Chapter 2. Getting Started with Alfresco

Before you can customize Alfresco, you need to get your development environment in order. In this chapter, you'll learn how to get the Software Development Kit (SDK) set up in Eclipse, how to build and deploy customizations, helpful debugging tips, and the cleanest and quickest way to "reset" your Alfresco sandbox. The chapter includes an example that shows how to package and deploy some extremely basic customizations just to get your feet wet. Specifically, you are going to learn:

  • Where to get the Alfresco SDK, how to build it, and how to set it up in Eclipse
  • How to extend Alfresco without modifying the Alfresco source code or configuration
  • How to package and deploy your customizations
  • How to use the Eclipse debugger and log4j to troubleshoot problems
  • How to start clean for testing or debugging purposes

This book assumes you already have Alfresco installed and running on Tomcat, and are also using MySQL as the backend database; but that's up to you. If you need help getting your basic installation up and running, refer to the Appendix.

It may seem odd to talk about deployment before you've learned how to create something worth deploying, but these techniques will be used in all subsequent chapters. So you might as well get everything set up and tested now so that you don't have to deal with it later.

上一章目录下一章