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<h1>NetBeans Java Hint Module Tutorial</h1>
<p>This tutorial demonstrates how to create a NetBeans module that provides
one or more Java hints. In this particular scenario, whenever the user
types "<tt>showMessageDialog</tt>", a Java hint will appear, with the reminder that
using the NetBeans Debugger is more effective than using calls to <tt>JOptionPane</tt>:</p>
<p><img alt="" src="../../images/tutorials/hint/hint-result.png"/></p>
<p><b class="notes">Note:</b> The APIs used in this tutorial have not
been finalized. Many of them are not mentioned in the NetBeans API Javadoc.
Therefore, be aware that some of them are very likely to change without being
backward compatible.</p>
<p><b>Contents</b></p>
<p><img src="../../images/articles/69/netbeans-stamp7-8-9.png" class="stamp" width="114" height="114" alt="Content on this page applies to NetBeans IDE 6.5, 6.7, 6.8" title="Content on this page applies to NetBeans IDE 6.5, 6.7, 6.8"/></p>
<ul class="toc">
<li><a href="#creatingthemoduleproject">Setting Up the Module Project</a>
</li>
<li><a href="#coding-module">Creating the Java Hint</a></li>
<li><a href="#registering-module">Declaring and Registering the Java Hint</a>
</li>
<li><a href="#building">Building and Installing the Java Hint</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="#try-plugin">Trying Out the Java Hint</a></li>
<li><a href="#share-plugin">Creating a Shareable Module Binary</a></li>
</ul></li>
</ul>
<p><b>To follow this tutorial, you need the software and resources listed in the following
table.</b></p>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th class="tblheader" scope="col">Software or Resource</th>
<th class="tblheader" scope="col">Version Required</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tbltd1"><a href="https://netbeans.org/downloads/index.html">NetBeans IDE</a></td>
<td class="tbltd1">version 6.7 or above</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tbltd1"><a href="http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index.jsp">Java Developer Kit (JDK)</a></td>
<td class="tbltd1">Version 6 or<br/>version 5</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p class="tips">Optionally, for troubleshooting purposes, you
can <a href="http://plugins.netbeans.org/PluginPortal/faces/PluginDetailPage.jsp?pluginid=14274">download the completed sample</a>.</p>
<h2 class="tutorial"><a name="creatingthemoduleproject"></a>Setting up the Module Project</h2>
<p>Before you start writing the module, you have to make sure you
that your project is set up correctly. The IDE provides a wizard that sets up all the basic files
needed for a module.</p>
<ol>
<li>Choose File &gt; New Project (Ctrl+Shift+N). Under Categories, select NetBeans Modules.
Under Projects, select Module. Click Next.</li>
<li>In the Name and Location panel, type <tt>HintDemo</tt> in the Project Name field.
Change the Project Location to any directory on your computer. Leave the Standalone Module option
and Set as Main Project checkbox selected. Click Next.</li>
<li>In the Basic Module Configuration panel, type <tt>org.nb.hintdemo</tt>
in Code Name Base.</li>
<li>Select "Generate XML Layer". Leave the
locations of both the localizing bundle and the XML layer file
so that they will be stored in a package with
the name <tt>org/nb/hintdemo</tt>. Click Finish.</li>
</ol>
<p> The IDE creates the <tt>HintDemo</tt>
project. The project contains all of your sources and
project metadata, such as the project's Ant build script. The project
opens in the IDE. You can view its logical structure in the Projects window (Ctrl-1) and its
file structure in the Files window (Ctrl-2).</p>
<!-- ===================================================================================== -->
<h2><a name="coding-module"></a>Creating the Java Hint</h2>
<p>In this section, you provide the Java code for the Java hint.</p>
<div class="indent">
<ol>
<li><p>Right-click the HintDemo project node and
choose Properties. In the Libraries panel, you need
to set dependencies on the following modules:</p>
<p><img alt="" src="../../images/tutorials/hint/hint-deps.png"/></p>
<p><b class="notes">Note:</b> You need to set implementation
dependencies on two of the above because they are still
under development:</p>
<ul>
<li>Editor Hints (Experimental)</li>
<li>Java Hints</li>
</ul>
<p>For the above two, select the display name in the list that
you see above, click Edit, and then select the 'Implementation
Version' checkbox.</p></li>
<li>Right-click the <tt>org.nb.hintdemo</tt> package node and
choose New &gt; Java Class.
