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The Build Process

JavaScript build tools were designed with single-page applications in mind, and, by and large, they work very well for that purpose. Finsemble, however, is designed with multiple windows in mind.

Build process tools

Because Finsemble is working at several levels of the application stack, the build process uses two types of tools:

  1. A task runner (Gulp 4.0)
  2. A module bundler (Webpack)

Gulp

Gulp is one of many JavaScript task runners available. We're using version 4.0, which allows for tasks to be run in series or in parallel. It's currently in alpha, but we've found that it's generally reliable for what we're doing. Gulp does several things for you:

  • Starts the node server that serves files to your container.
  • Launches the container.
  • Copies static files from /src/ to /built/.
  • Starts watchers that will trigger Webpack to rebuild your services, clients, and components when their source changes.

Webpack

Webpack is one of the best module bundlers currently available. In the Finsemble build process, Webpack is responsible for:

  • Bundling your custom clients and services.
  • Building any component that requires a build process (e.g., React components).

Finsemble framework start-up

When a channel handler runtime is launched via npm run dev or via an installed application icon, the application start-up begins. Locally, it follows the build process. Remotely, it all happens when the user double-clicks the icon.

The process flows like this:

  1. The container bootstraps itself and looks for your manifest file (i.e., starting config file). After parsing your config, Finsemble starts the Service Manager. The URL of this window is defined in your manifest, under the property startup_app. The Service Manager loads within a hidden window.
  2. The Service Manager spawns all of our desktop services as hidden HTML windows.
  3. Once all of the services are ready, the Workspace Service begins spawning windows.
  4. At the same time that the workspace is coming up, menus and system UI are being created. When the initial workspace is loaded, and the system UI is visible, Finsemble is ready to be used.

check   Because Finsemble builds an application with *N* pages and works at several levels of the application stack, the build process uses both Gulp 4.0 and Webpack.
 

Further reading

To better understand what happens after start-up, proceed on to Configuration.

To understand how Finsemble solves the problem of handling many-window applications, proceed on to Process Management.

To learn more about events that happen once the application is started, check out Lifecycle Events.

For more on modules, why you should use them, and what they are, see this blog post.