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Configuring an Expansion Resource

A typical expansion resourceExpansion Resource (ExpansionResource). A reusable resource bundle containing expanders and features that provide specific application capabilities, defined in the expansion settings and added to the classpath during expansion. project follows the standard Maven directory structure:

expansion-resource-project/
├── pom.xml (with expanders-maven-plugin)
├── src/
│   └── main/
│       ├── java/             # Custom expansion steps (Java)
│       └── resources/        # Expanders, features, and data resources
└── description.md           # Optional: Human-readable documentation

Plugin Setup​

The expandersExpanderA unit of generation that combines a data tree instance (functional M1 model) with a template to generate an artifact.-maven-plugin has an expansionResource goal that will generate the expansion resourceExpansion Resource (ExpansionResource). A reusable resource bundle containing expanders and features that provide specific application capabilities, defined in the expansion settings and added to the classpath during expansion. .jar and a expansionResource.xml manifest file. This manifest file will list all components used by the expanderExpanderA unit of generation that combines a data tree instance (functional M1 model) with a template to generate an artifact. framework (e.g. location of expanderExpanderA unit of generation that combines a data tree instance (functional M1 model) with a template to generate an artifact. files, resource files, dependencies).

The expanders-maven-plugin is executed during the build and is thus configured within the build tag.

Plugin configuration:

  • The expansion-resource name will be defined as ${groupId}:${artifactId}.
  • Add a title and sortName to provide better integration with tooling.
  • Add labels to filtering and give visual hints towards the content.
pom.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0"
       xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
       xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">

<modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>

<groupId>org.example</groupId>
<artifactId>example-expanders</artifactId>
<version>1.0.0-SNAPSHOT</version>

<build>
  <plugins>
    <plugin>
      <groupId>net.democritus.maven.plugins</groupId>
      <artifactId>expanders-maven-plugin</artifactId>
      <version>2026.2.1</version>
      <executions>
        <execution>
          <goals>
            <goal>expansionResource</goal>
          </goals>
          <configuration>
            <details>
              <title>Example expanders</title><!-- Human-friendly name -->
              <sortName>my-expanders,net.demo</sortName><!-- Used in sorting/filtering -->
              <labels><!-- Attach labels for visual cues and filtering -->
                <label>expanders</label>
                <label>experimental</label>
                <label>jee</label>
              </labels>
            </details>
          </configuration>
        </execution>
      </executions>
    </plugin>
  </plugins>
</build>
</project>

This will generate a manifest:

<expansionResource name="org.example:example-expanders">
  <version>1.0.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
  <expanders/>
  <features/>
  <additionalExpansionSteps/>
  <dataResources/>
  <modelResources/>
  <expansionResourceDependencys/>
  <classPathDependencys/>
</expansionResource>

The manifest defines the name and version of the expansion-resource. Because the project does not contain any resources yet, none are defined in this example manifest.

tip

If a resource (e.g., an expanderExpanderA unit of generation that combines a data tree instance (functional M1 model) with a template to generate an artifact.) is missing from target/classes/expansionResource.xml after a build, verify that the file follows the naming conventions and is correctly located in src/main.

Providing Expanders, Features and Additional Expansion Steps​

When building, the plugin will search for expandersExpanderA unit of generation that combines a data tree instance (functional M1 model) with a template to generate an artifact., features and additional expansion steps in a specific source directory. By default, this directory is src/main. It is possible to override this by configuring the rootDirectory in the plugin.

The plugin recognizes the resources based on some characteristics:

  • ExpandersExpanderA unit of generation that combines a data tree instance (functional M1 model) with a template to generate an artifact.: ends with Expander.xml, contains a root tag <expander> and has <active value="true"/> defined.
  • Features: ends with .xml and contains a root tag <feature>
  • Additional Expansion Steps: ends with Step.xml and contains root tag additionalExpansionStep.

Adding dependencies​

The plugin will also look for any dependencies of the project that are expansion-resources. These dependencies will be added to the expansion-resource manifest:

E.g. adding the following dependency to your pom.xml:

<dependency>
<groupId>net.democritus</groupId>
<artifactId>Expanders</artifactId>
<version>9.5.0</version>
</dependency>

will result in the dependency being added to your manifest:

<expansionResourceDependencys>
<expansionResourceDependency name="">
  <dependsOn name="net.democritus:Expanders" version="9.5.0"/>
</expansionResourceDependency>
</expansionResourceDependencys>

If this information is defined, nsx-prime will do the following when running an expansion with this resource:

  • If the current expanderExpanderA unit of generation that combines a data tree instance (functional M1 model) with a template to generate an artifact. version is older than the version in the dependency, nsx-prime will complain about a version mismatch
  • If the dependency references another expansion-resource that is not present, it will be fetched and added to the expansion

If you require non-expansion-resource libraries, you can enable ClassPathDependencies.

More advanced usage​