4 Steps to getting started with Google App Engine

Here is a set of steps that should ease the process of getting started with Google App Engine, getting a sense of the some of key aspects involved in the platform and getting some of initial deployments going.

Step 1: Go through the documentation. Make sure you go through every page in the documentation and while you may not understand every aspect of it, it is still a critical exercise. Things will start falling into place as you go through the next steps but starting with the documentation is always the first critical step. The great thing about App Engine documentation it is short and precise and covers only the absolute essentials and is easy to read. Also specifically spend some additional time understanding the Data Store, JDO and Services as key items.

Check this link for the Java Documentation for App Engine

Step 2: Set up App Engine on your machine and build and deploy a basic Hello World App. App Engine is very easy to setup and get started with. The key requirements are Eclipse, JRE, App Engine SDK, GWT SDK, Eclipse Plugin for App Engine. Check out our post for Setting up App Engine in your Lab

Step 3: Run and deploy the samples. It is always a great exercise to run and deploy the samples of any new framework that you plan to learn. Typically during the initial phases it is a key confidence building exercise to be able get some basic apps running without too much effort. It gives you an understanding of some the features that are available and browsing through the sample code helps you understand how to implement them.  Check out the App Engine samples in your local installation at \appengine-java-sdk-1.4.0\demos and GWT samples at \gwt-2.1.1\samples. The App Engine samples are ready to deploy on app engine while the GWT samples may need some work on generating a project file and an app engine xml file. Check the readme for each of the projects.

Step 4: Build a simple prototype application using one of the App Engine services. The App Engine services have a great set of useful functionality and are a good starting point for a simple prototype implementation.  Implement any one of the services as part of a prototype app to get a good hands on understanding of how to implement an App Engine app. Check out the list of App Engine Services.