z2-Environment

h1. Z2-Environment version 3.0

Version 3.0 is in progress

The main goals for 3.0 is to provide features that simplify user adoption.

h2 Simplified Entry-Level Operations

In order to reduce the initial usage barrier, the following should be possible (or simplified)

* Have a system layout consisting of a number of auto-discovered co-located file system repositories

** Much like the dev repo but actually based on the FSCR and "always armed"

** Benefit: Supports Git-branching approaches out of the box

** Benefit: Allows System Releases as a single ZIP to be exploded without any online access (a regular "copy" deployment)

* Provide consistent and complete system export

** Support binary or source-preserving export

** Provide clean component name escaping so we can also export mvn-provided artifacts if desired

** so we can offer a complete base distribution as binary download

** Running samples means to clone co-located Git Repos

** Make re-binding of repository locations simpler (e.g. a remote repo becomes a local FS repo after export)

* Support single-process mode (e.g. no Worker mode - move worker support into an add-on)

h2. Free Web Container Choice

It should be possible to use a Web Container of choice, as long as it is Jetty or Tomcat. Our tests indicate that it should be simple to programmatically control any pre-installed instance.

* Provide a web container resource that hooks up with a pre-configured web container OR a self-hosted web container

* This will require some creative business with the servlet/jsp and Web Container class path

h2. Improvements

* Provide a z2 for dummies introduction that starts with simple, include-based web apps

* Seamless support of Maven repositories (see [[V23]], [[maven_repo_support]])

** Including install into repository from z2

* Use string revisions rather than longs (so that natural versions are better supported)

* Introduce "Java Templates", Java (and others) Component configuration made simpler (see [[smart_props]])

* Port add-ons and samples to maven repos for external artifacts