Smart Application Framework (SAF)

The Smart Application Framework (SAF) is an open-source and cross-plattform framework for building distributed applications across cloud and edge. It allows developers to build resilient, stateless and stateful plug-ins that run on cloud and edge.

SAF runs on .NET Core and can easily be integrated into ASP.NET Core applications. It utilizes Microsoft’s .NET Core Dependency Injection to provide a main Dependency Injection (DI) container that loads various plug-ins. At its base, it provides exchangeable messaging and storage infrastructure services as well as a logging interface.

Overview

A distributed application built upon the Service Application Framework (SAF) consists at least of two things: A SAF Host and a SAF Plug-in. The SAF Host is responsible for loading and initializing the SAF Infrastructure Services and for loading and initializing the SAF Plug-ins. It provides the SAF Infrastructure Services to the SAF Plug-ins using Microsofts’s .NET Core Dependency Injection.

.

Additionaly SAF provides the SAF Toolbox Services which are a set of useful tools to support you with common tasks when implementing your SAF Plug-in functionality.

SAF Host

A Smart Application Framework Host or ServiceHost loads one or more SAF Plug-ins during runtime. It is also possible to run several SAF Hosts with different plug-ins in certain IT infrastructures.

It initializes its own main Dependency Injection (DI) container that contains the SAF Infrastructure Services. The ServiceHost is responsible to create one DI container for every loaded Plug-in. So every loaded SAF Plug-in gets it’s own DI container. It then redirects the SAF Infrastructure Services to every plug-in specific DI containers.

For a better understanding of the Dependency Injection (DI) container concept of SAF see SAF DI Container Overview.

SAF Plug-in

When implementing a Smart Application Framework Plug-in you are able to extend your Smart Application with whatever functionality you need. Plug-ins are losely coupled through SAFs messaging infrastructure.

A SAF Plug-in will be loaded from the SAF Host that creates a Dependency Injection (DI) container the contains the SAF Infrastructure Services. It must provide excactly one public implementation of IServiceAssemblyManifest that describes the Plug-in and registers the plug-ins dependencies in the plug-in specific DI container provided by the host.

Your are able to register SAF Toolbox Services in the Plug-in specific DI container that may help you to rapidly implement your plug-in functionality.

For a better understanding of the Dependency Injection (DI) container concept of SAF see SAF DI Container Overview.