OSGi frameworks

OSGi (Open Services Gateway initiative) is a modularity framework for the Java platform that enables component-oriented development. It defines a dynamic service platform that allows applications to be constructed from many reusable components (called bundles) that can be installed, started,…

Key facts

First appeared: 2000
Category: technology
Problem solved: OSGi was created to address the challenges of developing complex, long-running, and dynamically extensible Java applications. It solved problems like JAR hell, class loader conflicts, static dependency management, and the inability to update components at runtime without restarting the entire application.
Platforms: Server-side applications, Java Virtual Machine (JVM), Embedded systems

Related technologies

Liferay DXP
Apache Karaf
Eclipse Rich Client Platform (RCP)
Embedded systems
Vaadin
Java EE/Jakarta EE
IoT devices
Spring Framework (especially Spring Dynamic Modules)

Notable users

Siemens
Liferay DXP
Apache Karaf
Bosch
Eclipse Foundation (for Eclipse IDE and RCP applications)
BMW
IBM (e.g., WebSphere application server components)