[Portlet vs OSGI] Web Modularity Concept

[predacktor]

Hi folks,

I'm planning to refactor an open source application (http://www.icescrum.org, agile tool).
I have in mind to make it extensible by providing a modular architecture. Since some weeks I'm reading here and here about how can I do that. I think the community will gain in effectivness if a simple SDK allows to make a module without entering the whole source.

Finally I have keeped two concrete approachs : Portlets 2.0 and OSGI. Here some specs :

• I want to keep Spring as the core container since I'm fond of this framework
• On OSGI I will use Spring Security, on Portlets I will use Portal Security
• If i use OSGI, I will take Spring DM but I will embed Equinox in the WAR package (thought a listener which will launch it at WAR start) in order to keep it server-independant.
• Principal frontend implementation is lightweight client (JSF-AJAX). Then webservices will open API.
• If I use Portlets, i will certainly take Liferay as a base and do a special packaging like Social Office.
• Hot deploy
• My webapp is "desktop oriented" (single page, more or less free UI, full AJAX).
• Extension points : deployable new widgets, services (not prioritary), hook

I would want to know what sort of key points each one have. I'm a bit more sure about portlets since I have ever worked with them but I have some interrogations about OSGI restrictions. Would can I do a Hibernate-Spring-JSF Facelets AJAX enabled (with Icefaces or Richfaces) modular webapp and webservices on OSGI without too much integration pain ?


Open discussion here >

Best regards

[predacktor]

up up I think it's an actually and interesting debate. Please share your thoughts

[mirror303]

It bewilders me that you are trying to make a choice between portlets and OSGI. It's like saying "I want to build a house but I don't know if I need a car or a plasma screen". In other words, the subject of this thread is a bit weird

OSGi and Portlets handle completely different problems. OSGi provides modularity at a software construction level. It will help you manage your components, such as repository and business service implementations, provides things like versioning and visibility of those components.

A portal engine, such as Liferay, is a container that gives your applications some real-world context. It handles the administration of users and pages for you, it helps you exposing your functionality to end-users, allows you to define a general look and feel for each application. OSGi obviously has no purpose in that field.


So I think you should take a step back...

[predacktor]

Thanks for the reply. I'm completly aware of that don't worry, But it seems that conceptually you can obtain something similar. I have worked with the both technologies and something is similar from a functionnal point of view (not technical).

I want to have bricks to deploy that add functionnalities for a web app that's all

Starting from here, we can debate the pros and cons of each technical solution.

[Adriaan Koster]

After reading this article I googled for "OSGI vs portlets" and arrived here. To me the OP's idea makes perfect sense. See also
this blog.

I'm afraid I don't have a lot of insight to add to this myself, since I don't have any experience yet with OSGI or portlets.

In any case, happy holidays!

[Amiag]

Hi, you may want to take a look at this this open-source project.

Note that obviously it is not an alternative to OSGI or Portlets, but if your only interest is modularity, it can be a simpler solution.

[pzoio]

Why not take a look at Impala - http://code.google.com/p/impala/ - a modularity framework based on Spring which would suit these requirements very well.