Docs Help

Terms, Icons, and Labels

Many classes have shortcut names used when creating (instantiating) a class with a configuration object. The shortcut name is referred to as an alias (or xtype if the class extends Ext.Component). The alias/xtype is listed next to the class name of applicable classes for quick reference.

Access Levels

Framework classes or their members may be specified as private or protected. Else, the class / member is public. Public, protected, and private are access descriptors used to convey how and when the class or class member should be used.

Member Types

Member Syntax

Below is an example class member that we can disect to show the syntax of a class member (the lookupComponent method as viewed from the Ext.button.Button class in this case).

lookupComponent ( item ) : Ext.Component
protected

Called when a raw config object is added to this container either during initialization of the items config, or when new items are added), or {@link #insert inserted.

This method converts the passed object into an instanced child component.

This may be overridden in subclasses when special processing needs to be applied to child creation.

Parameters

item :  Object

The config object being added.

Returns
Ext.Component

The component to be added.

Let's look at each part of the member row:

Member Flags

The API documentation uses a number of flags to further commnicate the class member's function and intent. The label may be represented by a text label, an abbreviation, or an icon.

Class Icons

- Indicates a framework class

- A singleton framework class. *See the singleton flag for more information

- A component-type framework class (any class within the Ext JS framework that extends Ext.Component)

- Indicates that the class, member, or guide is new in the currently viewed version

Member Icons

- Indicates a class member of type config

- Indicates a class member of type property

- Indicates a class member of type method

- Indicates a class member of type event

- Indicates a class member of type theme variable

- Indicates a class member of type theme mixin

- Indicates that the class, member, or guide is new in the currently viewed version

Class Member Quick-Nav Menu

Just below the class name on an API doc page is a row of buttons corresponding to the types of members owned by the current class. Each button shows a count of members by type (this count is updated as filters are applied). Clicking the button will navigate you to that member section. Hovering over the member-type button will reveal a popup menu of all members of that type for quick navigation.

Getter and Setter Methods

Getting and setter methods that correlate to a class config option will show up in the methods section as well as in the configs section of both the API doc and the member-type menus just beneath the config they work with. The getter and setter method documentation will be found in the config row for easy reference.

History Bar

Your page history is kept in localstorage and displayed (using the available real estate) just below the top title bar. By default, the only search results shown are the pages matching the product / version you're currently viewing. You can expand what is displayed by clicking on the button on the right-hand side of the history bar and choosing the "All" radio option. This will show all recent pages in the history bar for all products / versions.

Within the history config menu you will also see a listing of your recent page visits. The results are filtered by the "Current Product / Version" and "All" radio options. Clicking on the button will clear the history bar as well as the history kept in local storage.

If "All" is selected in the history config menu the checkbox option for "Show product details in the history bar" will be enabled. When checked, the product/version for each historic page will show alongside the page name in the history bar. Hovering the cursor over the page names in the history bar will also show the product/version as a tooltip.

Search and Filters

Both API docs and guides can be searched for using the search field at the top of the page.

On API doc pages there is also a filter input field that filters the member rows using the filter string. In addition to filtering by string you can filter the class members by access level, inheritance, and read only. This is done using the checkboxes at the top of the page.

The checkbox at the bottom of the API class navigation tree filters the class list to include or exclude private classes.

Clicking on an empty search field will show your last 10 searches for quick navigation.

API Doc Class Metadata

Each API doc page (with the exception of Javascript primitives pages) has a menu view of metadata relating to that class. This metadata view will have one or more of the following:

Expanding and Collapsing Examples and Class Members

Runnable examples (Fiddles) are expanded on a page by default. You can collapse and expand example code blocks individually using the arrow on the top-left of the code block. You can also toggle the collapse state of all examples using the toggle button on the top-right of the page. The toggle-all state will be remembered between page loads.

Class members are collapsed on a page by default. You can expand and collapse members using the arrow icon on the left of the member row or globally using the expand / collapse all toggle button top-right.

