---
title: Creating and Running a Project with Eclipse
order: 5
layout: page
---

[[getting-started.first-project]]
= Creating and Running a Project with Eclipse

This section gives instructions for creating a new Eclipse project using the
Vaadin Plugin. The task will include the following steps:

. Create a new project

. Write the source code

. Configure and start Tomcat (or some other web server)

. Open a web browser to use the web application


We also show how you can debug the application in the debug mode in Eclipse.

This walkthrough assumes that you have already installed the Vaadin Plugin for
Eclipse and set up your development environment, as instructed in
<<dummy/../../../framework/getting-started/getting-started-environment#getting-started.environment,"Setting
up the Development Environment">>.

[[getting-started.first-project.creation]]
== Creating the Project

Let us create the first application project with the tools installed in the
previous section. First, launch Eclipse and follow the following steps:

. Start creating a new project by selecting from the menu "File > New > Project...".
. In the [guilabel]#New Project# window that opens, select "Vaadin > Vaadin 7
Project" and click [guibutton]#Next#.

+
image::img/myproject-new-vaadin.png[]

. In the [guilabel]#Vaadin Project# step, you need to set the basic web project
settings. You need to give at least the __project name__ and the runtime; the
default values should be good for the other settings.

+
image::img/myproject-settings.png[]

[guilabel]#Project name#:: Give the project a name. The name should be a valid identifier usable
cross-platform as a filename and inside a URL, so using only lower-case
alphanumerics, underscore, and minus sign is recommended.

[guilabel]#Use default location#:: Define the directory under which the project is created. The default is under
your workspace folder, and you should normally leave it as it is. You may need
to set the directory, for example, if you are creating an Eclipse project on top
of a version-controlled source tree.

[guilabel]#Target runtime#:: Define the application server to use for deploying the application. The server
that you have installed, for example Apache Tomcat, should be selected
automatically. If not, click [guibutton]#New# to configure a new server under
Eclipse.

[guilabel]#Configuration#:: Select the configuration to use; you should normally use the default
configuration for the application server. If you need to modify the project
facets, click [guibutton]#Modify#. The recommended Servlet 3.0 configuration
uses the @WebServlet deployment, while Servlet 2.4 uses the old
[filename]#web.xml# deployment.

[guilabel]#Deployment configuration#:: This setting defines the environment to which the application will be deployed,
to generate the appropriate project directory layout and configuration files.
The choises are:

*** [guilabel]#Servlet# (default)
*** [guilabel]#Google App Engine Servlet#
*** [guilabel]#Generic Portlet (Portlet 2.0)#

+
The further steps in the New Project Wizard depend on the selected deployment
configuration; the steps listed in this section are for the default servlet
configuration.
ifdef::web[]
See <<dummy/../../../framework/advanced/advanced-gae#advanced.gae,"Google App
Engine Integration">> and
<<dummy/../../../framework/portal/portal-overview.asciidoc#portal.overview,"Portal
Integration">> for instructions regarding the use of Vaadin in the alternative
environments.
endif::web[]

[guilabel]#Vaadin version#:: Select the Vaadin version to use. The drop-down list shows, by default, the
latest available version of Vaadin. The selection includes nightly
[literal]#++SNAPSHOT++# builds, if you want to keep up with the absolutely
latest unstable versions.

+
You can change the version later in the [filename]#ivy.xml#.

[guilabel]#Create TestBench test#:: When enabled, the application stub will include a test case for testing the UI
with Vaadin TestBench, as described in
<<dummy/../../../testbench/testbench-overview.asciidoc#testbench.overview,"Vaadin
TestBench">>. Vaadin TestBench API library will be included in
[filename]#ivy.xml# as a dependency. Vaadin version 7.3 or later is required to
create the stub.



+
You can click [guibutton]#Finish# here to use the defaults for the rest of the
settings, or click [guibutton]#Next#.

. The settings in the [guilabel]#Web Module# step define the basic web application
(WAR) deployment settings and the structure of the web application project. All
the settings are pre-filled, and you should normally accept them as they are.

+
image::img/myproject-web.png[]

[guilabel]#Context Root#:: The context root (of the application) identifies the application in the URL used
for accessing it. For example, if the project has a [literal]#++myproject++#
context and a single UI at the context root, the URL would be
http://example.com/myproject. The wizard will suggest the project name given in
the first step as the context name. You can change the context root later in the
Eclipse project properties.

[guilabel]#Content Directory#:: The directory containing all the content to be included in the web application
(WAR) that is deployed to the web server. The directory is relative to the root
directory of the project.



+
You can just accept the defaults and click [guibutton]#Next#.

. The [guilabel]#Vaadin project# step page has various Vaadin-specific application
settings. If you are trying out Vaadin for the first time, you should not need
to change anything. You can set most of the settings afterwards, except the
creation of the portlet configuration.

+
image::img/myproject-vaadin.png[]

[guilabel]#Create project template#:: Make the wizard create an UI class stub.

[guilabel]#Application Name#:: A name for the application UI, shown in the title bar of the browser window.

[guilabel]#Base package name#:: The name of the Java package under which the UI class of the application is to
be placed.

[guilabel]#Application/UI class name#:: The name of the UI class for the application, in which the user interface is
developed.

[guilabel]#Portlet version#:: When a portlet version is selected (only Portlet 2.0 is supported), the wizard
will create the files needed for running the application in a portal. See
<<dummy/../../../framework/portal/portal-overview.asciidoc#portal.overview,"Portal
Integration">> for more information on portlets.



+
Finally, click [guibutton]#Finish# to create the project.



