Quick Start

This guide is designed to get you up and running quickly.

Creating the project

First, you'll need to download and install maven2 if you haven't already done so. You *don't* have to use Maven, but it makes things substantially easier by managing all of the dependencies in Trails, and - take my word for it - for you as well. Even if you hit some minor problems with Maven, it saves you a lot of time as your project gets bigger.

If you are not familiar with maven, here are some links that'll help you get the knowledge you need to use it with Trails: Maven: The Definitive Guide Maven Users Centre

Next, issue the following command (on a single line):

This will download the Trails archetype and any plugins needed. It will then create a working Trails project.

Running the project

Starting up your application is super simple, just go into your new project directory and do:

or

This will download all dependencies, build your project and start it inside a jetty (or tomcat) container.  Be warned, this can take a long time, especially if you just started using maven.  If any downloads fail, try running this again.  Sometimes the maven repositories get bogged down.  When everything finishes, you will now be able to go to http://localhost:8080/

Import your project

Setting up an Eclipse project is also very simple. First, you will need to tell Eclipse how to find your maven repository. This is a one time step for each Eclipse workspace:

Now do:

You should now be able import your project into Eclipse and ready to add your own domain classes!