Desktop -vs- Mobile View

Viewing the docs on narrower screens or browsers will result in a view optimized for a smaller form factor. The primary differences between the desktop and "mobile" view are:

Viewing the Class Source

The class source can be viewed by clicking on the class name at the top of an API doc page. The source for class members can be viewed by clicking on the "view source" link on the right-hand side of the member row.

Cmd


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Introduction to Sencha Cmd

Sencha Cmd is a cross-platform command line tool that provides many automated tasks around the full life-cycle of your applications from generating a new project to deploying an application to production.

Meet Sencha Cmd

Sencha Cmd provides a collection of powerful, time-saving features that work together and in conjunction with the Sencha Ext JS and Sencha Touch frameworks. Sencha Cmd provides the following capabilities:

  • Code Generation Tools: Code generation tools to generate entire applications and extend those applications with new MVC components.
  • JS Compiler: A framework-aware, JavaScript compiler that understands the semantics of Sencha frameworks and can produce minimal footprint builds from your source. The compiler can optimize many of the high-level semantics provided by Sencha frameworks to reduce load time of your applications.
  • Web Server: Provides a lightweight web server that serves files from localhost.
  • Package Management System: Distributed package management system for easy integration of packages (such as Ext JS Themes) created by others or from the Sencha Package Repository.
  • Sencha Web Application Manager Integration - Easily publish new application versions to the Sencha Web Application Manager server.
  • Workspace Management: Assists in sharing frameworks, packages and custom code across multiple applications.
  • Build Scripts: Generated build script for applications and packages with "before" and "after" extension points so you can customize the build process to fit your specific needs.
  • Cordova / PhoneGap Integration: Native packaging to convert a web application into a first-class, mobile application that has access to device functionality and can be distributed in App Stores.
  • Image Capture: Converts CSS3 features (such as border-radius and linear-gradient) into sprites for legacy browsers.
  • Tuning Tools: Powerful code selection tools for tuning what is included in your application's final build, determine common code across pages and partition shared code using high-level set operations to get builds exactly as you want them.
  • Flexible Configuration System: Enables defaults to be specified for command options at the application or workspace level or across all workspaces on a machine.
  • Logging: Robust logging to help you understand the inner workings of commands and facilitate troubleshooting.
  • Third-party Software: For Sencha Touch and Ext JS 5 and older, Sencha Cmd includes a compatible version of Compass and Sass.
  • Code Generation Hooks: Can be specific to one page or shared by all pages in the workspace, for example, to check coding conventions or guidelines as new models are generated).

Compatibility

Sencha Cmd supports Sencha Ext JS version 4.1.1a or higher and Sencha Touch version 2.1 or higher. Many of the features of Sencha Cmd require framework support that is only available at these or later version levels. Some low-level commands can be used for older versions of Sencha frameworks or JavaScript in general.

If you are using an older version of Ext JS, you may use Sencha Cmd's build command to build via your JSB file. In other words, Sencha Cmd can replace JSBuilder to produce a compressed build of the files described in a JSB file. Sencha Cmd will not update your JSB file as was done by the deprecated SDK Tools v2.

Sencha Touch 2.0 and Sencha Ext JS 4.0 require the deprecated SDK Tools v2, which cannot be used with later Touch or Ext JS versions.

System Setup

The Sencha Cmd 6 installer includes all required software for building Ext JS 6 applications, so simply download Sencha Cmd:

Using Older Frameworks

If you are using older versions of Ext JS or Sencha Touch, you will need to check the "Compass extension" option in the installer:

Compass extension

You will also need to install Ruby to compile themes and applications that use Sass. Ruby differs by OS:

  • Windows: Download Ruby from rubyinstaller.org. Get the ".exe" file version of the software and install it.
  • Mac OS: Ruby is pre-installed. You can test if Ruby is installed with the Ruby -v command.
  • Ubuntu: Use sudo apt-get install ruby2.0.0 to download Ruby.

If you will be using Cordova or PhoneGap, you may have other requirements for these tools. See Integrating With Cordova or PhoneGap.

The installer will add an entry to your PATH environmental variable.

Verify Installation

To verify that Sencha Cmd is working properly, open a command line, change directory to your application, and type the sencha command.