[[getting-started.first-project.exploring]]
== Exploring the Project

After the [guilabel]#New Project# wizard exits, it has done all the work for
you: an UI class skeleton has been written to [filename]#src# directory and the
[filename]#WebContent/WEB-INF/web.xml# contains a deployment descriptor. The
project hierarchy shown in the Project Explorer is shown in
<<figure.getting-started.first-project.exploring>>.

[[figure.getting-started.first-project.exploring]]
.A New Vaadin Project
image::img/myproject-created.png[]

The Vaadin libraries and other dependencies are managed by Ivy. Notice that the
libraries are not stored under the project folder, even though they are listed
in the "Java Resources > Libraries > ivy.xml" virtual folder.

[[getting-started.first-project.exploring.ui]]
=== The UI Class

The UI class created by the plugin contains the following code:


[source, java]
----
package com.example.myproject;

import com.vaadin.ui.UI;
...

@SuppressWarnings("serial")
@Theme("myproject")
public class MyprojectUI extends UI {

    @WebServlet(value = "/*", asyncSupported = true)
    @VaadinServletConfiguration(
            productionMode = false,
            ui = MyprojectUI.class)
    public static class Servlet extends VaadinServlet {
    }

    @Override
    protected void init(VaadinRequest request) {
        final VerticalLayout layout = new VerticalLayout();
        layout.setMargin(true);
        setContent(layout);

        Button button = new Button("Click Me");
        button.addClickListener(new Button.ClickListener() {
            public void buttonClick(ClickEvent event) {
                layout.addComponent(
                    new Label("Thank you for clicking"));
            }
        });
        layout.addComponent(button);
    }
}
----

In a Servlet 3.0 project, the deployment is configured with servlet class and a
[literal]#++@WebServlet++# annotation. The stub includes the servlet class as a
static inner class. You may want to refactor it to a separate normal class.

In a Servlet 2.3 project, you would have a [filename]#web.xml# deployment
descriptor.

For a more detailed treatment of the deployment, see
<<dummy/../../../framework/application/application-environment#application.environment.web-xml,"Using
a web.xml Deployment Descriptor">>.



[[getting-started.first-project.coding]]
== Coding Tips for Eclipse

One of the most useful features in Eclipse is __code completion__. Pressing
kbd:[Ctrl+Space] in the editor will display a pop-up list of possible class name and
method name completions, as shown in
<<figure.getting-started.first-project.coding.codecompletion>>, depending on the
context of the cursor position.

[[figure.getting-started.first-project.coding.codecompletion]]
.Java Code Completion in Eclipse
image::img/codingtips-codecompletion.png[]

To add an [literal]#++import++# statement for a class, such as
[classname]#Button#, simply press kbd:[Ctrl+Shift+O] or click the red error indicator on
the left side of the editor window. If the class is available in multiple
packages, a list of the alternatives is displayed, as shown in
<<figure.getting-started.first-project.coding.import>>. For server-side
development, you should normally use the classes under the
[package]#com.vaadin.ui# or [package]#com.vaadin.server# packages. You can not
use client-side classes (under [package]#com.vaadin.client#) or GWT classes for
server-side development.

[[figure.getting-started.first-project.coding.import]]
.Importing Classes Automatically
image::img/codingtips-automaticimports.png[]


[[getting-started.first-project.server]]
== Setting Up and Starting the Web Server

Eclipse IDE for Java EE Developers has the Web Standard Tools package installed,
which supports control of various web servers and automatic deployment of web
content to the server when changes are made to a project.

Make sure that Tomcat was installed with user permissions. Configuration of the
web server in Eclipse will fail if the user does not have write permissions to
the configuration and deployment directories under the Tomcat installation
directory.

Follow the following steps.

. Switch to the Servers tab in the lower panel in Eclipse. List of servers should be empty after Eclipse is installed. Right-click on the empty area in the panel and select "New > Server". +
image::img/tomcat-startserver-1.png[]


. Select "Apache > Tomcat v7.0 Server" and set [guilabel]#Server's host name# as [literal]#++localhost++#, which should be the default. If you have only one Tomcat installed, [guilabel]#Server runtime# has only one choice. Click [guibutton]#Next#. +
image::img/tomcat-startserver-2.png[]


. Add your project to the server by selecting it on the left and clicking [guibutton]#Add# to add it to the configured projects on the right. Click [guibutton]#Finish#. +
image::img/tomcat-startserver-3.png[]


. The server and the project are now installed in Eclipse and are shown in the [guilabel]#Servers# tab. To start the server, right-click on the server and select Debug. To start the server in non-debug mode, select Start. +
image::img/tomcat-startserver-4.png[]


. The server starts and the WebContent directory of the project is published to the server on http://localhost:8080/myproject/. +
image::img/tomcat-startserver-5.png[]




[[getting-started.first-project.run]]
== Running and Debugging

Starting your application is as easy as selecting [guilabel]#myproject# from the
[guilabel]#Project Explorer# and then "Run > Debug As > Debug on Server".
Eclipse then opens the application in built-in web browser.

.Running a Vaadin Application
image::img/runningMyProject.png[]

You can insert break points in the Java code by double-clicking on the left
margin bar of the source code window. For example, if you insert a breakpoint in
the [methodname]#buttonClick()# method and click the [guibutton]#What is the
time?# button, Eclipse will ask to switch to the Debug perspective. Debug
perspective will show where the execution stopped at the breakpoint. You can
examine and change the state of the application. To continue execution, select
Resume from Run menu.

.Debugging a Vaadin Application
image::img/debuggingMyProject.png[]

Above, we described how to debug a server-side application. Debugging
client-side applications and widgets is described in
<<dummy/../../../framework/clientside/clientside-debugging#clientside.debugging,"Debugging
Client-Side Code">>.
