Setup for Desktop Red App Development

The Red App development environment consists of the Eclipse IDE, required JDKs, Red App target platform, Red App run configuration and Red App development tools software.

The procedures in this chapter help you with the first-time installation of the Sabre Red 360 Software Development Kit.

It is required to complete all steps in each part in their order of presentation.

This chapter is organized into the following parts:

Prerequisite Software. This part will guide you step by step through the process of installing required tools.
Adding Your Red App Target Platform. These steps let you use the functionality in the Sabre Red 360 Software Development Kit and import the Red App sample plug-ins.
Configuring and Testing Your Red App Run Configuration. This part lets you launch Sabre Red 360 in development mode from Eclipse IDE. Run the Red App sample plug-ins and do local testing of your Red App.
Installing the Red App Development Tools Software. You have to install this to access the Sabre Red 360 Software Development Kit help. Run Red App wizards and access to the Sabre Scribe Compiler!

Note	Set up tutorials can be also found in video format on Sabre Dev Studio Youtube channel.

Prerequisite Software

Required Developer Software, Tools, and IDs

Sabre Red App Certified Developers need the following software, tools, and login credentials for Red App development:

Installation of the Eclipse Temurin 1.8.0_402 which is obligatory in the runtime for Red App Development.

You can download the Eclipse Temurin 1.8.0_402 from official page or from the Sabre Dev Studio Red App Developer Resources.

Installation of any distribution of JDK 11 or greater which is required by Eclipse IDE for RCP and RAP Developers 2021-12 to be set as the JAVA_HOME variable in the environment settings or set as the -vm argument in ini file.

Attempting to run eclipse with earlier versions of the JDK will fail and the error similar to the below will be shown.

Installation of Eclipse IDE for RCP and RAP Developers 2021-12 for the 64-bit Windows or macOS. Older versions of Eclipse are not compatible.

You can download this from https://www.eclipse.org/downloads/packages/ or from the Sabre Dev Studio Red App Developer Resources.

The latest version of the Sabre Red 360 Software Development Kit. This Toolkit includes components for the Red App target platform, which is essential for Red App development. The Toolkit also has sample plug-ins, the Red App Development Tools (for using the wizards), and the Red App developer documentation. After you set up your development environment, you launch Sabre Red 360 in development mode from Eclipse IDE.

Complete installation instruction can be found in the next step Extracting the Sabre Red 360 Software Development Kit

Login credentials with authentication to both the Certification and the Production environments of Sabre Red 360, the Sabre GDS, and the Sabre PCC.

A Pseudo City Code, or PCC, is Sabre’s 4-character alphanumeric identifier. All Red App developers receive a PCC as a part of the existing Sabre Authorized Developer on-boarding process.

These login credentials include a Sabre ID, password, and PCC.

More information about using your Sabre ID is included in Using Your Sabre ID and Other IDs.

Note

With the Sabre Red 360 Software Development Kit version 2.10 or higher installed, you can start Red App development without having Certification and Production credentials set up using Sabre Red 360 Software Development Kit Sandbox Mode, which does not require any connectivity to Sabre infrastructure and allows you to run and test your Red App against mocked Sabre Host and Sabre Web Services. When running Sabre Red 360 Software Development Kit in Sandbox Mode you use fake credentials and do not need a Terminal Address (use pooled TA connection mode with empty pool name). However, final tests and certification of a Red App are always performed on Certification environment and do require valid credentials as well as network connectivity.

A Terminal Address (TA) with access to the Certification (CERT) environment.
Installation of the CERT and Production (PROD) environments of Sabre Red 360 for development.

After Sabre validates and certifies a Red App, developers are required to test their app in CERT, and to test their app later, in PROD Sabre Red 360. More information about environments is included in Sabre Red 360 and GDS Environments.

Compliance with the minimum network requirements to connect to the Sabre GDS:
- Sabre Customer Virtual Private Network Client (SCVPN). This is a customer-supplied Internet connection.
  
