Extension points deep dive

The platform's first-class extension mechanism is the extension point. A point is a named hook; a contribution registers a module against that point; user code or the IDE asks for all contributions and acts on them.

The artefacts

• *.extensionpoint - declares the point. See /help/artefacts/extensibility/extensionpoint.
• *.extension - registers a contribution. See /help/artefacts/extensibility/extension.

Both are reconciled by their synchronizers (ExtensionPointsSynchronizer, ExtensionsSynchronizer) into JPA tables.

Discovery from user code

Two discovery surfaces. The typed Java API (preferred for Java contracts):

import org.eclipse.dirigible.sdk.extensions.Extensions;
import java.util.List;

List<ReportExporter> exporters = Extensions.find(ReportExporter.class);
for (ReportExporter e : exporters) {
    e.export(report);
}

The string-keyed API (for .extension artefacts shared across languages):

import { Extensions } from "@aerokit/sdk/extensions";

const modules = Extensions.getExtensions("reports.exporter");
for (const m of modules) {
    // m is the registry path of a contributing module
}

import org.eclipse.dirigible.sdk.extensions.Extensions;

String[] modules = Extensions.getExtensions("reports.exporter");

Contracts

For typed Java extension points the contract is the interface the contribution implements. Mark it with @ExtensionPoint and document expectations in its Javadoc - consumers receive typed instances from Extensions.find(Class) and call contract methods directly.

For string-keyed extension points the point owner publishes the contract by convention (a README, an *.extensionpoint description, a @Documentation annotation). Common patterns:

• Export a default function with a known signature: export default function exporter(input) { ... }.
• Export a class with named methods: export class Exporter { run(input) { ... } }.

Ordering

Contributions are unordered unless the contract specifies otherwise. If you need deterministic ordering, include an order field on the contribution's exports and have the consumer sort by it before invoking.

Lifecycle and hot-reload

When a new contribution is published, it shows up in the next discovery call without restart. The platform does not cache the result of getExtensions aggressively.

Built-in extension points

Common platform-owned extension points worth knowing about:

• platform-perspectives - register a perspective.
• platform-editors - register a per-artefact editor.
• platform-views - register a view.
• ide-menu - contribute to the global IDE menu bar.

See also

• Extension point artefact
• Extension artefact
• Extension providers (develop)