NetBeans Project Type Module Tutorial

This tutorial demonstrates how to create a new project type in an Ant-based NetBeans Platform application.

Rather than creating a new project type, you might want to extend an existing project type instead, in which case refer to the NetBeans Project Type Extension Module Tutorial. For Maven-based NetBeans Platform applications, see How to Create a Custom Project Type in a Mavenized NetBeans Platform Application. If the projects for which you're creating a project type (whether on Ant or Maven based NetBeans Platform applications) need to use Ant as their build tool, you should use the NetBeans Ant-Based Project Type Module Tutorial instead.

Note: This document uses NetBeans Platform 7.1 and NetBeans IDE 7.1. If you are using an earlier version, see the previous version of this document.

Contents

• Introduction to Project Types
• Creating the Module Project
• Setting Dependencies
• Creating the Project Factory
• Creating the Project
• Creating the Logical View Provider
• Registering the Project Type as Project Sample
• Installing the Module

To follow this tutorial, you need the software and resources listed in the following table.

Software or Resource	Version Required
NetBeans IDE	version 7.1 or above
Java Developer Kit (JDK)	version 6 or above

You will also make use of these two icons, which you can right-click here and download:

Introduction to Project Types

A project type is a NetBeans Platform term for a grouping of folders and files that is treated as a single unit. Treating related folders and files as a single unit makes working with them easier for the end user. One way in which a project type simplifies life for the user is that you are able to fill the Projects window only with those folders and files that the end user is most likely to work.

For example, the Java project type in NetBeans IDE helps the end user to work with the folders and files belonging to a single Java application. As you can see below, the folders and files the end user most needs to work with are shown in the Projects window:

In this tutorial, we will create a project type that will look as follows in the Projects window and Files window:

Our project type will be defined by the existence of a subfolder named "texts". If a folder contains a subfolder with that name, the NetBeans Platform will recognize it as a project type. The user will be able to open the project into a NetBeans Platform application and the content of the "texts" folder will be displayed in the Projects window. The user will also be able to create new projects, via the New Projects window (Ctrl-Shift-N), which is where we will register two sample projects.

The following are the main NetBeans API classes we will be implementing in this tutorial:

Class	Description
org.netbeans.spi.project.ProjectFactory	Determines when a folder or file is a valid project and then creates the implemention of org.netbeans.api.project.Project.
org.netbeans.api.project.Project	Represents the project.
org.netbeans.spi.project.ui.LogicalViewProvider	Provides the logical view for the project.
org.netbeans.api.project.ProjectInformation	Provides supplemental information for the project.
org.netbeans.spi.project.ActionProvider	Provides one or more actions for the project.
org.netbeans.spi.project.CopyOperationImplementation	Provides the Copy operation for the project.
org.netbeans.spi.project.DeleteOperationImplementation	Provides the Delete operation for the project.

At the end of this tutorial, your module source structure will be as follows:

Creating the Module Project

We begin by working through the New Module Project wizard. At the end of it, we will have a basic source structure, with some default files, that every NetBeans module requires.

1. Choose File > New Project (Ctrl+Shift+N). Under Categories, select NetBeans Modules. Under Projects, select Module. Click Next.
2. In the Name and Location panel, type DemoProjectType in the Project Name field. Change the Project Location to any directory on your computer. Click Next.
3. In the Basic Module Configuration panel, type org.netbeans.demo.project in Code Name Base. Click Finish.

The IDE creates the DemoProjectType project. The project contains all of your sources and project metadata, such as the project's Ant build script. The project opens in the IDE. You can view its logical structure in the Projects window (Ctrl-1) and its file structure in the Files window (Ctrl-2).

Setting Dependencies

We will need to make use of several NetBeans APIs. In this step, we select the modules that provide the NetBeans APIs that we will need.

1. Right-click the project node and choose Properties. The Project Properties dialog box opens.

2. In the Libraries panel, add dependencies on the following modules:

   • Datasystems API
   • Dialogs API
   • File System API
   • Lookup API
   • Nodes API
   • Project API
   • Project UI API
   • UI Utilities API
   • Utilities API

Creating the Project Factory

We start by implementing the org.netbeans.spi.project.ProjectFactory class.

