NetKernel News Volume 4 Issue 20

August 16th 2013

• Repository Updates
• Dynamic Introspected Maven Server
• RESTFest KeyNote: REST is just the beginning

Repository Updates

I think Jeremy Deane was the first to suggest a NetKernel maven repository, way back in the NK3 days. Today, in a world of diverging numbers of build and CI tool sets, the Maven repository structure has become the de facto standard Java build repository format. So its about time we did something to make NetKernel accessible to these tools.

The challenge has always been that NetKernel is self-hosting - we actually use NetKernel to build NetKernel and have our own in-house CI system (something we call "Apposite Master"). So publishing a static maven repository off our definitive builds was possible but would be fiddly and would mean we'd have to introduce a whole new level of release management to make sure any maven repo was actually stuff that really had gone into the NK builds and/or apposite repos. So the idea kind of got lost in the long grass.

Step forward Mr Brian Sletten with an elegant idea: What if we simply created a NetKernel module that dynamically introspected an NK instance to create its own Maven repository server?

What a great idea! So, that's what we've done...

The concept is that you deploy a NK Maven repository module in an NK instance so that your CI/Build tooling can build all your NK modules against a Maven repository of core NetKernel libraries that is dynamically conjured from the running instance of NetKernel. (NetKernel becomes the server of its own innards.)

We're pretty sure the Maven repository is well-formed and it has successfully been used to build projects with maven and the SBT build system, but for the moment we'll wait for some feedback and call this a "beta release". Once we're sure we've got it right we'll release it as an installable package via Apposite.

Here's the download link for the Beta 1 module...

urn.org.netkernel.introspect.maven-20130816-b1.jar

Here's a very basic maven test project to try - expand it and type "maven test" to see it use your localhost NK maven repo.

maven-test-app.zip

Feedback

Please let us know how you get on. We'd really like to know what build/CI system you're using and if this solution fits well. Once we're sure this is suitable/stable we'll make an official release as a package in the apposite repos.

Server Details

Finally, the documentation explains in detail how it all works...

group: urn.com.ten60.core
artifactId:  module.standard
version: x.x.x

group: urn.org.netkernel
artifactId:  lang.groovy
version: x.x.x

RESTFest KeyNote: REST is just the beginning

Its great that Brian is getting the recognition he deserves. He's been announced as the keynote speaker at the upcoming RESTFest conference...

Hmmm, a resource-oriented software platform, I wonder what that could be?

NetKernel Architects Group

We were recently joined by Tom Mueck as a member of the team. Tom's job is to sort out our business development, improve our visibility and generally drive the next phase of the NetKernel story. He's an MBA, but lets not hold that against him - he did after all independently discover NetKernel and grok the potential of ROC.

I guess over time I'll be introducing Tom to some of you directly. However in the mean time, Tom is starting to breathe life into the entirely neglected NetKernel Architects Group on Linked-In. If you're not a member please consider joining to connect with like-minded ROC professionals. Our hope is that this group grows to be a strong professional network (it is absolutely not a direct marketing channel).