Extending eclipse RCP with dynamic update of active plug-ins

While the dynamic linking mechanism of modern programming languages, such as Java, allows loading of classes dynamically, it does not allow class reloading. Hence, dynamic linking facilitates development of component platforms, such as eclipse RCP, which supports dynamic loading but not dynamic updates of components, since this requires reloading. This paper presents an approach that enhances eclipse RCP with dynamic updating capability. It overcomes the version barrier imposed by Java's dynamic linking, while maintaining the security and type safety of Java. The feasibility of the approach validates through a modified implementation of the eclipse RCP run-time system. Analysis indicates that our approach imposes a moderate performance penalty relative to the unmodified platform.