1. A method for use in managing application features, the method comprising: extracting a first extensible markup language (XML) file from a first java archive (JAR) file; extracting a second XML file from a second JAR file; based on an identifier that is common to the first and second XML files and a directory structure that is common to the first and second JAR files, executing a merging operation at runtime on the first and second XML files, wherein the first and second XML files are processed together as if they were part of the same XML file and functionality, wherein the first XML file and the second XML file are from different JAR files having the same path so that the first and second XML files can be treated as being located in the same directory, and the first XML file and the second XML file have the same directory structure, wherein the first and second XML files share a common identifier so that a first portion of the first XML file is treated as incorporating a second portion of the second XML file for the purposes of producing a GUI section; and deriving an application feature dynamically from the results of the merging operation such that disjoint application plug-ins extend upon each other without having to interact before the merging operation, wherein the application feature is dynamically derived after the application for which it was derived for has been deployed.
1. A method for use in managing application features, the method comprising: extracting a first extensible markup language (XML) file from a first java archive (JAR) file; extracting a second XML file from a second JAR file; based on an identifier that is common to the first and second XML files and a directory structure that is common to the first and second JAR files, executing a merging operation at runtime on the first and second XML files, wherein the first and second XML files are processed together as if they were part of the same XML file and functionality, wherein the first XML file and the second XML file are from different JAR files having the same path so that the first and second XML files can be treated as being located in the same directory, and the first XML file and the second XML file have the same directory structure, wherein the first and second XML files share a common identifier so that a first portion of the first XML file is treated as incorporating a second portion of the second XML file for the purposes of producing a GUI section; and deriving an application feature dynamically from the results of the merging operation such that disjoint application plug-ins extend upon each other without having to interact before the merging operation, wherein the application feature is dynamically derived after the application for which it was derived for has been deployed. 5. The method of claim 1 , wherein when a directory is identified an application automatically loads all XML files in that directory and merges all the XML files.