Quick start

To create a sample application pre-configured to work with the Fénix Framework, execute the following Maven command and follow the interactive mode:

mvn archetype:generate -DarchetypeGroupId=pt.ist -DarchetypeArtifactId=fenix-framework-application-archetype-clean -DarchetypeVersion=2.0 -DarchetypeRepository=https://fenix-ashes.ist.utl.pt/maven-public

The parameters that you can give to the clean application archetype (using the -D switch) are:

• fenixFrameworkVersion:
  • Description: The version of the Fenix Framework to use
  • Default: Same as the archetype’s version.
• backEndName
  • Description: The name of the backend to use. Some possible values are mem, ispn and ogm.
  • Default: mem
• backEndGroupId
  • Description: The groupId of the backend module to use.
  • Default: pt.ist
• backEndArtifactId
  • Description: The artifactId of the backend module to use.
  • Default: fenix-framework-backend-mem
• backEndVersion
  • Description: The version of the backend module to use.
  • Default: Same as the archetype’s version.
• codeGeneratorClassName
  • Description: The code generator class provided by the chosen backend. Some possible values for each backend are:
    • mem -> pt.ist.fenixframework.backend.mem.MemCodeGenerator
    • ogm -> pt.ist.fenixframework.backend.ogm.OgmCodeGenerator
    • ispn -> pt.ist.fenixframework.backend.infinispan.InfinispanCodeGenerator
  • Default: pt.ist.fenixframework.backend.mem.MemCodeGenerator

Hello world example

As a very simple example to illustrate the use of the Fénix Framework, let us create a Java application with a minimalist domain model.

In this application we model one new entity: The Person. We keep a collection of people by establishing a relation between Person and DomainRoot. The DomainRoot is a built-in entity that represents a possible root for the domain objects’ model. When the framework initializes, it automatically creates one instance of the DomainRoot (if it doesn’t already exist). The Person type will have one instance for each person known.

Whenever the application is run we pass it the name of a new person and the application adds that person to its set of known people and asks each one of them to say “Hello”.

Let us start by creating the basic application structure with:

mvn archetype:generate -DarchetypeGroupId=pt.ist -DarchetypeArtifactId=fenix-framework-application-archetype-clean -DarchetypeVersion=2.0 -DarchetypeRepository=https://fenix-ashes.ist.utl.pt/maven-public -DgroupId=example -DartifactId=helloworld -Dversion=1.0-SNAPSHOT

Then, to define the domain model, edit the file in src/main/dml/helloworld.dml and write the following content:

package example;

class Person {
    String name;
}

relation KnownPeople {
    .pt.ist.fenixframework.DomainRoot playsRole root;
    Person playsRole people { multiplicity *; }
}

This defines the Person entity and adds a relation between DomainRoot and Person, where a DomainRoot may have any number of Person related to it. The package declaration is similar to the corresponding declaration in Java.

Now, this DML code takes care of defining the structural aspects of the domain model, but has no behavior in it. For instance, we would like that each Person could say hello. Also, in our example, we will be instantiating a Person with a constructor that receives the name of the person and the instance of the DomainRoot.

To implement the behavior, we write it in plain old Java. So, for the Person, we may write (in Java, now):

package example;

import pt.ist.fenixframework.DomainRoot;

public class Person extends Person_Base {
    
    public Person(String name, DomainRoot root) {
        setName(name);
        setRoot(root);
    }

    public void sayHello() {
        System.out.println("Hello, I'm " + getName() + ".");
    }
}

The Person class extends the Person_Base class, which is an abstract class generated by the Fénix Framework that implements the structural aspects of the Person entity (likewise for any other entity defined in a DML file).

To conclude this example, we just have to write our HelloWorld application, which, as mentioned, will create the new people and then, ask all of them to say hello. This can be done with:

package example;

import pt.ist.fenixframework.Atomic;
import pt.ist.fenixframework.DomainRoot;
import pt.ist.fenixframework.FenixFramework;

public class HelloWorld {

    // FenixFramework will try automatic initialization when first accessed
    public static void main(String [] args) {
        try {
            addNewPeople(args);
            greetAll();
        } finally {
            // ensure an orderly shutdown
            FenixFramework.shutdown();
        }
    }

    @Atomic
    private static void addNewPeople(String[] args) {
        DomainRoot root = FenixFramework.getDomainRoot();
        for (String name : args) {
            new Person(name, root);
        }
    }

    @Atomic
    private static void greetAll() {
        DomainRoot root = FenixFramework.getDomainRoot();
        for (Person p : root.getPeople()) {
            p.sayHello();
        }
    }
}

Notice the use of the @Atomic annotation to demarcate the transactions. Operations involving domain objects must always be performed inside a transaction.

And that’s all. Now, you just have to build it and run it. The complete example is available for download here. After decompressing it, you can execute it with:

mvn clean package exec:java -Dexec.mainClass="example.HelloWorld" -Dexec.args="John"

By default, the Fénix Framework is configured to use the in-memory backend, so, in the previous example, the application state is not persisted between executions. Here is the same example, now using the Infinispan backend to store the domain objects persistently.