dailab/ssdt repository overview

⁠VSDT and SSM in Docker: dailab/ssdt

This repository holds a Docker image containing an Eclipse IDE with the JIAC Toolipse plugins, in particular the VSDT (Visual Service Design Tool) and the SSM (Semantic Service Manager), bundled together as the SSDT (Semantic Service Design Tools).

Both building and running the Docker image is not trivial, as the image has to provide a graphical user interface (the actual Eclipse IDE), making it necessary to include a full Linux with an X server, and to stream that X server to the host system.

For this reason, while this setup works reasonably well for e.g. quickly creating and updating a demo setup, for all practical / productive work it is still highly recommended to properly install VSDT and SSM into a native Eclipse IDE.

⁠Executing the Toolsuite Image

Due to the required UI redirection using the X server, running the image is not quite as simple as expected using Docker. First, make sure that an X-server (or compatible) is installed on the host system as you need to forward X11 connections.

On Linux, just make sure you are using X and not e.g. Wayland

On Mac OSX, install XQuartz and Socat, then use socat for port forwarding:

socat TCP-LISTEN:6000,reuseaddr,fork UNIX-CLIENT:\"$DISPLAY\"

It runs a foreground process waiting for X11 connections for forwarding to the server. Also run XQuartz and go to XQuartz -> Settings -> Security and tick "Enable network connections" (or similar)

On Windows, install 'Xming X Server for Windows' and enable 'Disable access control' It runs a foreground process waiting for X11 connections for forwarding to the server.

Once the host system is set up correctly, you can use the docker_run (Mac), docker_run.bat (Windows), or docker_run_linux (Linux) scripts respectively. Each of those will execute the following commands with some variations:

mkdir eclipse-docker
docker run -ti --rm \
           -e DISPLAY=$DISPLAY \
           -v /tmp/.X11-unix:/tmp/.X11-unix \
           -v `pwd`/eclipse-docker:/home/developer \
           dailab/ssdt

This will start the dailab/ssdt image and forward the graphical output to the local X11 server. Depending on your operating system / the used start script, you may have to manually insert your computer's IP address instead of using the $DISPLAY variable. Also, this will create a directory eclipse-docker in the current working directory and link that directory to the home directory of the user within the Docker image. This directory can be used for exchaning files between your computer and the Docker image, and will also provide for the Eclipse configuration and your work done in the Docker image to be persisted during sessions.

⁠Detailled commands for different operating systems:

⁠Mac OSX

mkdir eclipse-docker
docker run -ti --rm \
           -e DISPLAY=>YOUR IP HERE<:0 \
           -v /tmp/.X11-unix:/tmp/.X11-unix \
           -v `pwd`/eclipse-docker:/home/developer \
           dailab/ssdt

⁠Windows

mkdir eclipse-docker
docker run -ti --rm ^
           -e DISPLAY=>YOUR IP HERE<:0 ^
           -v C:/Temp ^
           -v %USERPROFILE%/eclipse-docker:/home/developer ^
           dailab/ssdt

⁠Linux

mkdir eclipse-docker
docker run -ti --rm \
           -e DISPLAY=$DISPLAY \
           -v /tmp/.X11-unix:/tmp/.X11-unix \
           -v `pwd`/eclipse-docker:/home/developer \
           dailab/ssdt