Introduction to Plug-Ins

In general usage, the term plug-in refers to loadable applications that provide additional functionality to your web browser. In the N1 SPS environment, a plug-in differs only slightly in concept from the general usage. A plug-in for the N1 SPS product is a packaged solution that extends the provisioning capability of the product for a specific platform, application, or environment. For example, you might create a plug-in solution for a specific application, such as BEA WebLogic 8.0, or for some feature of an operating system, such as Solaris Zones.

A plug–in includes all the relevant data needed to support a new custom application. This data is included in the following parts of the plug-in.

• Plug-in descriptor file - This file describes the contents of the plug-in. The plug-in descriptor contains metadata about the plug-in including name, description, vendor, version number, previous version, and dependencies. In addition, the descriptor may contain a pointer to a readme.txt file. The descriptor also contains instructions for creating components, plans, folders, host types, host sets, host searches, resources, component types, and system services. The descriptor may optionally define a library of server-side plug-in code and a set of GUI extensions for the plug-in.

• Java class files - The Java-based component classes and the execJava class are included in the plug-in. These files enable you to include exporting and browsing functionality in your plug-in, and to include steps that run Java code.

• Component definitions - The components and component types that you create for your plug-in are stored as XML files as a part of your plug-in. These files define the objects and resources that your plug-in will deploy.

XML Schemas

In the N1 SPS environment, plans, components, and other parts of the solution are defined through XML. You can use several XML schemas to define your plug-in solution. The following schemas are provided in the docs/xml directory of the product media:

• plugin.xsd – Plug-in schema used to describe the parts of the plug-in through the plug-in descriptor file

• pluginUI.xsd – Plug-in user interface schema used to define an interface to the plug-in within the N1 SPS browser interface

• component.xsd – Component schema used to define components and component types

• plan.xsd – Plan schema used to define execution plans

• planCompShared.xsd – Schema that contains elements that are common to plans and components

This document includes examples that illustrate the XML schemas. For complete reference information about the elements and attributes used in the XML schemas, see Sun N1 Service Provisioning System 5.2 XML Schema Reference Guide.