Overview

# NetBeans Architecture Answers for Input/Output System module

- Author: jglick@netbeans.org
- Answers as of: Dec 7, 2006
- Answers for questions version: 1.25
- Latest available version of questions: 1.26

WARNING: answering questions version 1.25 rather than the current 1.26.

## Interfaces table

##### Group of java interfaces

Interface Name | In/Out | Stability | Specified in What Document?
UtilitiesAPI | Imported | Official | .../org/openide/util/doc-files/api.html ../org-openide-util/overview-summary.html The module is needed for compilation. The module is used during runtime. Specification version 6.2 is required.
InputOutputAPI | Exported | Official | .../org/openide/windows/package-summary.html Just an API/SPI for defining the output window.

## General Information

Question (arch-what): What is this project good for?

Answer: The Input/Output API is a small API module which contains `InputOutput` and related interfaces used in driving the Output Window. The normal implementation is `org.netbeans.core.output2`.

Question (arch-overall): Describe the overall architecture.

Answer: InputOutputAPI -

Just an API/SPI for defining the output window.

Question (arch-usecases): Describe the main use cases of the new API. Who will use it under what circumstances? What kind of code would typically need to be written to use the module?

Answer:

There is an SPI but additional implementations are not expected. The API is most important.

Simple usage example:

    InputOutput io = IOProvider.getDefault().getIO("My Window", true);
    io.select();
    OutputWriter w = io.getOut();
    w.println("Line of plain text.");
    OutputListener listener = new OutputListener() {
        public void outputLineAction(OutputEvent ev) {
            StatusDisplayer.getDefault().setStatusText("Hyperlink clicked!");
        }
        public void outputLineSelected(OutputEvent ev) {
            // Let's not do anything special.
        }
        public void outputLineCleared(OutputEvent ev) {
            // Leave it blank, no state to remove.
        }
    };
    w.println("Line of hyperlinked text.", listener, true);

Question (arch-time): What are the time estimates of the work?

Answer:

Done.

Question (arch-quality): How will the quality of your code be tested and how are future regressions going to be prevented?

Answer:

Too little code to test.

Question (arch-where): Where one can find sources for your module?

WARNING: Question with id="arch-where" has not been answered!

## Project and platform dependencies

Question (dep-nb): What other NetBeans projects and modules does this one depend on?

Answer:

- UtilitiesAPI

Default answer to this question is:

These modules are required in project.xml file:

- UtilitiesAPI - The module is needed for compilation. The module is used during runtime. Specification version 6.2 is required.

Question (dep-non-nb): What other projects outside NetBeans does this one depend on?

Answer: None

Question (dep-platform): On which platforms does your module run? Does it run in the same way on each?

Answer: Any

Question (dep-jre): Which version of JRE do you need (1.2, 1.3, 1.4, etc.)?

Answer: 1.4

Question (dep-jrejdk): Do you require the JDK or is the JRE enough?

Answer: JRE

## Deployment

Question (deploy-jar): Do you deploy just module JAR file(s) or other files as well?

Answer: Just the module JAR.

Question (deploy-nbm): Can you deploy an NBM via the Update Center?

Answer: Yes

Question (deploy-shared): Do you need to be installed in the shared location only, or in the user directory only, or can your module be installed anywhere?

Answer: Anywhere

Question (deploy-packages): Are packages of your module made inaccessible by not declaring them public?

Answer: No; only API classes are public.

Question (deploy-dependencies): What do other modules need to do to declare a dependency on this one?

Answer:

Declare a module dependency on `org.openide.io 1.9.22`. You will very likely also want to declare

    OpenIDE-Module-Requires: org.openide.windows.IOProvider

to ensure that an Output Window implementation is in fact enabled.

## Compatibility with environment

Question (compat-i18n): Is your module correctly internationalized?

Answer: Yes.

Question (compat-standards): Does the module implement or define any standards? Is the implementation exact or does it deviate somehow?

Answer: The module defines an API.

