In SpringSource Application Platform, all third-party dependencies needed by your applications, such as Spring Framework and Hibernate, are stored in the bundle repository. All of these dependencies are stored as valid OSGi bundles in the bundle repository. Dependencies that are not valid OSGi bundles are not supported.

When an application is installed, if it has a dependency that cannot be satisfied from the bundles that have already been installed, the SpringSource Application Platform will search the bundle repository for a bundle that can satisfy that dependency. Dependencies between your applications and third-party libraries are typically expressed using Import-Package or Import-Library (see Programmer's Guide).

Some third party dependencies consist of multiple bundles but are logically one unit. To support this, the SpringSource Application Platform introduces the concept of a library. A library is a collection of related bundles that can be referenced as a whole. More details on the creation and usage of libraries can be found in the Programmer's Guide.

Making a third-party dependency available to your application is simply a matter of adding its bundle or library to the bundle repository.