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Creating an SPL application or project

Learn the difference between a starter SPL application and a project and create them from scratch.

Key differences

SPL Application: A minimal structure containing:

  • A namespace directory
  • An SPL file with a main composite (a composite operator with no inputs or outputs)
  • An info.xml file with metadata about the application

When to create an application

Create an application if you want to try out development, prototype behavior, or test simple applications.

SPL Project: A full application directory containing an SPL application and additional subdirectories for organizing artifacts like:

  • Data files
  • Configuration files
  • Custom operators
  • External dependencies

When to create a project

Create a project if you're developing a production application or one that requires custom operators, configuration, and other supporting files.

Creating an SPL application

  1. Right-click in an editor or File Explorer
  2. Hover over SPL Project
  3. Click Add SPL Application to open a wizard form
  4. Fill in the namespace and main composite name details
  5. Click the Create Application button

In the current workspace, a directory (named after the namespace) will be created and an SPL file (named after the main composite) will reside within it. Additionally, an info.xml file will be created if one does not already exist. This file contains metadata about your application including the version and a description.

Example: Created application

Screenshot showing the created namespace directory, SPL file, and info.xml of an application

Creating an SPL project

  1. Right-click in an editor or File Explorer
  2. Hover over SPL Project
  3. Click Create SPL Project to open a wizard form
  4. Fill in the project name, namespace, and main composite name details
  5. Click the Create Project button

In the current workspace, an application directory (named after the project) will be created along with several subdirectories and an info.xml file.

To know more about a project's structure and the various subdirectories, see Application directory files and structure in the product documentation.

Example: Created project

Screenshot showing directories and files of a created SPL project

Next steps

Open the newly created SPL file and explore the features provided by the SPL language server.