OSGi Service Platform: The OSGi Alliance

The OSGi Service Platform, Release 3 specification represents the culmination of another year of cooperative effort by the members of the OSGi alliance that builds on the previous releases and the experience of using those releases to build compelling products and network deployments using the OSGi service delivery model. Release 3 will include support for mobile service platforms and applications where data access is handled by a variety of secure interfaces. The Vehicle Expert Group that was formed to work closely with automotive OEMs and service providers has defined these specifications. Release 3 will also have a new reference section including a Reference Architecture and a Remote Management Reference Architecture to help readers understand how the OSGi Service Platform can be used. We have also added a recommended section containing complete specifications of services that are subject to change as more experience is gained with their use. This section includes Jini™ Driver and UPnP™ Service specifications produced by the OSGi Device Expert Group and a Name-space specification. All the other specifications will be maintained with strict backwards compatibility with new OSGi Service Platform releases. The OSGi alliance exists to create open specifications for the network delivery of managed services to devices in the home, car, and other environments. The OSGi principles are applicable in any environment where managed lifecycles, long uptimes, and highly resilient, remotely managed platforms are required.