Preface

1. About This Book

This book is intended for software developers who use IT Mill Toolkit to develop web applications.

1.1. Prerequisites

This book assumes that you have some experience with programming in Java. If not, Java is easy to learn if you have experience with other object oriented languages, such as C++. You may have used some desktop-oriented user interface toolkits for Java, such as AWT, Swing, or SWT. Or for C++, a toolkit such as Qt. Such knowledge is useful for understanding the scope of the Toolkit, but not necessary. Regarding the web, it is good if you know the basics of HTML and CSS, so that you can develop basic presentation themes for the application. Knowledge of Google Web Toolkit (GWT), JavaScript, and AJAX is needed only if you develop special custom UI components.

1.2. Organization of This Book

The IT Mill Toolkit Reference Manual is divided into two parts: Developer's Guide and API Reference.

The Developer's guide first gives an introduction to what IT Mill Toolkit is and how you use it to develop web applications. It then proceeds to architecture, particular components and features of the Toolkit, to special topics, and finally to special design patterns for the Toolkit.

API Reference gives the full documentation for particular classes and interfaces, and their methods. The API documentation is also available in JavaDoc format, as a HTML page with frames.

1.3. Supplementary Material

Demo Application

The installation package of IT Mill Toolkit includes a demo application that you can simply run and use with a web browser. You can view the source code of the individual demo applications from the main menu. The demo application includes a feature browser, which offers demonstration of most user interface components in IT Mill Toolkit.

You can find the demo application also online at http://toolkit.itmill.com/demo/.

1.4. Online Resources

Developer's Site

The IT Mill Toolkit Developer's Site provides various online resources, such as a development wiki, ticket (bugs and other issues) management system, source repository browsing, timeline, development milestones, and so on.

  • Checkout IT Mill Toolkit source code from the Subversion repository
  • Read technical articles and get more examples
  • Report bugs
  • Make requests for enhancements
  • Follow the development of the Toolkit
  • Collaborate!

The wiki provides instructions for developers, especially for those who wish to checkout and compile IT Mill Toolkit itself from the source repository. The technical wiki articles deal with integration of IT Mill Toolkit applications with various systems, such as JSP, Maven, Spring, Hibernate, and portals. The wiki also provides answers to Frequently Asked Questions.

Online Documentation

You can read this book online at http://www.itmill.com/documentation/. You can find technical articles and answers to Frequently Asked Questions also from the Developer's Site.

1.5. Support

Support Forum

An open support forum for developers is available at http://forum.itmill.com/. Please use the forum to discuss any problems you might encounter, wishes about features, and so on.

  • Share your ideas and code
  • Ask and you get answers
  • Search answers from archived discussions

Bug Report Form

If you have found an issue with IT Mill Toolkit, demo applications or documentation, please report it to us by filing a ticket in the IT Mill Toolkit developer's site at http://dev.itmill.com/. You may want to check the existing tickets before filing a new ticket. You can make a ticket to make a request for a new feature as well, or to suggest modifications to an existing feature.

Commercial Support

IT Mill offers full commercial support and training services for the IT Mill Toolkit products. Please contact our sales at http://www.itmill.com/itmill_contact_sales.htm for details.