You should see output that starts something like this:

Sencha Cmd v6.0.0.202
...

The exact version number displayed should match the version you just installed.

Installing Sencha Cmd Silently

Some users may wish to install Sencha Cmd without the installer's GUI. If you need a CLI-only installation process, simply run the following command from your command line tool:

Mac OSX

SenchaCmd-6.x.y.z-osx.app/Contents/MacOS/JavaApplicationStub -q

Linux

SenchaCmd-6.x.y.z-linux(-i386|-amd64).sh -q

Windows

SenchaCmd-6.x.y.z-windows-(32|64)bit.exe -q

This will install Sencha Cmd sans GUI installer.

Changing the Installation Path

If you need to change the installation path, you may specify it using the "dir" flag. For instance:

sudo SenchaCmd-6.x.y.z-linux(-i386|-amd64).sh -q -dir "/opt"

Note: Your choice of installation path may necessitate permission changes.

Upgrading Sencha Cmd

The sencha upgrade feature lets you upgrade Sencha Cmd.

Check for new updates to Sencha Cmd:

sencha upgrade --check

Without the --check option, the sencha upgrade command downloads and installs the latest version if you don't already have it:

sencha upgrade

After the installer is done, start a new console or terminal to pick up the changes to your PATH environment variable.

Because multiple versions of Sencha Cmd can be installed side-by-side, you can safely try new releases and simply uninstall them (or adjust the PATH or symlink) to go back to your previous version. Upgrading your applications using sencha app upgrade however, is more of a source control item you may need "roll back" if you downgrade to an older Sencha Cmd.

Upgrading Sencha Cmd Silently

Some users may wish to upgrade Sencha Cmd without the installer's GUI. If you need a CLI-only upgrade process, simply run the following command from your command line tool:

sencha upgrade --unattended

This will upgrade Sencha Cmd sans GUI installer.

Beta Releases

If you want to check for beta releases, use:

sencha upgrade --check --beta

To install the latest beta version:

sencha upgrade --beta

Note It is possible that the most current release is in either the "beta" or stable channel. That is to say, sencha upgrade --beta may install a beta that pre-dates the current release that would be installed by sencha upgrade.

Command Basics

Sencha Cmd features are arranged in categories (or modules) and commands:

sencha [category] [command] [options...] [arguments...]

Help is available using the help command.

sencha help [module] [action]

For example, try this:

sencha help

Displays the current version and the available top-level commands. For example:

Sencha Cmd v6.0.0.202
...

Options
  * --beta, -be - Enable beta package repositories
  * --cwd, -cw - Sets the directory from which commands should execute
  * --debug, -d - Sets log level to higher verbosity
  * --info, -i - Sets log level to default
  * --nologo, -n - Suppress the initial Sencha Cmd version display
  * --plain, -pl - enables plain logging output (no highlighting)
  * --quiet, -q - Sets log level to warnings and errors only
  * --sdk-path, -sd - The location of the SDK to use for non-app commands
  * --strict, -st - Treats warnings as errors, exiting with error if any warnings are present
  * --time, -ti - Display the execution time after executing all commands

Categories
  * app - Perform various application build processes
  * compile - Compile sources to produce concatenated output and metadata
  * cordova - Quick init Support for Cordova
  * diag - Perform diagnostic operations on Sencha Cmd
  * fs - Utility commands to work with files
  * generate - Generates models, controllers, etc. or an entire application
  * manager - Commands for interacting with Sencha Web Application Manager.
  * manifest - Extract class metadata
  * package - Manages local and remote packages
  * phonegap - Quick init support for PhoneGap
  * repository - Manage local repository and remote repository connections
  * template - Commands for working with templates
  * theme - Commands for low-level operations on themes
  * web - Manages a simple HTTP file server

Commands
  * ant - Invoke Ant with helpful properties back to Sencha Cmd
  * audit - Search from the current folder for Ext JS frameworks and report their license
  * build - Builds a project from a legacy JSB3 file.
  * config - Load a properties file or sets a configuration property
  * help - Displays help for commands
  * js - Executes arbitrary JavaScript file(s)
  * upgrade - Upgrades Sencha Cmd
  * which - Displays the path to the current version of Sencha Cmd

Note: The exact content will depend on the version you have installed.

