Extending the component descriptor

The Service Binder (from version 1.2) provides with some limited possibility of extending the service descriptor with new tags. Extension is supported through tags that are not included in the standard dtd.

When the Service Binder encounters any tag that does not belong to the dtd, it invokes the following methods on the generic activator:

• protected void startElement(ComponentMetadata metadata, String uri,String localName,String qName,Properties attrib) throws Exception

• protected void endElement(ComponentMetadata metadata, String uri,String localName,String qName) throws Exception

The first method is invoked when a tag opens, while the second is invoked while the tag closes. This methods need to be overloaded on the class that extends the generic activator to handle the extension tags. Note that the ComponentMetadata corresponds to the component that is currently being parsed and can be null if the tag is outside a Component declaration.