Pippo : Getting started

We provide a pippo-demo module that contains many demo applications (submodules): pippo-demo-basic and pippo-demo-crud are some.
For a list with all demo please see Demo section.

1. Routes approach

For pippo-demo-basic you have two java files: BasicDemo.java and BasicApplication.java
We split our application in two parts for a better readability.

First we must create a BasicApplication (extends Application) and add some routes:

public class BasicApplication extends Application {

    @Override
    protected void onInit() {
        // send 'Hello World' as response
        GET("/", routeContext -> routeContext.send("Hello World"));

        // send a file as response
        GET("/file", routeContext -> routeContext.send(new File("pom.xml"));

        // send a json as response
        GET("/json", routeContext -> {
            Contact contact = createContact();
            routeContext.json().send(contact);
        });

        // send xml as response
        GET("/xml", routeContext -> {
            Contact contact = createContact();
            routeContext.xml().send(contact);
        });
        
        // send an object and negotiate the Response content-type, default to XML
        GET("/negotiate", routeContext -> {
            Contact contact = createContact();
            routeContext.xml().negotiateContentType().send(contact);
        });
        
        // send a template as response
        GET("/template", routeContext -> {
            routeContext.setLocal("greeting", "Hello");
            routeContext.render("hello");        
        });
    }

    private Contact createContact() {
        return new Contact()
            .setId(12345)
            .setName("John")
            .setPhone("0733434435")
            .setAddress("Sunflower Street, No. 6");	
    }
    
}

where Contact is a simple POJO:

public class Contact  {

    private int id;
    private String name;
    private String phone;
    private String address;
    
    // getters and setters

}

The last step it’s to start Pippo with your application as parameter:

public class BasicDemo {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Pippo pippo = new Pippo(new BasicApplication());
        pippo.start();
    }

}

Pippo launches the embedded web server (found in your classpath) and makes the application available on port 8338 (default value). Open your internet browser and check the routes declared in Application:

http://localhost:8338
http://localhost:8338/file
http://localhost:8338/json
http://localhost:8338/xml
http://localhost:8338/negotiate
http://localhost:8338/template

2. Controllers approach

Another approach to handling a request and producing a response is using Controllers. After routing has determined what controller to use, an action method will be invoked. In Pippo, controllers are instances of Controller.

Defining a new controller is simple:

@Path("/contacts")
public class ContactsController extends Controller {

    @GET("/?")
    public void index() {
        List<Contact> contacts = contactService.getContacts();
        getResponse().bind("contacts", contacts).render("contacts");
    }
    
    @GET("/{id: [0-9]+}")
    public void getContact(@Param int id) {
        Contact contact = contactService.getContact(id);
        getResponse().bind("contact", contact).render(contact);
    }

    @GET("/text")
    @Named("text")
    @Produces(Produces.TEXT)
    @NoCache
    public void complex(@Param int id, @Param String action, @Header String host, @Session String user) {
        // do something
    }
    
}

Methods attached to the controller (for example index from above snippet) are known as action methods. When Pippo receives a request, it will create a new instance of the controller and call the appropriate action method. You can register a controller’s action in application with a simple line:

public class BasicApplication extends ControllerApplication {

    @Override
    protected void onInit() {
        addControllers(ContactsController.class); // one instance for EACH request
        // OR
        addControllers(new ContactsController()); // one instance for ALL requests        
    }

}

For more information about Controllers please see Controller section.

For a detailed overview please see section Under the hood.

Pippo Micro Java Web Framework

Getting started

1. Routes approach

2. Controllers approach