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Creating an application

Once webforJ and all applicable dependencies have been installed and the POM configuration has been completed, it's time to start creating! If you followed the installation guide, a sample "Hello World" program should be included already. However, in this section, we will demonstrate how to create a new application from scratch.

tip

Using the HelloWorldJava program will help expedite the creation of a simple application.

Start a new application​

Should you decide to create an application from scratch, you must follow a few integral steps to get the webforJ application up and running.

Create a Java class​

First, you need to create a new Java class. Do this by creating a .java file in your IDE of choice. In this demo, we'll create a class called MyApplication.

public class MyApplication {
    
}

Extend the App class​

Your new class must extend the App class so that webforJ can recognize it as a webforJ application.

import com.webforj.App;

public class MyApplication extends App{
    
}

Override the run() method​

Next, you must override the run() method. This method is where you will write the instructions for the execution of your application.

import com.webforj.App;
import com.webforj.exceptions.webforJException;

public class MyApplication extends App{

    @Override
    public void run() throws webforJException { 

    }
}

Create the main Frame​

Finally, in most instances, you will need to create a Frame within the run() method or in another function called by the run method. This Frame is the main container for the contents of your application.

import com.webforj.App;
import com.webforj.exceptions.webforJException;
import com.webforj.component.window.Frame;

public class MyApplication extends App{

    @Override
    public void run() throws webforJException { 
        Frame mainFrame = new Frame();
    }
}

Customizing your application​

You can then add various components that come with webforJ, custom components, elements, etc., to the Frame. In the example below, after the Frame is created, a button is added to it.

import com.webforj.App;
import com.webforj.exceptions.webforJException;
import com.webforj.component.window.Frame;
import com.webforj.component.button.Button;

public class ExampleClass extends App{
    
    Button myButton = new Button("My Button");

    @Override
    public void run() throws webforJException { 
        Frame mainFrame = new Frame();
        mainFrame.add(myButton);
    }
}

Once you have completed these steps, you can use the installation plugin to compile and deploy your application.

tip

Visit this section to see the various components that you can use in webforJ. To see how to create your own components, see this section.

App data​

You can set the application's title, theme, and meta tags by using annotations.

@AppTitle("My app title")
@AppTheme("system")
@AppMeta(name = "description", content = "My App")
@AppMeta(name = "keywords", content = "My, App, Java")

public class HelloWorld extends App {
//Implementation
}