Getting Started with TotalCross using VSCode IDE

How to configure TotalCross to run in VSCode IDE and run your first Hello World application.

You can create your TotalCross applications from any IDE that supports Java and Maven projects, but we highly recommend starting with Visual Studio Code, using the official TotalCross VSCode plugin, as it is a very quick and easy process.

❗ Please make sure that your Visual Studio Code is updated, as some issues with the plugin may occur on older versions.

Install the TotalCross plugin

Step 1: Open Visual Studio Code and go to Extensions.

Finding the Extensions panel on Visual Studio Code

Step 2: Type TotalCross in the search bar and click to install.

Installing the TotalCross plugin

Create a Hello World project

Step 1: Open VSCode Command Palette (CTRL + Shift + P on Windows, ⇧⌘P on Mac), type TotalCross and select TotalCross: Create new Project.

Creating a new project

Step 2: Create a folder called HelloWorld and select it.

Step 3: Fill in the prompted questions. GroupId is the domain of your company domain backward as in org.wikipedia for wikipedia.org. Feel free to leave it as com.totalcross for this tutorial if you wish.

Setting up a new project

Step 4: ArtifactId is the name of your application, for this example type HelloWorld. Select the latest version of TotalCross SDK and choose whatever platform you intend to deploy your application.

Configuring a new project

Step 5: A new window will open with your project. Right click the RunHelloWorldApplication.java file inside src > main > com > totalcross and choose Run. The TotalCross simulator will open with your brand new application.

Package your application

Step 1: Open VSCode Command Palette (CTRL+Shift+P on Windows, ⇧⌘P on Mac) and search for TotalCross: Package.

Step 2: When the packaging process is finished the target program will take place inside the folder target/install/<platform>.

Deploy and Run your application

❗ Deployment is currently working only for linux arm programs. This feature performs the implementation and execution of the platform via ssh.

Step 1: Open VSCode Command Palette (CTRL + Shift + P on Windows, ⇧⌘P on Mac) and search for TotalCross: Deploy&Run. If you just want to deploy, choose the option TotalCross: Deploy.

Step 2: Fill in the device information.

Step 3: See the result on a display connected to your device or with a VNC client.

To know more about our plugin, just click here.

You’re now ready to create your first project with TotalCross!