When you want to create a structured application in XWiki, sometimes AppWithinMinutes is not enough and you have to customize the generated pages. It is now possible to do that with the XWebIDE application, which integrates the basic features of the most famous Integrated Development Environments (IDE) like Eclipse or IntelliJ IDEA, and adds some tools dedicated to XWiki.
The objective of the XWebIDE is to make application developers’ lives easier. Thus, the main functionality is the ability to display the application as a project containing all the needed pages. It is possible to edit several pages at the same time with the use of tabs and the developer can easily access all the project's content with the presence of a menu.
The IDE relies heavily on the Syntax Highlighting Application and its CodeMirror integration to provide a powerful source code editor based on the type of content that is edited (HTML, Velocity, JavaScript, CSS, etc.). It also facilitates the creation and the editing of some of the most used objects in XWiki like the JavaScriptExtension or the StyleSheetExtension, thanks to some shortcuts in the menu and a new user interface with is simpler than the classic XWiki object editor.
Basic IDE features:
- Assemble your application as a project
- Edit several pages/objects in tabs
- Syntax Highlighting of the code
- Fullscreen editor
- Auto-indentation
Since the XWebIDE is an XWiki application, installable from the Extension Manager, it also contains lots of small XWiki related features which improve the interface when writing content:
- Export the whole project as a .xar file in 1 click.
- Autocompletion of XWiki Velocity resources.
- Warning when the user leaves the page with unsaved content!
- Wiki (text), object and class editors integration
- AppWithinMinutes integration
- Quick access to the Scripting Documentation Application (if installed)
- Quick access to Panels, Macros, UIExtension and Translation pages in the project
Whether to create a new application (simple or complex) or to improve an existing one, the XWebIDE is designed to help you. Don't hesitate to try it and help us improve it!