1. Create a Java class named DemoProjectFactory.

2. Change the default code to the following:

   @org.openide.util.lookup.ServiceProvider(service=ProjectFactory.class)
   public class DemoProjectFactory implements ProjectFactory {
   
       public static final String PROJECT_DIR = "texts";
   
       //Specifies when a project is a project, i.e.,
       //if the project directory "texts" is present:
       @Override
       public boolean isProject(FileObject projectDirectory) {
           return projectDirectory.getFileObject(PROJECT_DIR) != null;
       }
   
       //Specifies when the project will be opened, i.e.,
       //if the project exists:
       @Override
       public Project loadProject(FileObject dir, ProjectState state) throws IOException {
           return isProject(dir) ? new DemoProject(dir, state) : null;
       }
   
       @Override
       public void saveProject(final Project project) throws IOException, ClassCastException {
           FileObject projectRoot = project.getProjectDirectory();
           if (projectRoot.getFileObject(PROJECT_DIR) == null) {
               throw new IOException("Project dir " + projectRoot.getPath() +
                       " deleted," +
                       " cannot save project");
           }
           //Force creation of the texts dir if it was deleted:
           ((DemoProject) project).getTextFolder(true);
       }
   
   }

The @ServiceProvider annotation used in the class signature above will cause a META-INF/services file to be created when the module is compiled. Within that folder, a file named after the fully qualified name of the interface will be found, containing the fully qualified name of the implementing class. That is the standard JDK mechanism, since JDK 6, for registering implementations of interfaces. That is how project types are registered in the NetBeans Plaform.

Creating the Project

Next, we implement the org.netbeans.api.project.Project class.

1. Create a Java class named DemoProject.

2. Change the default code to the following:

   class DemoProject implements Project {
   
       private final FileObject projectDir;
       private final ProjectState state;
       private Lookup lkp;
   
       public DemoProject(FileObject projectDir, ProjectState state) {
           this.projectDir = projectDir;
           this.state = state;
       }
   
       @Override
       public FileObject getProjectDirectory() {
           return projectDir;
       }
   
       FileObject getTextFolder(boolean create) {
           FileObject result =
                   projectDir.getFileObject(DemoProjectFactory.PROJECT_DIR);
           if (result == null && create) {
               try {
                   result = projectDir.createFolder(DemoProjectFactory.PROJECT_DIR);
               } catch (IOException ioe) {
                   Exceptions.printStackTrace(ioe);
               }
           }
           return result;
       }
   
       //The project type's capabilities are registered in the project's lookup:
       @Override
       public Lookup getLookup() {
           if (lkp == null) {
               lkp = Lookups.fixed(new Object[]{
                           state, //allow outside code to mark the project as needing saving
                           new ActionProviderImpl(), //Provides standard actions like Build and Clean
                           new DemoDeleteOperation(),
                           new DemoCopyOperation(this),
                           new Info(), //Project information implementation
                           new DemoProjectLogicalView(this), //Logical view of project implementation
                       });
           }
           return lkp;
       }
   
       private final class ActionProviderImpl implements ActionProvider {
   
           private String[] supported = new String[]{
               ActionProvider.COMMAND_DELETE,
               ActionProvider.COMMAND_COPY,
           };
   
           @Override
           public String[] getSupportedActions() {
               return supported;
           }
   
           @Override
           public void invokeAction(String string, Lookup lookup) throws IllegalArgumentException {
               if (string.equalsIgnoreCase(ActionProvider.COMMAND_DELETE)) {
                   DefaultProjectOperations.performDefaultDeleteOperation(DemoProject.this);
               }
               if (string.equalsIgnoreCase(ActionProvider.COMMAND_COPY)) {
                   DefaultProjectOperations.performDefaultCopyOperation(DemoProject.this);
               }
           }
   
           @Override
           public boolean isActionEnabled(String command, Lookup lookup) throws IllegalArgumentException {
               if ((command.equals(ActionProvider.COMMAND_DELETE))) {
                   return true;
               } else if ((command.equals(ActionProvider.COMMAND_COPY))) {
                   return true;
               } else {
                   throw new IllegalArgumentException(command);
               }
           }
       }
   
       private final class DemoDeleteOperation implements DeleteOperationImplementation {
   
           public void notifyDeleting() throws IOException {
           }
   
           public void notifyDeleted() throws IOException {
           }
   
           public List<FileObject> getMetadataFiles() {
               List<FileObject> dataFiles = new ArrayList<FileObject>();
               return dataFiles;
           }
   
           public List<FileObject> getDataFiles() {
               List<FileObject> dataFiles = new ArrayList<FileObject>();
               return dataFiles;
           }
       }
   
