Chapter 5. Modules

The script also generated a basic module file: GwtAjax.gwt.xml. This is a required configuration file for your application. The module XML file specifies any entry-point class for your application, other modules from which your application inherits, and additional settings that you may use less often. The code sample shows the basic module that applicationCreator generates. Later, this shortcut shows the changes we make to this file to inherit additional modules and implement internationalization (i18n).

 <module>   <!-- Inherit the core Web Toolkit stuff.                  -->      <inherits name='com.google.gwt.user.User'/>   <!-- Specify the app entry point class.                   -->      <entry-point class='com.parkerriver.gwt.intro.client.GwtAjax'/> </module> 

This file indicates that the module inherits from an existing module, com.google.gwt.user.User, which the GWT provides. The file also specifies the fully qualified entry-point class for the application.

NOTE

Internationalization is a popular term for allowing your application to handle different languages. It is also known as i18n (the word begins with an i, is followed by 18 letters, and ends with an n). Most web pages will be viewed by people from all over the world. You can specify that the GWT application handles certain languages by using the techniques explained elsewhere in this shortcut. For example, our test application will display messages in English, Spanish, and German.