RAP for Java Developers

The Rich Ajax Platform (RAP) is an Eclipse Java technology for building rich browser-based applications. It enables developers to reuse their existing Java and Eclipse know-how and provides means for sharing code between web- and desktop-applications. This course teaches you everything you need to use RAP for developing web applications.

Using course material designed by the RAP project leaders and committers, the people who literally developed the technology, this course accelerates your adoption of this powerful platform. Our veteran Eclipse developers, with years of product development experience, teach you everything you need to develop RAP-based web applications. Along the way they are able to provide insights, best practices and context to help you to start your own development efforts and keep on track.

Course participants incrementally develop a full RAP application from scratch in a series of hands-on focused sessions. Keeping a small class format (max. 6-8 participants) ensures that you'll gain a broad understanding of Eclipse RAP and get plenty of individual support from our experts.

Duration: 4 days

Goals, audience, prerequisites

Course Goals

• Understand the fundamental concepts of Eclipse and the Rich Ajax Platform (RAP)
• Apply those concepts by developing a full RAP-based application
• Gain a working knowledge of the Eclipse RAP architecture
• Become familiar with best practices for RAP development

Target Audience

• Java developers looking to benefit from Eclipse's Rich Ajax Platform (RAP) for developing general web applications
• Software architects interested in building business-wide software platforms

Prerequisites

• Knowledge of Java and object-oriented programming
• Experience using the Eclipse IDE is desirable
• Basic knowledge of design patterns and XML

Course Outline

Introduction to RAP

• Brief history of RAP
• Types of applications where RAP can be used
• Advantages of using RAP for business applications
• Introduction to single-sourcing

Getting Started

• IEntryPoint as the main RAP starting point
• Creating an empty RAP application
• Launching the application

Introduction to RWT

• RWT history and concepts
• RWT Container widgets (Shell, Composite, Group)
• Other widgets (Label, Button, Text, Combo, List, Table, ...)
• Layout managers
• Working with events and listeners
• Special widgets (Menus, Toolbar)
• Standard dialogs

JFace Viewers

• Introduction to Structured Viewers
• Using a JFace Tree Viewer
• Tables and the Jface Table Viewer

Server-Side Scopes

• Learn about the different scopes (request-, session-, application-scope) available withing a RAP application
• Using the RWT class to get access to life cycle management, session- and service-stores
• Using the SessionSingletonBase to create session aware SingletonsWorkbench

The Workbench - Eclipse's UI Metaphor

• Windowing: Window, Menu, Page, Perspective, View, Editor
• Workbench advisor classes
• Workbench life-cycle
• Creating workbench elements

Architectural Overview

• Internal architecture of a RAP application (servlet container, OSGi, plug-ins, extension points)
• Plug-in and package dependencies
• Plug-in lifecycle
• Versioning and naming conventions

Extending the RAP Platform Runtime

• Creating contributions and accessing the extension registry
• RAP applications as a structured system of extension points and contributions

Perspectives

• Implementing and contributing perspectives
• Defining perspective layout and contents
• Adding a view to a perspective

Views

• Implementing and contributing views
• Using JFace viewers inside views
• Registering View Actions/Commands

Editors

• Types of Editors (form editors, multi page editors)
• Differences between Views and Editors
• Contributing and opening an editor
• Implementing an editor
• Managing the dirty state of an editor
• Registering Editor Actions/Commands

Advanced Concepts

• Action set part associations
• Defining extension points

RWT Custom Controls

• Writing your own RWT custom widget in Java
• Registering your own java-script for client-side widget representation
• Writing your own widget adapter to synchronize the server and client states of the widget

Deployment of RAP applications

• Features and Fragments
• Deployment options (Jetty vs WAR)
• War Archive Creation

UI customization

• Theming
• Branding
• Custom window contents

Experiences and Best Practices

• Naming Conventions
• Structuring Code
• Functional and Load Testing
• Performance Optimizations

More info

Format

• Course Duration: 4 days
• Course structure: instructor led with at least 50% hands-on labs and tutorials
• Learn better in a small group: maximum 6-8 participants per instructor
• Equipment: participants supply their own computer with an up-to-date installation of Eclipse

Languages

Classes in Germany are held in German. All other courses are held in English. Further languages are available on request.

Dates and Registration

To sign up for an open enrollment course, please select from the available dates below. If your organization requires a customized or private "RAP for Java Developers" course, please contact training@eclipsesource.com to schedule a training session that meets your needs.

Contact

Unanswered questions? No matching dates? Prefer a course at your office? Need custom training?
We look forward to hearing from you:

Email
training@eclipsesource.com

North America
(+1) 888 679 8753
(+1) 503 552 1455

Europe
(+49) 721 664733 0