  56 Kbps or faster (56 Kbps for a single workstation only)
  
  Note
  Ports 443 & 80 are required for Sabre Red 360. Write permission is required to the etc directory (host and lmhost files) for the Sabre VPN.
- Private Connection. This is a dedicated connection to Sabre.
  - Business to Business VPN (B2BVPN)
  - Legacy Frame Relay
  - Managed Network Services (Frame or DSL)
  - Vendor Access Room connections
    
    Note
    Ports 443, 80, 389, 30030, 30031, 30032, and 30051 must be open for the Workspace communication processes to work properly.
Sabre Red App Certified Developers who want to develop applications that consume Sabre Web Services must have previously acquired credentials and a Sabre Web Services developer license agreement. Additionally, downline agreements may be required to allow agencies to run the apps that are built to consume Sabre Web Services.
Access to eservices.sabre.com. Your PRODUCTION Sabre GDS login credentials grant you access to eServices.
A digitally signed certificate to submit a Red App bundle. The company name field in certificate must be the same as the redapp bundle vendor and the certificate must be valid for a minimum of 30 days, starting from the date that Sabre validates your submitted Red App. Obtain a digital certificate from a certificate authority that Sabre supports.

Extracting the Sabre Red 360 Software Development Kit

Create a parent folder on your local drive for Sabre Red 360 Software Development Kit.

Note
You will also use this parent folder to upgrade to the new versions of the Toolkit.
Download Sabre Red 360 Software Development Kit archive file (zip on Windows, tgz on macOS) to the parent folder. In Figure 1, the parent folder is sdk (in our example it is located in C:\sdk).
Extract the contents of Sabre Red 360 Software Development Kit archive file. Make sure to retain the folder names.

Figure 1. Folder Structure of the Extracted Sabre Red 360 Software Development Kit

When you extract the zip (on Windows) or tgz (on macOS) file into the parent folder, the archive program will automatically create a new sub-folder which have the following naming convention: red-app-sdk-*. The archive program will also create another set of sub-folders for the files. (See Figure 2.)

Figure 2. Expanded Folder Structure After Installation of Sabre Red 360 Software Development Kit

If you finish these procedures, please go to the next step which is Adding your Red App Target Platform.

Adding a Red App Target Platform

After extracting the Sabre Red 360 Software Development Kit, complete the following steps:

Create a folder for your workspace on your local drive. You will continue to use this folder for your workspace whenever you upgrade the Sabre Red 360 Software Development Kit to a new version.
Next open the Eclipse.
In the Eclipse IDE Launcher dialog set the location for your workspace. Click Browse and navigate to the folder that you created for your workspace. Select the folder and then click Launch. (See Figure 3.)

Figure 3. Selecting the Workspace on the Eclipse IDE Launcher dialog
From the Window menu choose Open Perspective > Other > Plug-in Development, next click OK.
From the Workbench menu bar choose Window > Preferences (on Windows - see Figure 4) or Eclipse > Preferences (on macOS - see Figure 5).

Figure 4. Preferences option on the Window menu (Windows)

Figure 5. Preferences option on the Eclipse menu (macOS)

Eclipse displays the Preferences window where you will set preferences for your target platform.
In the Preferences panel expand Plug-in Development and then select Target Platform. The Target Platform window replaces the General Preferences window. (See Figure 6.)

Figure 6. Adding Preferences for Target Platform Plug-in Development
Click Add to start the New Target Definition wizard. (See Figure 7.)

Figure 7. Initializing the Target Definition with Nothing
Select Nothing: Start with an empty target definition from the Initialize the target definition with list.
Press the Next button. Eclipse will display the Locations tab on the Target Content screen. (See Figure 8.)

Figure 8. Assigning a Name to the Target Platform
In the Name field, type a name for your Red App target platform. Whenever you develop plug-ins for Sabre Red 360, this is the target platform which you will use.

Tip
You may want to choose a name that describes the purpose of the target platform, for example, "RedApp."
On the Locations tab, click Add button to open the Add Content dialog. (See Figure 9.)

Figure 9. Selecting a Source Directory for the Plug-ins
In Add Content dialog, select Directory folder.
Click Next button to open the Add Directory screen. (See Figure 10.)

