Launch/management basics

Although the launch process and the management process are different, both are handled at the same console, so we use the phrases ``launcher'' and ``console'' interchangably.

To launch an application we need a warrant for a hosting service (that's where the application will initially live, and whose resources it will consume) and probably for a SAS. The SAS warrant is so that anyone using the application can bind it (and hence its netlets).

However, if the application wants to run its own binding then a SAS warrant isn't necessary. For example, we might be launching our own SAS service. Or we might be happy for all our warrants and netlet descriptors to contain embedded JARs, rather than containing JAR references. The significant downside of this, of course, is that they will all be several megabytes long.

To manage an application we need a warrant for its admin service. This service should provide the IConsoleFacet (or IAdvancedConsoleFacet^6.1), from org.jtrix.facets1.service.common. The console then simply passes user commands to the application and returns results. See Section .

Of course, in the grand scheme of things we might not want to manage an application from a console. We might have our own graphical interface, or perhaps our own other console system. All of these are possible within Jtrix, but the default Beatrix implementation assumes that an IConsoleFacet will be at least the first point of admin.

Finally, note that launcher isn't part of Beatrix. It is quite independent and can be used to launch and manage any other Jtrix application designed appropriately. The key things are:

1. It launches applications using a launch descriptor.
2. It assumes a successful launch will return a warrant.
3. It assumes this warrant is for a service with an IConsoleFacet. This facet is used to manage the application.

Jtrix has a tool to generate launch descriptors. See Section .