Time for action – installing the required software
For developing the TechBuzz application, we will be using the following software and tools:
- JDK: PrimeFaces needs JDK 1.5 or later. We can download and install JDK from http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html.
- IDE: We will be using Eclipse as the IDE, but if you want to use the NetBeans IDE, IntelliJ IDEA or any other IDEs, you can import and use them without any changes, as TechBuzz is a Maven-based web application. You can download and install the Eclipse IDE from http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/.
- Application server: PrimeFaces can run on any servlet container such as Apache Tomcat, Jetty, JBoss, Glassfish, and so on. We will be using Apache Tomcat for TechBuzz but you can deploy and run on any of the servlet containers. You can download Apache Tomcat 7.0.39 from http://tomcat.apache.org/download-70.cgi.
- Database: For the TechBuzz application, we will be using the MySQL database. You can use any other relational databases such as Oracle, Postgres, and so on, as per your choice. You can download and install the MySQL database from http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/.
- Build tool: We will be using Maven as a build tool for the TechBuzz application. You can download and install Maven from http://maven.apache.org/download.cgi.
- Browser tools: As we are going to learn a lot more about UI design using PrimeFaces components, it would be really helpful to have tools such as the Firebug plugin for Firefox or Chrome Developer Tools for the Google Chrome browser.
What just happened?
We have installed all the required software and tools for developing the TechBuzz sample application. As you progress through this book, you can add features to the TechBuzz application.
Once all the required software are installed, start your IDE and create a sample JSF project, and configure PrimeFaces as specified in the Installing and configuring PrimeFaces section of Chapter 1, Introduction to PrimeFaces. You can create a sample Facelets page, include a PrimeFaces namespace and use any PrimeFaces component such as <p:editor/> or <p:calendar mode="inline"/>. Now, you can run the application by choosing an application server that you have configured in your IDE. If you have configured PrimeFaces correctly, you should see the PrimeFaces component with a rich theme support.