Creating Modules with Liferay Developer Studio

Developer Studio provides a Module Project Wizard for users to create a variety of different module projects. You can create a new Liferay module project by navigating to File → New → Liferay Module Project.

Figure 1: When selecting *New* → *Liferay Module Project*, a Module Project Wizard appears.

You’re given options for project name, location, build type, and template type. You can build your project using Gradle or Maven. If you’re unsure for which template type to choose, see the Project Templates reference section. Click Next and you’re given additional configuration options for a component class.

Figure 2: Specify your component class's details in the Portlet Component Class Wizard.

You can specify your component class’s name, package name, and its properties. The properties you assign are the ones found in the @Component annotation’s property = {...} assignment.

Once you’ve configured your module project’s component class, click Finish to create your project.

Creating Component Classes

You can also create a new component class for a pre-existing module project. Navigate to File → New → Liferay Component Class. This is a similar wizard to the previous component class wizard, except you can select a component class template. There are many templates in the Component Class Template list:

• Auth Failure: processes a verify login failure
• Auth Max Failure: processes maximum number of login failures
• Authenticator: authenticates processing
• Friendly URL Mapper: processes Friendly URLs
• GOGO Command: creates a custom Gogo command
• Indexer Post Processor: creates a new Indexer Post Processor
• Login Pre Action: creates a login pre action
• Model Listener: sets a model listener
• Poller Processor: creates a new poller processor
• Portlet: creates a new portlet class file
• Portlet Action Command: creates a new portlet action command
• Portlet Filter: creates a new portlet filter
• Rest: calls and wraps inner service in the way of Rest
• Service Wrapper: creates a new service wrapper
• Struts in Action: creates a new struts action
• Struts Portlet Action: creates a new struts portlet action

Possible Dependency Issues

When selecting the Authenticator, Portlet Action Command, Rest, or Service Wrapper templates, you may run into some dependency issues that could cause errors in your project. There is a set of steps outlined below that you should follow, with sub-steps for each of the four templates that could cause problems.

1. Open the module project’s build.gradle file.

2. Check whether the appropriate dependencies exist. These are outlined below.

3. Right-click your project and select Gradle → Refresh Gradle Project.

4. If you’re using the Portlet Action Command template, you’ll also need to change the component class declaration from implementing the FreeMarkerPortlet class to extending it. For instance, your *Portlet component class should have the following declared:

   YourPortletClass extends FreeMarkerPortlet

The dependencies to check for when using each template are outlined below:

Authenticator

• compile com.liferay.portal:com.liferay.portal.kernel:VERSION
• compile org.osgi:org.osgi.service.component.annotations:VERSION

Portlet Action Command

• compile javax.portlet:portlet-api:VERSION
• compile javax.servlet:javax.servlet-api:VERSION
• compile org.osgi:org.osgi.service.component.annotations:VERSION
• compile com.liferay.portal:com.liferay.portal.kernel:VERSION
• compile com.liferay.portal:com.liferay.util.bridges:VERSION
• compile com.liferay.portal:com.liferay.util.taglib:VERSION

Rest

• compile javax.ws.rs:javax.ws.rs-api:VERSION

Service Wrapper

• The service wrapper class being used. For example, if you’re using the BookmarksEntryLocalServiceWrapper, the following dependency would be required:

    compile com.liferay:com.liferay.bookmarks.api:VERSION
  

Make sure the replace the VERSION text with the appropriate version for each specified dependency.

Once you’ve created your module project, you can configure your project’s presentation in the Developer Studio’s Project Explorer. To change the project’s presentation, select the default Hierarchical or Flat views. To do this, navigate to the Project Explorer’s View Menu (), select Projects Presentation and then select the presentation mode you’d like to display. The Hierarchical view displays subfolders and subprojects under the project, whereas the Flat view displays the modules separately from their project.

Figure 3: The Hierarchical project presentation mode is set, by default.

Developer Studio also provides a method to import existing module projects. You can import a module project by navigating to File → Import → Liferay → Liferay Module Project(s). Then point to the project location and click Finish.

Figure 4: Select the *Liferay Module Project(s)* to import a module project.

You now have the knowledge to create a Liferay module project from Liferay Developer Studio. Now go out there and get stuff done!