Question

I was always wondering: When I install a jar in OSGi, for example with “install file:///xyz” or with “install http://xyz.org/my.jar” – does OSGi only store a reference? Or does it copy the file to some sort of local repository?

I am especially interested what happens for remote resources (like “install http://…”).

cheers,
T.

Answer 1

Yes, they are cached. From http://felix.apache.org/site/apache-felix-framework-bundle-cache.html:

The OSGi specification states that the framework must cache bundles
and their run-time state, but it does not explicitly define how this
should be done. As a result, each OSGi framework implementation is
likely to cache bundles differently.