Verbose Output

The level of debug output was significantly decreased in Sencha Cmd 5. You can re-enable verbose output by including the -info flag in your command. For instance:

 sencha -info app watch

This command will provide more information about the background processes occurring during initialization and upon file system updates.

The -info flag can be used with any Sencha command that produces output.

Current Directory

In many cases, Sencha Cmd requires that you set a specific current directory. Or it may just need to know details about the relevant Sencha SDK. The SDK (or "framework") can be determined automatically by Sencha Cmd when it is run from a generated application folder or, for some few commands, from an extracted SDK folder.

Important For the following commands, Sencha Cmd needs to be run from the root folder of a generated application. The commands fail if not run from the application's root folder.

* `sencha generate ...` (for commands other than `app`, `package` and `workspace`)
* `sencha app ...`

This is also true of Packages. When running commands like sencha package build, the current directory must be the desired package folder.

Sencha Cmd Documentation

The many guides for Sencha Cmd are organized to help build on your understanding and it is recommended that you follow this sequence. Jumping ahead can result in confusion as the advanced guides often assume understanding of the content of the earlier guides.

At the start of each guide are links to any prerequisites for that guide. Further, most guides end with a set of links for further reading.

Beyond The Basics

There are many other details related to using Sencha Cmd that can be helpful. The help command is a great reference, but if you want to walk through all the highlights, consult Advanced Sencha Cmd.

Troubleshooting

Here are some tips for solving common problems encountered when using Sencha Cmd.

Java Heap Space

If you receive a "java heap space" error after executing a Cmd command, you may need to increase Java's allocated memory usage.

Mac & Linux

Add the following to ~/.bash_profile:

export _JAVA_OPTIONS="-Xms1024m -Xmx2048m"

Windows

You can either add the variable as an environmental variable, or you can add the following to startup.bat:

set _JAVA_OPTIONS="-Xms1024m -Xmx2048m"

Command Not Found

If running sencha results in the error message sencha: command not found on OSX/Linux or 'sencha' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file on Windows, follow these steps:

  • Close the terminal/command prompt window and open a new one.
  • Make sure that Sencha Cmd is properly installed:
    • The installation directory exists. By default, the installation path is:
      • Windows: C:\Users\Me\bin\Sencha\Cmd\{version}
      • Mac OS X: ~/bin/Sencha/Cmd/{version}
      • Linux: ~/bin/Sencha/Cmd/{version}
    • The path to Sencha Cmd directory is prepended to your PATH environment variable. From the terminal, run echo %PATH% on Windows or echo $PATH on Mac or Linux. The Sencha Cmd directory should be displayed in part of the output. If this is not the case, add it to your PATH manually.

Cannot find Ruby

If you see an error related to not recognizing or finding "ruby" this is likely because Ruby is not installed or is not in your PATH. See the previous System Setup section.

You should not see this message using Ext JS 6 because Fashion is used instead of Compass and Fashion does not require Ruby.

Wrong Current Directory

A common mistake is to perform a command that requires the current directory to be either an extracted SDK directory or an application directory, but such a directory has not been set. If this requirement is not met, Sencha Cmd displays an error and exits.

Note A valid application directory is one that was generated by Sencha Cmd.

Errors While Resolving Dependencies

The sencha app build command works by reading your index.html and app.json files and scanning for required classes. If your application does not properly declare the classes it requires, the build usually completes but will not contain all the classes needed by your application.

To ensure that you have all required classes specified, always develop with the debugger console enabled ("Developer Tools" in IE/Chrome, FireBug in FireFox and Web Inspector in Safari) and resolve all warnings and error messages as they appear.

Whenever you see a warning like this:

[Ext.Loader] Synchronously loading 'Ext.foo.Bar'; consider adding 'Ext.foo.Bar'
explicitly as a require of the corresponding class

You should add 'Ext.foo.Bar' inside the requires array property of the class from which the dependency originates. If it is a application-wide dependency, add it to the requires array property inside Ext.application(...) statement in app.js.

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