Question (compat-version): Can your module coexist with earlier and future versions of itself? Can you correctly read all old settings? Will future versions be able to read your current settings? Can you read or politely ignore settings stored by a future version?

Answer: N/A

## Access to resources

Question (resources-file): Does your module use `java.io.File` directly?

Answer:

No, but the implementation may.

Question (resources-layer): Does your module provide own layer? Does it create any files or folders in it? What it is trying to communicate by that and with which components?

Answer: No.

Question (resources-read): Does your module read any resources from layers? For what purpose?

Answer: No

Question (resources-mask): Does your module mask/hide/override any resources provided by other modules in their layers?

Answer: No

## Lookup of components

Question (lookup-lookup): Does your module use `org.openide.util.Lookup` or any similar technology to find any components to communicate with? Which ones?

Answer: `IOProvider.getDefault()` asks lookup for the first instance of itself. This is normally provided by `org.netbeans.core.output2`.

Question (lookup-register): Do you register anything into lookup for other code to find?

Answer: No

Question (lookup-remove): Do you remove entries of other modules from lookup?

Answer: No

## Execution Environment

Question (exec-property): Is execution of your code influenced by any environment or Java system (`System.getProperty`) property?

Answer: No

Question (exec-component): Is execution of your code influenced by any (string) property of any of your components?

Answer: No

Question (exec-ant-tasks): Do you define or register any ant tasks that other can use?

Answer:

No.

Question (exec-classloader): Does your code create its own class loader(s)?

Answer: No

Question (exec-reflection): Does your code use Java Reflection to execute other code?

Answer: No

Question (exec-privateaccess): Are you aware of any other parts of the system calling some of your methods by reflection?

Answer: No

Question (exec-process): Do you execute an external process from your module? How do you ensure that the result is the same on different platforms? Do you parse output? Do you depend on result code?

Answer: No.

Question (exec-introspection): Does your module use any kind of runtime type information (`instanceof`, work with `java.lang.Class`, etc.)?

Answer: No.

Question (exec-threading): What threading models, if any, does your module adhere to?

Answer:

Should be thread safe.

Question (security-policy): Does your functionality require modifications to the standard policy file?

Answer:

No.

Question (security-grant): Does your code grant additional rights to some other code?

Answer:

No.

## Format of files and protocols

Question (format-types): Which protocols and file formats (if any) does your module read or write on disk, or transmit or receive over the network? Do you generate an ant build script? Can it be edited and modified?

Answer: None

Question (format-dnd): Which protocols (if any) does your code understand during Drag & Drop?

Answer: N/A

Question (format-clipboard): Which data flavors (if any) does your code read from or insert to the clipboard (by access to clipboard on means calling methods on `java.awt.datatransfer.Transferable`?

Answer: Plain Unicode text only.

## Performance and Scalability

Question (perf-startup): Does your module run any code on startup?

Answer: No

Question (perf-exit): Does your module run any code on exit?

Answer: No

Question (perf-scale): Which external criteria influence the performance of your program (size of file in editor, number of files in menu, in source directory, etc.) and how well your code scales?

Answer: Scalability in GUI speed and memory consumption is probably limited only by the Output Window implementation.

Question (perf-limit): Are there any hard-coded or practical limits in the number or size of elements your code can handle?

Answer: No

Question (perf-mem): How much memory does your component consume? Estimate with a relation to the number of windows, etc.

Answer: N/A

Question (perf-wakeup): Does any piece of your code wake up periodically and do something even when the system is otherwise idle (no user interaction)?

Answer: No

Question (perf-progress): Does your module execute any long-running tasks?

Answer: No

Question (perf-huge_dialogs): Does your module contain any dialogs or wizards with a large number of GUI controls such as combo boxes, lists, trees, or text areas?

Answer: No

Question (perf-menus): Does your module use dynamically updated context menus, or context-sensitive actions with complicated and slow enablement logic?

Answer: No

Question (perf-spi): How the performance of the plugged in code will be enforced?

Answer:

No special behavior.

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