

= Service system

+++<abbr title="Application Programming Interface">API</abbr>+++<<jme3/advanced/networking#,networking>>


The service system is meant to create a common way of using plugins. It is a tiny system, on Server and Client level. In this tutorial I'll tell you how to use services, and how to create your own.



=== Creating services

Creating services is really easy - you just have to implement the Service interface. *Make sure you don't do anything time consuming* since the developer may not be expecting it. Services can choose to support Server, Client, or both. To implement this, use the appropriate constructors:


[source,java]

----

public class MyExampleService implements Service {
   public MyExampleService(Server server) {
      // By adding the constructor with the Server as argument, this service
      //  now supports servers.
   }

   public MyExampleService(Client client) {
      // Same goes for client. I could just leave this constructor out, and
      //  SpiderMonkey would determine this service does not support client mode.
   }
}

----


=== Using services

The Server and Client class both have a method called getService(). It retrieves a service based on class name, and instantiates it if necessary. From there you can use the service.


The Service system is not a terribly powerful system, neither does it do safety checks and service management - it just provides a way to commonly manage extensions.


That's it! Next tutorial we're going to have a look at how to use the streaming +++<abbr title="Application Programming Interface">API</abbr>+++.

