Adding a Java library to the DITA-OT classpath parameter

You can use the dita.conductor.lib.import extension point to add an additional Java library to the DITA-OT classpath parameter.

Procedure

  1. If necessary, compile the Java code into a JAR file.
  2. Create a plugin.xml file that contains the following code: 
    <plugin id="plugin-id">
  <feature extension="dita.conductor.lib.import" file="file"/>
</plugin>
    where:
    • plugin-id is the plug-in identifier, for example, com.example.addjar.
    • file is the name of the JAR file, for example, myJavaLibrary.jar.
  3. Install the plug-in.

Results

The Ant or XSLT code now can make use of the Java code.

Example

In the following extended example, the myJavaLibrary.jar file performs a validation step during processing, and you want it to run immediately before the conref step.

To accomplish this, you will need to use several features:

  • The JAR file must be added to the classpath.
  • The Ant target must be added to the dependency chain for conref.
  • An Ant target must be created that uses this class, and integrated into the code.

The files might look like the following:

Figure 1. plugin.xml file
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<plugin id="com.example.samplejava">
  <!-- Add the JAR file to the DITA-OT CLASSPATH -->
  <feature extension="dita.conductor.lib.import" 
           file="com.example.sampleValidation.jar"/>
  <!-- Integrate the Ant code -->
  <feature extension="ant.import" file="calljava-antcode.xml"/>
  <!-- Define the Ant target to call, and when (before conref) -->
  <feature extension="depend.preprocess.conref.pre" 
           value="validateWithJava"/>
</plugin>
Figure 2. calljava-antcode.xml file
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<project default="validateWithJava">
  <target name="validateWithJava">
    <java classname="com.example.sampleValidation">
      <!-- The class was added to the DITA-OT classpath -->
      <classpath refid="dost.class.path"/>
    </java>
  </target>
</project>