Packages and their contents

A package is the data object that the system uses to store its model for constructing and relating content. You can use a package to model a complex application or a single file. 

Packages contain URIs (resource identifiers), properties, analyzers, and configuration data. URIs point to the building blocks for the final software that will be deployed.

When you deploy a package, you create an instance of it, and the system fetches copies of the resources that the URIs identify, as shown in the following diagram:

In addition to URIs, a package can identify the following items:

• Configuration blocks might contain configuration information to assist or configure parts of a deployment, or they might identify things such as database connection definitions or email lists. Each URI reference has its own configuration block.
  _{(click the image to expand it)}
  
  

• Properties, or name/value pairs, are associated with the package and further configure default settings for the deployment processes.
  _{(click the image to expand it)}
  
  

• Analyzers identify modules that break down fetched content. They are invoked after a URI has been fetched into the package instance. Analyzers typically affect the associated table of contents (TOC) of the analyzed reference. For example, a WAR file analyzer might update the TOC of the associated reference with the contents of the analyzed WAR file. This provides finer control over deployment processes, enabling pieces of fetched resources to be deployed to individual targets.

Related topics

Creating and viewing package or repository instances

Packages

Working with packages