To provide an Xpert.ivy extension to Xpert.ivy Designer you have to build an Eclipse plugin. You can build your plugin in the Xpert.ivy Designer with the following steps:
Start Xpert.ivy Designer
Switch to the Plug-in Development Perspective
Select Menu File > New > Project .... In the appearing dialog:
Choose Plug-in Project.
Press the Next button.
Enter a project name.
Press the Next button.
Enter the Plug-in Properties.
Table 20.1. Plug-in Properties
| Property | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Plug-In ID | Identifier of the plugin. Must be unique. This identifier must be specified in the *.extensions file in the bundle attributes. | ch.ivyteam.ivy.example |
| Plug-In Version | The version of the plugin | 1.0.0 |
| Plug-In Name | The name of the plugin. The name is used for documentation only | Example |
| Plug-In Provider | The provider of the plugin. The provider is used for documentation only | ivyTeam / Soreco Group |
Press the Finish button.
In the appearing editor click on the Dependencies tab. In the section Required Plug-ins press the Add button. From the list of plugins choose the one that provides the extension point you are going to extend right now. Press the Ok button.
Switch to the Extensions tab. In the section All Extensions press the Add button. From the list of extension points choose the one you want to provide an extension for. Press the Finish button.
Select the added extension point from the list in the section All Extensions. Right click. Choose the menu New > exampleExtension.someClass (The name of the menu is depending on the extension point). Select the added sub entry. In the section Extension Element Details if the text class* is a link, click on it, and skip the following step. Otherwise do the next step.
Select Menu > File > Class to start a New Java Class wizard.
A New Java Class dialog appears. Enter the name of your extension class into the Name text field and the package where it should be located into the Package text field.
Write your extension class implementing the interface that the extension point requires (see Extension points)
Switch back to the META-INF/manifest.mf file editor. Choose the Extensions tab and click on extension point's sub entry (exampleExtension.someClass), which you created last time in this editor. Make sure that fully specified name of your implemented class is written at the class* text field.
Switch back to the META-INF/manifest.mf file editor. Choose the Overview tab and click on the link Export Wizard. Choose the installation directory of your Xpert.ivy Designer installation as Destination Directory. Press the Finish button. Your plugin is created into the plugins directory inside the Xpert.ivy Designer installation directory. Your plugin is a *.jar file. The name of the jar file is the identifier of your plugin followed by the version of your plugin.
To install your extension classes on the Xpert.ivy Server you do not need to create an extra *.jar file. Instead you can reuse directly your plugin *.jar file. Simple copy it to the lib/shared folder in the Xpert.ivy Server installation directory.
More information on creating and developing plugins can be found in the online help of Xpert.ivy Designer (book Plug-in Development Environment Guide).