PrefacePreface
A guide to extending NetKernel
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Developing Extensions to NetKernel

NetKernel 3.3 includes a rich set of Resource Models and services. If you need additional or customized resources and services this guide explains how to augment NetKernel.

It is possible to develop extensions by programming directly with the NetKernel microkernel. However it is much easier to use the NetKernel Foundation API (NKF), a light-weight API running immediately on top of the microkernel. This guide uses the NKF to build extension.

The type of component that you need to develop depends on the type of extension you desire to create. These components include:

  • Accessors are software endpoints for URI requests. Develop a new accessor to provide a service or address scheme.
  • Transreptors allow NetKernel to transparently transform information from physical representation to another. If you add a new resource model you will probably need to support at least the transreption to and from a Binary Stream.
  • Transports monitor events and inject requests for events. Develop a new transport to add support for new event types and sources.
  • Fragmentors are now deprecated and will not be supported in the up-coming NetKernel 4.0 product. We do not recommend developing new Fragmentors. Instead implement the functionality using an accessor.
  • Caches are components that keep resource representations in memory.
  • Aspects are Java language interfaces which support each physical resource representation.

A wide range of components are included with NetKernel Standard Edition 3.3. Refer to the NetKernel API and Services Reference for a complete list and additional information.

Some extensions can be developed with one of the many supported scripting languages. For the greatest degree of flexibility, performance, and control, Java is the preferred development language for NetKernel components. For those components that can be written in a scripting language, it may productive to develop the logic in a scripting language and later recode the logic in Java to gain the highest degree of performance.

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