Figure 10. Selecting the Path Name for the Plug-in Directory

On the Add Directory screen, in Location choose Browse to navigate to the path of the Red App targetplatform folder. (For this path, refer to Step 3 in Extracting the Sabre Red 360 Software Development Kit). On the dialog, click OK to accept the location.

Tip	Whenever you add a new version of the Red App target platform, on the Add Directory screen choose the path of the `targetplatform` folder for the new version of the Sabre Red 360 Software Development Kit.

Then click Next button to display the Preview Contents screen. (See Figure 11.)

Figure 11. List of Installed Plug-ins on the Preview Contents Screen

Your list of plug-ins should be similar to the list in Figure 11.
When you are done reviewing the plug-ins in Preview Contents, click Finish.

The New Target Definition dialog will display your new target definition. (See Figure 12.)

Figure 12. New Target Definition with a confirmed number of Plug-ins

Note
Plug-ins will be continually added to the Red App target platform. Therefore, whenever the Red App target platform is upgraded, the number of plug-ins will also increase.

Make sure you have a minimum of 100 plug-ins in the directory you have selected.
Go to the Environment tab

If you work on Windows, select x86 in the Architecture drop-down list.

Figure 13. Selecting architecture (on Windows only)

If you work on macOS, select x86_64 in the Architecture drop-down list.
When you finish defining your target platform on the New Target Definition dialog, click Finish.

Eclipse will display the Preferences window again with your target platform. (See Figure 14.)

Figure 14. New Target Platform Definition on the Preferences Window
In the Target Definitions list, select the check box that is adjacent to your new target definition.
Click Apply and Close to apply the changes and close the Preferences window.

To continue, follow the steps presented in Configuring and testing your Red App Run Configuration.

Configuring and Testing Your Red App Run Configuration

A run configuration consists of settings that you define for a particular development project. The settings include your runtime workspace, runtime environment, and parameters for running or debugging your plug-ins in the workspace. You can use the Java distribution from Sabre Red 360 for your run configuration. (It is also possible to define multiple run or launch configurations).

Complete the following procedures in the order below to set up a run configuration for the runtime workspace, program and JRE. The procedures are divided into the following parts:

Setting Up a Run Configuration for Sabre Red 360

Using the Java Distribution from Sabre Red 360 installation

Choosing Plug-ins for Your Run Configuration

Verifying Your Sabre Red 360 Launch Configuration

(Optional) Passing Proxy Settings for Sabre Red 360 in Development Mode

Setting Up a Run Configuration for Sabre Red 360

From the Workbench menu bar choose Run. (See Figure 15.)

Figure 15. Run Menu
Select Run Configurations, then Eclipse will open the Run Configurations wizard. (See Figure 16.)

Figure 16. Run Configurations Wizard
In the panel on the left, right-click Eclipse Application and choose New Configuration. Eclipse will create a default run configuration, which the Main tab displays. (See Figure 17.)

Figure 17. New Configuration
In the Name field, type a name for your run configuration. You will use this configuration name whenever you want to run or debug any of your plug-ins in Sabre Red 360.

Tip
Use a name that distinguishes this run configuration from run configurations for your other projects.
In the program to run a group, select Run a Product.
Next from the drop-down list select com.sabre.edge.app.product.
In the Java Runtime Environment group select jdk8u402-b06-jre from Runtime JRE. This JRE version should match to JRE version embedded in SR360 (32-bit Eclipse Temurin 1.8.0_402 on Windows, 64-bit Eclipse Temurin 1.8.0_402 on macOS).
For Java Executable, select default.

Using the Java Distribution from Sabre Red 360 installation

Configure your Run Configuration to use the Java distribution from the Sabre Red 360 installation.

In the Main tab click Installed JREs button. (See Figure 18.)

Figure 18. Installed JREs in Preferences

Eclipse will display a list of your Java runtime environments. (See Figure 19.)

Figure 19. Add JRE Dialog in Eclipse
In Installed JREs section click the Add button to open the Add JRE Type dialog. (See Figure 20.)