Click Next.</li>
<li>Type <tt>DemoHint</tt>
and click Finish.</li>
<li>Replace the default content of the <tt>DemoHint.java</tt> file with the following:
<pre class="examplecode">import <a href="http://java.sun.com/javase/6/docs/jdk/api/javac/tree/com/sun/source/tree/Tree.html">com.sun.source.tree.Tree</a>;
import <a href="http://java.sun.com/javase/6/docs/jdk/api/javac/tree/com/sun/source/tree/Tree.Kind.html">com.sun.source.tree.Tree.Kind</a>;
import <a href="http://java.sun.com/javase/6/docs/jdk/api/javac/tree/com/sun/source/util/class-use/TreePath.html">com.sun.source.util.TreePath</a>;
import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.EnumSet;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.Set;
import javax.lang.model.element.Element;
import <a href="http://bits.netbeans.org/dev/javadoc/org-netbeans-modules-java-source/org/netbeans/api/java/source/CompilationInfo.html">org.netbeans.api.java.source.CompilationInfo</a>;
import org.netbeans.modules.java.hints.spi.AbstractHint;
import <a href="http://kickjava.com/src/org/netbeans/spi/editor/hints/ErrorDescription.java.htm">org.netbeans.spi.editor.hints.ErrorDescription</a>;
import <a href="http://kickjava.com/src/org/netbeans/spi/editor/hints/ErrorDescriptionFactory.java.htm">org.netbeans.spi.editor.hints.ErrorDescriptionFactory</a>;
import <a href="http://kickjava.com/src/org/netbeans/spi/editor/hints/Fix.java.htm">org.netbeans.spi.editor.hints.Fix</a>;
public class DemoHint extends AbstractHint {
<b>//This hint does not enable the IDE to fix the problem:</b>
private static final List&lt;Fix&gt; NO_FIXES = Collections.&lt;Fix&gt;emptyList();
<b>//This hint applies to method invocations:</b>
private static final Set&lt;Tree.Kind&gt; TREE_KINDS =
EnumSet.&lt;Tree.Kind&gt;of(Tree.Kind.METHOD_INVOCATION);
public DemoHint() {
super(true, true, AbstractHint.HintSeverity.WARNING);
}
<b>//Specify the kind of code that the hint applies to, in this case,
//the hint applies to method invocations:</b>
@Override
public Set&lt;Kind&gt; getTreeKinds() {
return TREE_KINDS;
}
@Override
public List&lt;ErrorDescription&gt; run(CompilationInfo info, TreePath treePath) {
Tree t = treePath.getLeaf();
Element el = info.getTrees().getElement(treePath);
String name = el.getSimpleName().toString();
<b>//This is where it all happens: if the method invocation is 'showMessageDialog',
//then the hint infrastructure kicks into action:</b>
if (name.equals("showMessageDialog")) {
return Collections.&lt;ErrorDescription&gt;singletonList(
ErrorDescriptionFactory.createErrorDescription(
getSeverity().toEditorSeverity(),
getDisplayName(),
NO_FIXES,
info.getFileObject(),
(int) info.getTrees().getSourcePositions().getStartPosition(info.getCompilationUnit(), t),
(int) info.getTrees().getSourcePositions().getEndPosition(info.getCompilationUnit(), t)));
}
return null;
}
<b>//This is called if/when the hint processing is cancelled:</b>
@Override
public void cancel() {
}
<b>//Message that the user sees in the left sidebar:</b>
@Override
public String getDisplayName() {
return "Hey buddy, shouldn't you be using the NetBeans Debugger instead?";
}
<b>//Name of the hint in the Options window:</b>
@Override
public String getId() {
return "Demo Hint";
}
<b>//Description of the hint in the Options window:</b>
@Override
public String getDescription() {
return "This is a dummy description for the Demo hint!";
}
}</pre>
<p>Right-click in the Source Editor and choose Format (Alt-Shift-F) and then save the file.
