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IceBox.InheritProperties

Synopsis

IceBox.InheritProperties=num

Description

If num is set to a value larger than zero, each service inherits the configuration properties of the IceBox server's communicator. If not defined, the default value is zero.

IceBox.LoadOrder

Synopsis

IceBox.LoadOrder=names

Description

Determines the order in which services are loaded. The service manager loads the services in the order they appear in names, where each service name is separated by a comma or white space. Any services not mentioned in names are loaded afterward, in an undefined order.

IceBox.PrintServicesReady

Synopsis

IceBox.PrintServicesReady=token

Description

If this property is set to a value greater than zero, the service manager prints "token ready" on standard output once initialization of all the services is complete. This is useful for scripts that need to wait until all services are ready to be used.

IceBox.Service.name

Synopsis

IceBox.Service.name=entry_point [args]

Description

Defines a service to be loaded during IceBox initialization. Any arguments that follow the entry point are examined; those matching the --name.*=value pattern are interpreted as property definitions and appear in the property set of the communicator that is passed to the service start method, and all remaining arguments are passed to the start method in the args parameter. Whitespace separates the arguments, and any arguments that contain whitespace must be enclosed in quotes.

Platform Notes

C++

The value of entry_point has the following form:

path[,version]:function

The path and optional version components are used to construct the name of a DLL or shared library. If no version is supplied, the version is the empty string. The function component is the name of a function with extern C linkage. For example, the entry point IceStormService,37:createIceStorm implies a shared library name of libIceStormService.so.37 on Unix and IceStormService37.dll on Windows. Furthermore, if IceBox is built on Windows with debugging, a d is automatically appended to the version (e.g., IceStormService37d.dll). The configuration is the same for the C++11 mapping and the C++98 mapping: Ice computes the name of the shared library to load and adds automatically a "++11" suffix when needed.

The function must be declared with extern C linkage and have the following signature:

IceBox::Service* function(const std::shared_ptr<Ice::Communicator>& c);

IceBox::Service* function(Ice::CommunicatorPtr c);

Note that the function must return a pointer and not a smart pointer. IceBox deallocates the object when it unloads the library. The communicator instance passed to this function is the server's communicator, which is not the same as the communicator passed to the service's start method.

The path component may optionally contain a relative or absolute path name, indicated by the presence of a path separator (/ or \). In this case, the last component of the path is used to construct the name of the shared library or DLL. Consider this example:

IceBox.Service.IceStorm=./IceStormService,37:createIceStorm

The use of a relative path means the Ice run time will look in the current working directory for libIceStormService.so.37 on Unix or IceStormService37.dll on Windows.

If the path component contains spaces, the entire entry point must be enclosed in quotes:

IceBox.Service.IceStorm="C:\Program Files\ZeroC\Ice-3.7\bin\IceStormService,37:createIceStorm"

If the path component does not include a leading path name, Ice delegates to the operating system to locate the shared library or DLL, which typically means that the plug-in can reside in any of the directories in your shared library or DLL search path.

Java

The value of entry_point has the following form:

[path:]class

The class component must be the name of a class that implements the com.zeroc.IceBox.Service interface and provides at least one of the constructors shown in the example below:

public class MyService implements com.zeroc.IceBox.Service
{
    public MyService(com.zeroc.Ice.Communicator serverCommunicator);
    public MyService();

    // ...
}

The constructor taking a Communicator argument is invoked if present, otherwise the default constructor is invoked.

If path is specified, it may be the path name of a JAR file or class directory, as shown below:

IceBox.Service.MyService=MyService.jar:MyServiceImpl
IceBox.Service.MyOtherService=/classes:MyOtherServiceImpl

If path contains spaces, it must be enclosed in quotes:

IceBox.Service.MyService="factory classes.jar":MyServiceImpl

IceBox uses a single class loader to load all services having the same value for path.

If class is specified without a path, IceBox attempts to load the class using class loaders in a well-defined order.

.NET

The value of entry_point has the form assembly:class. The assembly can be a partially or fully qualified assembly name, such as myplugin,Version=0.0.0.0,Culture=neutral, or an assembly DLL name such as myplugin.dll, and may optionally include a leading relative or absolute path name.

The specified class must implement the IceBox.Service interface and provide at least one of the constructors shown in the example below:

public class MyService : IceBox.Service
{
    public MyService(Ice.Communicator serverCommunicator);
    public MyService();

    // ...
}

The constructor taking an Ice.Communicator argument is invoked if present, otherwise the default constructor is invoked.

If you specify a relative path name in the entry point, the assembly is located relative to the program's current working directory:

IceBox.Service.MyService=..\MyService.dll:MyServiceImpl

Enclose the assembly's path name in quotes if it contains spaces:

IceBox.Service.MyService="C:\Program Files\MyService\MyService.dll:MyServiceImpl"

Finally, if the assembly uses a leading path name, be sure to include the .dll extension.

IceBox.UseSharedCommunicator.name

Synopsis

IceBox.UseSharedCommunicator.name=num

Description

If num is set to a value larger than zero, the service manager supplies the service name with a communicator that might be shared by other services. If the IceBox.InheritProperties property is also defined, the shared communicator inherits the properties of the IceBox server. If not defined, the default value is zero.