Overview

New extensible System Platform IDE comprises of a collection of subsystems that provide the basic functionalities such as command extensibility, view extensibility and docking behavior. It consists of the following sub-systems:

• Docking and Command Framework – Provides window layout and command management support to the extension modules.

• Service Pool – Manages application’s global service pool and provides functionality for registering and consuming services offered by the IDE and other extension modules.

• IDE Extensions – Various user interface (UI) and non-UI extension modules.

The System Platform IDE provides a programmatic interface to develop extension modules to extend its default functionality. IDE extensions are the plug-in modules hosted by the IDE at runtime. When the IDE is started, it loads all of its extensions at runtime and interacts with them via predefined .Net interfaces. The Extension modules in turn can interact with the IDE using its services provided in the form of .NET interfaces.

By following the contract established by the IDE, extensions can extend various UI elements of the IDE including docking views, menus, toolbars, and keyboard shortcuts. With the help of IDE services, extension modules can subscribe to commands and handle commands invoked by the user. Thus, the running IDE is composed of its framework, all extension modules from different sources interacting with the IDE framework and with each other to provide the end-user with the necessary tools and operations to configure the Galaxy. The end result is monolithic user experience with the IDE and is depicted in the following diagram.

The IDE extensions can change IDE functionality or add new ones by:

• Adding new commands or operations, which user can invoke from within the IDE.

• Overriding behavior of existing IDE commands.

• Adding new Galaxy views that can be hosted inside the IDE.