Introduction

Maven URL handler implements the specs from OSGi URl Handlers Service and registers a service that handles url's as:

    mvn://repository/groupId/artifactId/version/type?instructions      

Where:

• repository - is the repostory from where the artifact to be downloaded.If values is localrepo it  means that the value is from the local repository on the machine osgi evevironment is running;
• groupId - is the groups id of the maven artifact
• artifactId - is the artifact id
• version - artifact's version
  
• type - artifacts type. not mandatory. if not present defaults to jar
• instructions - not mandatory. currently not supported

How to install it

• download maven-embedder.osgi and unpack into ${spring-osgi-source-home}/spring-modules/spring-required-libraries
  
• download spring-osgi-maven and unpack into ${spring-osgi-source-home}
• download http://www.apache.org/dist/maven/binaries/maven-embedder-2.0.4-dep.jar into a temporary location. Open a command prompt an go folder containing the downloaded file and run the following:
  mvn install:install-file -Dfile=maven-embedder-2.0.4-dep.jar -DgroupId=org.apache.maven -DartifactId=maven-embedder -Dversion=2.0.4-dep -Dpackaging=jar
• go to ${spring-osgi-source-home}/spring-modules/spring-required-libraries/maven-embedder.osgi and run:
  mvn clean install
• go to ${spring-osgi-source-home}/spring-osgi-maven and run 
  mvn clean install

How to run it:

• start your preferred osgi implementation
• install & start maven-embedder.osgi and spring-osgi-maven
• E.g. in Equinox:
  install file:${local-repository-path}\org\springframework\osgi\maven-embedder.osgi\2.0.4-SNAPSHOT\maven-embedder.osgi-2.0.4-SNAPSHOT.jar 
  start 1
  install file:${local-repository-path}\org\springframework\osgi\spring-osgi-maven\1.0-SNAPSHOT\spring-osgi-maven-1.0-SNAPSHOT.jar
  start 2
• Where ${local-repository-path} is the path to your maven local repository
  
• test it by loading any of the bundles that you already have in the local repository using the url above.
• E.g. in Equinox:
  install mvn://localrepo/org.springframework.osgi/asm.osgi/2.2.2-SNAPSHOT