4. Provisioning Repository

4.1 Introduction

In SpringSource dm Server, all third-party dependencies needed by your applications, such as Spring Framework and Hibernate, are stored in the provisioning repository. All of these dependencies are stored as valid OSGi bundles in the provisioning repository. Dependencies that are not valid OSGi bundles are not supported.

When an application is installed, if it has a dependency that cannot be satisfied from the bundles that have already been installed, the SpringSource dm Server will search the repository for a bundle that can satisfy that dependency. Dependencies between applications and third-party libraries are typically expressed using Import-Package or Import-Library (see Programmer's Guide).

Some third-party dependencies consist of multiple bundles but are logically one unit. To support this, the SpringSource dm Server introduces the concept of a library. A library is a collection of related bundles that can be referenced as a whole. More details on the creation and usage of libraries can be found in the Programmer's Guide.

Making a third-party dependency available to your application is simply a matter of adding its bundle or library to the appropriate location in the provisioning repository.