</p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
<h2><a name="registering-module"></a>Declaring and Registering the Java Hint</h2>
<p>Hints are registered in the <tt>layer.xml</tt> file for
the category to which they apply.</p>
<p>Add the following tags to the <tt>layer.xml</tt> file, between the <tt>&lt;filesystem&gt;</tt> tags:</p>
<pre class="examplecode">&lt;folder name="org-netbeans-modules-java-hints"&gt;
&lt;folder name="rules"&gt;
&lt;folder name="hints"&gt;
&lt;folder name="general"&gt;
&lt;file name="org-nb-hintdemo-DemoHint.instance"/&gt;
&lt;/folder&gt;
&lt;/folder&gt;
&lt;/folder&gt;
&lt;/folder&gt;
</pre>
<!-- ======================================================================================= -->
<h2><a name="building"></a>Building and Installing the Java Hint</h2>
<p>Now we need to think about installation and distribution.
In the first section below, we install the Java hint,
next we create an NBM file and examine distribution channels.</p>
<div class="indent">
<h3 class="tutorial"><a name="try-plugin"></a>Trying Out the Java Hint</h3>
<p>Install and try out the Java hint,
by following the steps below.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>In the Projects window, right-click the <tt>HintDemo</tt> project and choose Run. </p>
<p>The module is built and installed in the target platform. The target platform opens so that you
can try out your new module. The default target platform is the
installation used by the current instance of the development IDE.</p></li>
<li><p>Open a Java source file and call '<tt>showMessageDialog</tt>' on <tt>JOptionPane</tt>.
Notice the hint that is created in the left sidebar or press Alt-Enter to invoke it.</p></li>
<li><p>Open the Options window under the Tools menu and go to Editor &gt; Hints &gt; Java.
There you should see that your hint has been registered, as shown below. The user can
modify the severity level in the drop-down list.</p>
<p><img alt="" src="../../images/tutorials/hint/hint-options-window.png"/></p></li>
</ol>
<h3 class="tutorial"><a name="share-plugin"></a>Creating a Shareable Module Binary</h3>
<p>An NBM file is the binary version of the module that
provides the Java hint. Below, using one menu item, we create
the NBM file.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>In the Projects window, right-click
the <tt>HintDemo</tt> project and choose Create NBM.</p>
<p>The NBM file is created and you can view it in the Files window (Ctrl-2).</p></li>
<li>Make the module available to others via, for example, the
<a href="http://plugins.netbeans.org/PluginPortal/">Plugin Portal</a>.</li>
<li>The recipient can install the module by using their IDE's Plugin Manager. They
would choose Tools &gt; Plugins
from the main menu.</li>
</ol>
</div>
<div class="feedback-box"><a href="https://netbeans.org/about/contact_form.html?to=3&amp;subject=Feedback:%20Java%20Hint%20Module%20Tutorial">Send Us Your Feedback</a></div>
<!-- ======================================================================================== -->
<h2><a name="nextsteps"></a>Next Steps</h2>
<p>For more information about creating and developing NetBeans Java
hints, see the following resources:</p>
<ul>
<li>Learn about how you can let the IDE fix the problem that is identified
by the hint, in <a href="http://blogs.oracle.com/geertjan/entry/fixable_hint">Fixable Hint</a>
in Geertjan's blog.</li>
<li>Check out the NetBeans sources from Mercurial and then look at the code in
the 'java.hints' folder.</li>
</ul>
<!-- ========================================================================================
<h2><a name="version"></a>Versioning </h2>
<table width="76%" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<div align="left"><b>Version</b></div>
</td>
<td>
<div align="left"><b>Date</b></div>
</td>
<td>
<div align="left"><b>Changes</b></div>
</td>
<td>
<div align="left"><b>Open Issues</b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
1
</td>
<td>
15 November 2008
</td>
<td>
Initial version
</td>
<td>
...
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>-->
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