HATS RCP Runtime Extension project

When you create a HATS rich client project, a project for the HATS RCP Runtime Extension plug-in (from here on referred to as the runtime extension plug-in), is automatically created if one does not already exist in the workspace. The runtime extension plug-in has a name and plug-in ID of com.ibm.hats.rcp.runtime.extension and an initial version of 1.0.0.

The runtime extension plug-in is an extension of the HATS RCP Runtime (com.ibm.hats.rcp.runtime) plug-in. The HATS RCP Runtime plug-in contains the HATS runtime classes, and it must be in the environment for HATS rich client applications to function. The runtime extension plug-in provides you the ability to configure settings related to the runtime environment.

This plug-in project contains the following configurable artifacts:
  • The runtime.properties file – used for specifying log, trace, and other settings used by HATS in the runtime environment and in the local test environment running in Run mode. See Administering HATS rich client applications for more information about these settings.
  • The runtime-debug.properties file – used for specifying runtime settings used by HATS in the local test environment running in Debug mode. See Administering HATS rich client applications for more information about these settings.
  • The plugin.xml file – registers the Applications view with the environment as well as defines initial keyboard mappings
  • The product.xml file – identifies the HATS version (same file as in HATS EAR projects)

This project is similar to a HATS EAR project in the Web environment, but there is only one of these plug-ins per runtime environment. That is, there is only one runtime extension plug-in running in the user’s environment. Every HATS rich client project plugin.xml file declares a dependency on this plug-in. The runtime extension plug-in does not refer to individual HATS application plug-ins.

Because only one copy of the runtime extension plug-in can run in the runtime environment, you must ensure only one copy of the plug-in exists in a user’s environment. If more than one runtime extension plug-in exists in the environment, the plug-in with the highest version number is used by the environment. This ensures that the newest code is always used.

The runtime extension project is not visible in the HATS Projects view but is visible in the Navigator view. It is included as part of the feature project generated during export time. For more information see Deploying HATS rich client applications.
Note:
This project is not deleted when the last HATS rich client project is deleted. You must manually delete it if you want a new runtime extension project to be created.