin>
    <version>2.3.1</version>
    <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
    <artifactId>maven-jar-plugin</artifactId>
    <configuration>
     <archive>
      <manifestFile>src/main/resources/META-INF/MANIFEST.MF</manifestFile>
     </archive>
    </configuration>
   </plugin>
  </plugins>
 </build>
 <dependencies>
  <dependency>
   <groupId>com.vordel.vordelgateway</groupId>
   <artifactId>circuit</artifactId>
   <version>6.0.3</version>
  </dependency>
  <dependency>
   <groupId>com.vordel.vordelgateway</groupId>
   <artifactId>server</artifactId>
   <version>6.0.3</version>
  </dependency>
  <dependency>
   <groupId>com.vordel.vordelgateway</groupId>
   <artifactId>entityStore</artifactId>
   <version>6.0.3</version>
  </dependency>
  <dependency>
   <groupId>com.vordel.vordelgateway</groupId>
   <artifactId>manager</artifactId>
   <version>6.0.3</version>
  </dependency>
  <dependency>
   <groupId>com.vordel.vordelgateway</groupId>
   <artifactId>client</artifactId>
   <version>6.0.3</version>
  </dependency>
  <dependency>
   <groupId>com.vordel.vordelgateway</groupId>
   <artifactId>common</artifactId>
   <version>6.0.3</version>
  </dependency>
  <dependency>
   <groupId>org.eclipse</groupId>
   <artifactId>jface</artifactId>
   <version>3.3.1</version>
  </dependency>
  <dependency>
   <groupId>org.eclipse</groupId>
   <artifactId>gef</artifactId>
   <version>3.2.101</version>
  </dependency>
  <dependency>
   <groupId>org.eclipse</groupId>
   <artifactId>swt</artifactId>
   <version>3.3.2</version>
  </dependency>
 </dependencies>
</project>

With the POM created, run mvn install to load the POM into your local repository

Step 3 - Create the Example Filter Project

I used eclipse and the Eclipse Maven Plugin. I created a new Maven project that referenced the Parent POM

<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
 xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
 <parent>
  <artifactId>parent</artifactId>
  <groupId>com.vordel.vordelgateway</groupId>
  <version>6.0.3</version>
 </parent>
 <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
 <groupId>com.vordel.vordelgateway</groupId>
 <artifactId>example-filter</artifactId>
 <version>0.0.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
 <build>
  <plugins>
   <plugin>
    <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
    <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
    <version>2.0.2</version>
    <configuration>
     <source>1.6</source>
     <target>1.6</target>
    </configuration>
   </plugin>
  </plugins>
 </build>
</project>

I then moved some files from the original example to conform with the Maven structure. I moved the simple.gif and resource files to their proper Maven place under resources. I also moved the MANIFEST.MF file to src/main/resources/META-INF so it is included in the jar.



You should be able to build the project. All that's left to do is copy the jar to the /opt/vordel/vordelgateway/ext/lib and the /opt/policystudio/plugins directories, and your plugin should be good to go.