Using a SmartGuide

For the To-Do List applet, you create an applet as well as a project and a package to contain your work. You create these using a SmartGuide that you access from the VisualAge Quick Start window.

When you manipulate your new applet in the Visual Composition Editor, you are visually manipulating JavaBeans. These JavaBeans (or, simply, beans) are represented as classes when you examine your applet in the Workbench.

VisualAge for Java suggests that you give your applets (and all other classes) names that begin with a capital letter. Class names are case-sensitive, and cannot contain spaces. If a class name consists of multiple words, do not type spaces between the words, but instead capitalize the first letter of each word (for example, ToDoList).

Creating an applet, a project, and a package

To open the SmartGuide, from the Workbench File menu, select Quick Start. Then from the Quick Start window:

  1. Select Basic and then Create Applet.
  2. Select OK. The Create Applet SmartGuide opens.

tappltsg.gif (7538 bytes)

In the Create Applet SmartGuide SmartGuide, follow these steps to create your applet:

  1. In the Project field, type a project name, such as My ToDoList Project.
  2. In the Package field, type a package name, such as todolist.
  3. In the Applet name field, type a name, such as ToDoList.
  4. In the Superclass field, using Browse, select JApplet. It becomes com.sun.java.swing.JApplet.

    Do not use Applet (java.applet.Applet) as it is used with the Abstract Windowing Toolkit (AWT). The applet you are building uses Swing components. As a rule, Swing beans should be used with the JApplet superclass; AWT beans should be used with the Applet superclass.

  5. Select Compose the class visually.
  6. Select Finish.

VisualAge for Java creates a project, a package, and an applet, then opens the Visual Composition Editor on the applet.