Project setup overview -- procedures

| Java Projects
| Note that the project setup described here does not apply to Java projects. Please refer to the SNiFF+ Java Tutorial for details about setting up Java projects.

For team projects, the following steps should be completed by the Working Environments Administrator (described on page 181).
Here is our recommended procedure for starting out with a new project:

Determine your development situation.
If you need working environments, create and specify a Working Environment Configuration Directory.
Create the project.
Specify a default working environment if necessary.
Initialize new team working environments if necessary.
Set up Make Support.

Step 1: Your development situation

- Determine your development situation. For a quick overview of the type of project and working environments you will need, please refer to Typical development situations.

Step 2: The Working Environment Configuration Directory
SNiFF+ stores and maintains working environment files in a Working Environment Configuration Directory. By default, this directory is:
$SNIFF_DIR/workingenvs

- If you intend to use this directory, you will first have to set permissions for the working environment files stored in it. To do so, please refer to Using the default Working Environment Configuration Directory.
- If you intend to use another directory, please refer to Using a different Working Environment Configuration Directory.

Step 3: Create the project

- Set up the appropriate SNiFF+ project and/or working environments for your development situation. Then, in the Launch Pad:

- To create the project using the Project Setup Wizard, choose Project > New Project... > with Wizard....
- To create the project using default values taken from your Preferences, choose Project > New Project... > with Defaults.... For a detailed example of how to use this option for multi-user development projects, refer to Creating Team Projects.
- To create the project using templates, refer to Working with new project templates.

We recommend that novice and intermediate SNiFF+ users use the Project Setup Wizard. More advanced users, and particularly Working Environment Administrators, may be interested in creating projects using either defaults or templates.

| Note
| In a real world situation, it may not matter to you whether your source code is initially compilable. However, before creating a new SNiFF+ project from scratch, we recommend that you verify that your source files are compilable. Then, when you set up Make Support for the project, you will know that any compile-time errors must be a result of improperly set Make attributes.

Step 4: Specify a default working environment
Your default working environment is the working environment in which you normally work. For individual developers working in teams or alone, this will generally be a PWE. For a Working Environments Administrator, this will usually be either the team's SSWE or SOWE.
Setting a default working environment has two advantages:

- You can open projects more quickly, since you won't have to first select the working environment in which you work. SNiFF+ will use the default working environment.
- SNiFF+ warns you if you try to open projects in a working environment that isn't your default working environment.

To specify a default working environment, please refer to Specifying a default working environment.
Step 5: Initialize team working environments
The goal of initializing team working environments is to be able to share files between all the working environments your team uses.

- To initialize working environments, please refer to Initializing team working environments.
- To first learn how file sharing between working environments works, please read How file sharing works.

Step 6: Set up Make Support
You can build targets in SNiFF+ using either SNiFF+'s Make Support or your own Makefiles. In a team development environment, we strongly recommend using SNiFF+'s Make Support.

- For details about Make Support, please refer to Build and Make Support.
- For details about using your own Makefiles in SNiFF+, please refer to Using Your Own Makefiles.