Tutorial

Project setup

Project generation

To build the basic frame of the project, you generate a new Maven project using the linkki Spring archetype. There are two ways to do that:

1. Generating the project from the command line

You can generate the project using Maven on the command line. In order to do that, you execute the command

mvn archetype:generate \
-DarchetypeGroupId=org.linkki-framework.archetypes \
-DarchetypeArtifactId=linkki-archetype-spring-application-vaadin-flow \
-DarchetypeVersion=2.6.2

You are prompted to choose several values for the project. The value for ApplicationName should be set to "BusinessPartner". You can choose freely which group ID, artifact ID, version and package name you want to use.

Once the generation is completed, you can import the new project into your favored IDE.

2. Generating the project in Eclipse

Alternatively, when using Eclipse you can use the wizard for new Maven Projects. Start the wizard by selecting File - New - Project - Maven - Maven Project. When selecting the archetype, choose

  • Group Id org.linkki-framework.archetypes

  • Artifact Id linkki-archetype-spring-application-vaadin-flow and

  • Version 2.6.2.

eclipse select archetype
Figure 1. Selecting the archetype

In the next step, set the project’s group ID, artifact ID, version and package name however you want. The property ApplicationName should be set to "BusinessPartner".

eclipse maven project
Figure 2. Generate project in Eclipse

3. Generating the project in IntelliJ

Alternatively, when using IntelliJ you can use the wizard for new Maven Projects.

Start the wizard by selecting File - New - Project. Select the Maven Archetype Generator, give it a name and set the Catalog to Maven Central. In the Archetype select box you can search for linkki and select the appropriate Archetype from the list. Finally, choose the version and set the Property ApplicationName to "BusinessPartner".

intellij maven project
Figure 3. Generate project in IntelliJ

Initial project structure

The created project contains a HelloPmo class, a BusinessPartnerPage, a BusinessPartnerView that you will modify later and fundamental units for your application such as the BusinessPartnerConfig, the BusinessPartnerInfo, the BusinessPartnerLayout and the BusinessPartner.

initial project structure
Figure 4. Structure of the generated project
BusinessPartner

The BusinessPartner contains the main method that runs the application.

BusinessPartnerView

This view will show the browser window containing the search bar and the search result table you will implement later.

BusinessPartnerInfo

This class contains general information about your application such as its name and copyright.

BusinessPartnerConfig

The BusinessPartnerConfig configures the main aspects of the application such as the information stored in BusinessPartnerInfo, the header and the footer.

BusinessPartnerLayout

All views will be displayed in the BusinessPartnerLayout, which is a custom layout configured with BusinessPartnerConfig. It will therefore e.g. surround the views with a header and a footer.

To get a better understanding of the classes this archetype creates, refer to the section Application Layout in the chapter Application Framework of the linkki Documentation.

Example application

The project as-is is already a runnable web application. Try starting the BusinessPartner as a Java application. Once startup is completed, open the URL http://localhost:8080/ in a browser, and you should see the example application below.

example application
Figure 5. linkki example application

Getting ready

Now that you have the basic frame of a linkki web application using Spring Boot, you are almost done with the initial project setup. Before you move on:

  • You rename BusinessPartner to BusinessPartnerApplication, in order to avoid confusion between class names later

  • You remove some elements of the example application:

    • The classes HelloPmo and BusinessPartnerPage are not needed and thus can be deleted. You will build your own UI classes.

    • You switch to the BusinessPartnerView and delete its constructor.

You also need to include the domain model. To do that, you simply add the dependency sample-model in the pom.xml.

<dependency>
	<groupId>org.linkki-framework.tutorial</groupId>
	<artifactId>sample-model</artifactId>
	<version>2.6.2</version>
</dependency>

This project includes the model classes BusinessPartner and Address describing a business partner. The Validation class completes the model by providing validation functionality.

The model project also provides an interface BusinessPartnerRepository with a default implementation InMemoryBusinessPartnerRepository that stores business partners.

You have to provide an instance of this repository as a Java Bean, so that the Spring framework can inject it where you need it later. You can accomplish this by adding a createBusinessPartnerRepository method to your Application class and marking it with the Spring @Bean annotation.

BusinessPartnerApplication.java
    @Bean
    public BusinessPartnerRepository createBusinessPartnerRepository() {
        return InMemoryBusinessPartnerRepository.newSampleRepository();
    }

Now the initial project setup is done. If you run the application now, you get an almost empty browser window. All you can see is a blue menu bar on the top of the window with a little question mark on it. This opens a dialog that contains some basic application information that can be configured in the BusinessPartnerConfig.

empty application
Figure 6. Empty linkki application

Let’s begin with the step-by-step tutorial.