Chapter 3. Getting started with Spring DM
This chapter covers
- Spring DM extender basic operation
- Installing Spring DM in an OSGi container
- Creating, packaging, running, and testing Spring DM–powered bundles
So far you’ve seen little of Spring DM itself, except in chapter 1, where we built our very first Spring DM–powered bundle. Spring DM is indeed a bridge between the OSGi and Spring worlds, and that’s why we provided introductions to both in chapters 1 and 2. Now you’re all set to get started with Spring DM!
Spring DM offers a lot of features, such as dependency injection and its ability to handle the dynamic nature of an OSGi environment, but before we dive into all that, you need a practical understanding of Spring DM’s mechanisms, especially its extender, which is at the heart of the framework. Working with OSGi isn’t an easy task, and it can appear daunting when you don’t know exactly how to manage your workspace. We’ll do our best to navigate you through this difficult path by explaining how to install Spring DM in an OSGi container from the very beginning. You’ll also learn how to write your first bundles, including a web bundle, with a little help from Maven 2 to automate packaging. Last, but not least, we’ll take our first steps with the Spring DM integration test framework.
By the end of this chapter, you’ll know about the basics of Spring DM, including how to install it in an OSGi container and how to set up a Spring DM project with Maven 2.