LOGIN | REGISTER NOW | SUBSCRIBE
 

Apache Sling gives a hand to Web devs facing huge projects


By Alex Handy
Email    print   
May 14, 2009 —  Web development can bury a team under mountains of HTML files, images, and non-development-related documents from marketing and management. Two years ago, as a way for Java developers to handle all that new “content,” the Apache Sling project began. Yesterday, the second release of this Java Content Repository (JCR) access framework was released within the Apache Foundation's incubator.

Carsten Ziegeler, a committer on the project, explained, “Without Sling, it is often very time-consuming to develop large websites with thousands of pages and even more content snippets displayed throughout the site. Therefore, we started to develop a platform for our content-based products, which enables the rapid and elegant development of content-based applications.

"Sling uses a Java Content Repository as the back-end store for all information. One of the major goals is to have a modular, scalable, extensible and flexible platform, which is also manageable. Therefore we choose OSGi as the underlying platform."

Day Software, the company behind much of the work on Apache Sling, started on this path toward a development environment focused on JSR-170 (Java Content Repositories), when its current CTO, David Nuescheler, became specification lead on JSR-170 in 2002. The spec was finalized in 2005, and just under two years later, Nuescheler's coworkers began building the Apache Sling framework to manage connections between Java applications and their JSR-170-compliant JCRs.

The idea is to stick all that Web content in a simpler repository, rather than spreading it around the hard drive of each Web server. Thus, content developers can slot images, text and other items into the content repository, rather than trying to keep track of individual assets as they move through the many segments of a company. Because the JCR manages content in a manner similar to an SCM system, developers using Sling can quickly tie this information into portlets or beans.

At Switzerland-based Day Software, Felix Meschberger (who can be seen as the father of Sling), Bertrand Delacretaz and Ziegeler worked to build a new API for dealing with content repositories. Said Ziegeler: “While the original idea was to have a framework based on JCR, it took us some time (and several complete rewrites) to recognize that we shouldn't do that. [Rather, we should] base the whole framework on a more generic abstraction (which we call the resource API).

"Getting this API right, and providing enough functionality—but not too much—was the most tricky part. We spent nearly a year on this. But today we are very proud of this API as it makes Sling even more powerful and elegant."

This API layer allows developers to use scripting languages or straight Java to dictate the manner in which Web content is handled on its way to the client-side. Apache Sling is available for free from the Apache Foundation's website.




Related Search Term(s): Apache, Java


Share this link: http://sdt.bz/33486
 
Most Read Latest News Blog Resources
Zeichick’s Take: Radio moves from analog waveforms to digital packets
Streaming radio highlights the need for streaming applications to be designed to take up as little bandwidth as possible
Taking enterprise architecture to the business side
Startup Corso is bringing out a cloud-based planning platform that ties into business plans
Appcelerator Acquires Cocoafish to Add Instant Mobile Cloud Capabilities to its Industry Leading Titanium Platform
Appcelerator Offers Messaging, Social, Location and Storage Mobile Cloud Services to All Mobile App Publishers
ComponentOne Releases a Collection of 40+ UI Widgets Powered by HTML5 and jQuery
ComponentOne has announced the 2012 release of Wijmo: a kit of UI widgets for HTML5 and jQuery development
Digg!  Digg
Reddit  Reddit
Slashdot  Slashdot
Share on facebook  Facebook
Share on Twitter  Twitter


Add comment


Name*
Email*  
Country     


  • Comment
Loading




close
NEXT ARTICLE
Analysis: Apache threatens to cut off Java SE 7
The move against Oracle is nothing new as long-brewing battle over Harmony and the Java 1.5 TCK boils over into the JCP Read More...
 
 
 
 
News on Monday
more>>
SharePoint Tech Report
more>>


   

 
 

Download Current Issue
FEBRUARY 2012 PDF ISSUE

Need Back Issues?
DOWNLOAD HERE

Want to subscribe?


 
blogs tab
Are you at risk for burnout?
Burnout is a severe problem and it can strike at any time. Here's how to tell if you are nearing the edge.
02/09/2012 02:16 PM EST

Agility, mom, and apple pie
If we're to evaluate the state-of-the-art in software development, we should start with the values espoused in the Agile Manifesto.
02/07/2012 11:57 AM EST

RIM woos developers with free tablet
How do you get more apps ported to the BlackBerry PlayBook? By giving every developer a free tablet, of course!
02/04/2012 01:57 PM EST

GitHire: Use Headhunters to Find Your Perfect Programmer
Are you a hiring manager tired of scouring the job boards? Check out this new service that will find 5 people interested in your jobs.
02/03/2012 12:17 PM EST

Facebook claims hacker cred
Facebook's SEC S-1 filing form includes a short essay on the Hacker Way by Mark Zuckerberg himself.
02/02/2012 08:26 AM EST

Ryan Dahl steps down
Ryan Dahl, creator of Node.js, steps back from his position as gatekeeper for the project.
02/01/2012 04:58 PM EST

 
Events calendar tab
Cloud Connect
2/13/2012 to 2/16/2012
Santa Clara
TechWeb

SPTechCon: The SharePoint Technology Conf.
2/26/2012 to 2/29/2012
San Francisco
BZ Media

RSA Conf.
2/27/2012 to 3/2/2012
San Francisco
RSA

IBM Pulse Conf.
3/4/2012 to 3/7/2012
Las Vegas
IBM Tivoli

Game Developer Conf.
3/5/2012 to 3/9/2012
San Francisco
TechWeb