OSGi in Action: Creating Modular Applications in Java [Paperback]

Richard Hall (Author), Karl Pauls (Author), Stuart McCulloch (Author), David Savage (Author)

Book Description

Series: In Action | Publication Date: April 28, 2011

What is OSGi? Simply put, OSGi is a standardized technology that allows developers to create the highly modular Java applications that are required for enterprise development. OSGi lets you install, start, stop, update, or uninstall components without taking down your entire system. The interest in OSGi based applications has exploded since major vendors like Sun, Spring, Oracle, BEA, and IBM have gotten behind the standard.

OSGi in Action is a comprehensive guide to OSGi with two primary goals. First, it provides a clear introduction to OSGi concepts with examples that are relevant both for architects and developers. Then, it explores numerous practical scenarios and techniques, answering questions like: How much of OSGi do you actually need? How do you embed OSGi inside other containers? What are the best practices for moving legacy systems to OSGi?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Richard S. Hall, a long-time committer to the Apache Felix project, works with Sun Microsystems as part of the GlassFish team.

Karl Pauls is also a Felix committer.

Stuart McCulloch is a Java developer with CodeDragons, a leader in OSGi solutions, and a Felix committer.

David Savage is a Java software engineer. He is co-author of the Newton Distributed OSGi framework and Sigil tooling project, and recently joined Apache Felix as a committer.

Product Details

• Paperback: 375 pages
• Publisher: Manning Publications; 1 edition (April 28, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933988916
• ISBN-13: 978-1933988917
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #45,560 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #86 in Books > Computers & Technology > Programming > Java

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars OSGi's premier book (or a serious contender to become one), July 13, 2011

By 

Jacek Laskowski (Warszawa, Poland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: OSGi in Action: Creating Modular Applications in Java (Paperback)

Could a 520-page book ever amount to the primary professional source of hands-on knowledge about a topic such mysterious and misleadingly perceived complex as OSGi since many have already tried and failed? There are a few books about OSGi, however the specification grew up quite large lately, split in 3 different documents. Wouldn't it be nice if there existed a book that would get into the gory details nicely? I'm so grateful I could finally come across such a book - that's "OSGi in Action" from Manning. Manning proved again that their "In Action" series favours only the best authors who are often leaders in their area of expertise. Take it for granted when the authors are the active members of a OSGi framework project - Apache Felix. If their efforts in the project didn't speak for their accountability, the book did. It's a book that delivers on what it promises and the writing wisdom jumps at you when you open the first page.

In fact, the book has remained invaluable from the very beginning to the end. It didn't really matter whether it touched on simple bits like the OSGi layers or more advanced topics like available component models or security - it excelled in providing an in-depth coverage of OSGi in every page leaving a reader with no or a few questions unanswered. Not much head-scratching accompanies the book's reading as it reveals the myriad of choices OSGi offers. I did miss more coverage of Enterprise OSGi, but honestly I could barely endure more reading as almost every page of the book made me squealed in delight. Think about the emotions while trying to rein in your excitement and keeping focused during a 520-page book's reading. That is a grand adventure.

The particular ways the book used to explain every detail of OSGi have extremely influenced the course of my understanding. It looked as if this book were written for me in particular. It is written in a clear and lucid language wasting no space for overly page-consuming code listings. Dozens of well-chosen and often humorous figures adorn its content. The book nails down the merits of OSGi so well focusing on explaining the essentials. No page is a waste. There are samples and their explanations to virtually all problems or misunderstandings I ran across earlier and many more. It's remarkably engaging and is the sort of book you can just dip into now and again. I'm pretty sure the book would suit beginners as well as OSGi practitioners.

5.0 out of 5 stars OSGi in Action, November 12, 2011

By 

Eric Jain (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: OSGi in Action: Creating Modular Applications in Java (Paperback)

This wasn't the first book I read on the topic, yet I managed to learn a lot. For example, I couldn't have explained under what circumstances it makes sense to both import and export the same package, and I had never heard about the OSGi security model. You can read about features like latter in the OSGi spec, but some people prefer concise, working examples. The book avoids talking too much about specific tools, so it makes a good complement to a book (or documentation) for the OSGi tools and framework you are using.

5.0 out of 5 stars OSGi in Action, July 25, 2011

By 

Patrick Baumgartner - See all my reviews

This review is from: OSGi in Action: Creating Modular Applications in Java (Paperback)

To get started with OSGi is not so easy for everyone. OSGi in Action helps you to start thinking in modules and get the concept of the technology with very good examples. It covers the core and also some of the compendium specifications.

In its first parts the book covers the main principle of OSGi: modularity, followed by bundles, its lifecycle and services. The authors also don't forget to talk about how to test applications and manage bundles and applications. A whole, and one of the last chapters is also dedicated to security.

At the moment, this is for sure the best book to start with OSGi!