       private final class DemoCopyOperation implements CopyOperationImplementation {
   
           private final DemoProject project;
           private final FileObject projectDir;
   
           public DemoCopyOperation(DemoProject project) {
               this.project = project;
               this.projectDir = project.getProjectDirectory();
           }
   
           public List<FileObject> getMetadataFiles() {
               return Collections.EMPTY_LIST;
           }
   
           public List<FileObject> getDataFiles() {
               return Collections.EMPTY_LIST;
           }
   
           public void notifyCopying() throws IOException {
           }
   
           public void notifyCopied(Project arg0, File arg1, String arg2) throws IOException {
           }
       }
   
       private final class Info implements ProjectInformation {
   
           @Override
           public Icon getIcon() {
               return new ImageIcon(ImageUtilities.loadImage(
                       "org/netbeans/demo/project/icon2.png"));
           }
   
           @Override
           public String getName() {
               return getProjectDirectory().getName();
           }
   
           @Override
           public String getDisplayName() {
               return getName();
           }
   
           @Override
           public void addPropertyChangeListener(PropertyChangeListener pcl) {
               //do nothing, won't change
           }
   
           @Override
           public void removePropertyChangeListener(PropertyChangeListener pcl) {
               //do nothing, won't change
           }
   
           @Override
           public Project getProject() {
               return DemoProject.this;
           }
       }
   }
   

Creating the Logical View Provider

Finally, we implement the org.netbeans.spi.project.ui.LogicalViewProvider class.

1. Create a Java class named DemoProjectLogicalView.

2. Change the default code to the following:

   class DemoProjectLogicalView implements LogicalViewProvider {
   
       private final DemoProject project;
   
       public DemoProjectLogicalView(DemoProject project) {
           this.project = project;
       }
   
       @Override
       public org.openide.nodes.Node createLogicalView() {
           try {
               //Get the Text directory, creating if deleted
               FileObject text = project.getTextFolder(true);
   
               //Get the DataObject that represents it
               DataFolder textDataObject =
                       DataFolder.findFolder(text);
   
               //Get its default node-we'll wrap our node around it to change the
               //display name, icon, etc
               Node realTextFolderNode = textDataObject.getNodeDelegate();
   
               //This FilterNode will be our project node
               return new TextNode(realTextFolderNode, project);
   
           } catch (DataObjectNotFoundException donfe) {
               Exceptions.printStackTrace(donfe);
               //Fallback-the directory couldn't be created -
               //read-only filesystem or something evil happened
               return new AbstractNode(Children.LEAF);
           }
       }
   
       /** This is the node you actually see in the project tab for the project */
       private static final class TextNode extends FilterNode {
   
           final DemoProject project;
   
           public TextNode(Node node, DemoProject project) throws DataObjectNotFoundException {
               super(node, new FilterNode.Children(node),
                       //The projects system wants the project in the Node's lookup.
                       //NewAction and friends want the original Node's lookup.
                       //Make a merge of both
                       new ProxyLookup(new Lookup[]{Lookups.singleton(project),
                           node.getLookup()
                       }));
               this.project = project;
           }
   
           @Override
           public Action[] getActions(boolean arg0) {
               Action[] nodeActions = new Action[7];
               nodeActions[0] = CommonProjectActions.newFileAction();
               nodeActions[1] = CommonProjectActions.copyProjectAction();
               nodeActions[2] = CommonProjectActions.deleteProjectAction();
               nodeActions[5] = CommonProjectActions.setAsMainProjectAction();
               nodeActions[6] = CommonProjectActions.closeProjectAction();
               return nodeActions;
           }
   
           @Override
           public Image getIcon(int type) {
               return ImageUtilities.loadImage("org/netbeans/demo/project/icon1.png");
           }
   
           @Override
           public Image getOpenedIcon(int type) {
               return getIcon(type);
           }
   
           @Override
           public String getDisplayName() {
               return project.getProjectDirectory().getName();
           }
   
       }
   
       @Override
       public Node findPath(Node root, Object target) {
           //leave unimplemented for now
           return null;
       }
   
   }
   

Registering the Project Type as Project Sample

In this section, we create some project samples that make use of our project type. We also register these project samples in the New Project window of our application.

Installing the Module

Finally, we install the module and make use of the result.

Next Steps

For more information about creating and developing NetBeans modules, see the following resources:

• Other Related Tutorials
• NetBeans API Javadoc