Figure 20. Add JRE Type Dialog
For JRE type select Standard VM.
To display the JRE Definition screen click the Next button. (See Figure 21.)

Figure 21. JRE Definition Screen
On the right-hand side, next to the JRE home field, click Directory. Navigate to your Sabre Red 360 installation directory, and then select the Common/binary/net.adoptium.java.jre.$os.$arch_$version directory path.

Typical path where you can find this directory follows:

For Windows:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\Sabre Red 360-CERT\Common\binary\net.adoptium.java.jre.win32.x86_64_1.8.0.402

For macOS:

/Applications/Sabre Red 360-CERT.app/Contents/Common/binary/net.adoptium.java.jre.macosx.x86_64_1.8.0.402
In the JRE Name field enter a name for your Sabre Red 360 JRE.
Press the Finish button to display the Installed JREs screen. (See Figure 22.)

Figure 22. Installed Sabre Red 360 JRE

Your SR360 JRE should appear in the list.
Select the check box next to your SR360 Java Runtime name, and then click Apply and Close.

When you are done, the Runtime JRE field on the Main tab is changed to your Sabre Red 360 JRE. Eclipse now uses the SR360 Java Runtime at runtime during development.

Setting VM arguments

We recommend configuring the following VM arguments in your run configuration as the same are set used by Sabre Red 360:

-Xms128m
-Xmx1024m
-Dosgi.parentClassloader=ext

For macOS make sure that -XstartOnFirstThread checkbox is selected.

Using them will make your development environment consistent with production version. Setting the “parentClassloader” VM argument in Run Configuration allows the usage of Extended class loader.

Choosing Plug-ins for Your Run Configuration

Select the Plug-ins tab. (See Figure 23.)

Figure 23. Plug-ins for the Run Configuration on the Plug-ins Tab
Next, from the Launch With list select plug-ins selected below only option.

Eclipse automatically selects the appropriate plug-ins in the Target Platform group in the Plug-ins list.
If you have plug-ins in your Workspace group, Eclipse displays your plug-ins. Select the plug-ins that you want to launch in Sabre Red 360.
Select the Include optional dependencies when computing required Plug-ins check box.
Select the Add new workspace Plug-ins to this launch configuration automatically check box.
Before you launch the Sabre Red 360 application, click Validate Plug-ins button. Plug-in validation will verify that you have selected all necessary dependencies.

If Eclipse successfully verifies the dependencies, the Validation dialog displays a message that no problems were detected. (See Figure 24.)

Figure 24. No Detected Problems on the Validation Dialog

If Eclipse finds missing dependencies, the Validation dialog describes found problems. (See Figure 25.)

Figure 25. Problems Detected on the Validation Dialog for a Run Configuration
To repair the problems automatically, click Continue. The Plug-ins tab is opened on the Run Configurations wizard. (See Figure 23.)
Next, on the Plug-ins tab click Add Required Plug-ins.
Click Apply to save your changes.
To launch Sabre Red 360 press Run.

If you set up your run configuration successfully, the Sabre Red 360 login dialog will display. (See Figure 26.)

What to Do Next

Verify that you can launch Sabre Red 360 from Eclipse IDE

First launch on macOS

On macOS when Sabre Red 360 is launching for the first time, the system may warn you that you run Chromium. It is expected - we use JxBrowser (based on Chromium) to display the web content. For example when you downloaded Sabre Red 360 Software Development Kit using Safari a warning may look like this:

or like this one:

Just click Open to continue.

Verifying Your Sabre Red 360 Launch Configuration

To log in to Sabre Red 360 in development mode, use your CERT Sabre login credentials. (For information about Sabre IDs check this section Using Your Sabre ID and Other IDs.)

Figure 26. Sabre Red 360 Login Dialog

You are done setting up your Red App development environment.

What to Do Next

(Optional) Add proxy settings to your run configuration to launch Sabre Red 360 in development mode.
(Required) Install the Red App development tools software. These tools let you use the Red App wizards to create basic plug-ins AND open the Red App developer help!

