Chapter 2. A closer look at Griffon

 

This chapter covers

  • The structure of every Griffon application
  • Conventional configuration
  • Command-line utilities
  • The application’s life cycle

When starting the development of a brand-new desktop application, what are some of the typical questions that spring to mind?

  • Where should the sources be placed?
  • What about configuration files?
  • Where should libraries and resources be placed, and how should they be managed?
  • What about tests?

Isn’t that a huge burden when starting a project? Now imagine working on an existing project. You might stare at the project structure and the source, trying to make sense out of it, perhaps looking for a common pattern that might help you.

When it comes to developing Java desktop applications, no specification describes what, when, and how things should be done. To make matters worse, every company and, often, each project, follows its own approach, making it harder to switch from one development team to the next.

2.1. A tour of the common application structure

2.2. The ABCs of configuration

2.3. Using Griffon’s command line

2.4. Application life cycle overview

2.5. Summary