You can find a description of the Red App wizards and general instructions for running them in the Red App help.

Installing the Red App Development Tools Software

These instructions will show you how to install the Red App development tools software.

When you are done, the Red App wizards and Sabre Red 360 Software Development Kit help is automatically integrated into the Eclipse IDE.

Before you begin, set up your Red App development environment. The development environment includes the Red App target platform and a Sabre Red 360 run configuration.

If you installed the Sabre Red 360 Software Development Kit correctly, your devtools folder should looks like in the Figure 27.

Figure 27. Red App Toolkit Folders

First, open Eclipse and choose Help > Install New Software. (See Figure 28.)

Figure 28. Install Available Software Window for Development Tools
On the Available Software window, click Add.
Next, Add Repository dialog will appear, click Local button. (See Figure 29.)

Figure 29. Choosing the Location of the devtools Folder on the Add Repository Dialog
On your local drive, navigate to the folder with the Sabre Red 360 Software Development Kit. Select the devtools folder, and click Select Folder (on Windows) or Open (on macOS) to accept the location.
In the Name field on the Add Repository dialog, type a name for the Red App development tools that is meaningful to you. This name will help you to identify these tools in Eclipse. It will be displayed on the list of available software sites. Next, press Add button.

Tip
To see the list of software sites, choose Help > Install New Software.
On the Available Software window, expand Red App Dev Tools. (For Windows - see figure 30, for macOS - figure 31.)

Figure 30. Selecting Red App Dev Tools on Install Available Software (Windows)

Figure 31. Selecting Red App Dev Tools on Install Available Software (macOS)

Note	Scribe IDE Feature is exclusive to Windows operating system.

Select the check box that is next to Red App Dev Tools and press the Next button.

The Install Details window lists the software that will be installed. This is the name that you assigned to your repository. (See Figure 32.)

Figure 32. Confirming the Installation of the Dev Tools on the Install Details Window
Click Next again.

The Review Licenses window displays the licensing agreement. (See Figure 33.)

Figure 33. Review Licenses Window for Red App Dev Tools
Review the licensing agreement. In order to proceed, accept the agreement and click Finish button.

When the Eclipse is done downloading and installing the new software, the Software Updates dialog prompts you to restart Eclipse.
For the changes to become effective, click Restart Now.

When Eclipse is restarted, you are presented with the Workspace Launcher dialog.
Next, choose or confirm the location of the workspace for your target platform. Click OK to accept the location.

What to Do Next

Verifying Development Tools Installation in Eclipse IDE
Verifying the Red App Wizards in Eclipse IDE
Open the Red App Help

Verifying Development Tools Installation in Eclipse IDE

You can review the Installed Software page.

On the workbench main menu, choose Help > About Eclipse SDK.
On the About Eclipse SDK dialog, click Installation Details.

On the Installed Software tab in the Installation Details window, the Name list should display Red App Dev Tools. The software version is also displayed. You can see an example in Figure 40.

Verifying the Red App Wizards in Eclipse IDE

You can verify that the Red App wizards are available.

On the File Menu on the Eclipse workbench main menu, choose New > Other.

The Select a Wizard screen should display the "Red App Development" entry.

When you expand Red App Development, the list of Red App wizards appears. (See Figure 34.)

Figure 34. Red App Wizards on the Select a Wizard Screen

Opening Red App Help

After you set up or upgrade your Red App target platform and the Red App development tools, you can open the Red App developer help.

To open Red App help open index.html file located in documentation directory in web browser. (See Figure 35.)

Figure 35. Red App Help within web browser

With the search bar you can search the help topics of the Red App Help.

What to Do Next

Create a plug-in project. You have the following options:
Import a Red App sample plug-in
Run a Red App wizard to create a basic plug-in project or add functionality to an existing plug-in
Run the Eclipse new plug-in project wizard to create an empty project

For these procedures, see the topics in the "Plug-in Projects" book in the Red App Help.

Sabre Red 360 SDK on macOS - Beta

Note

macOS support for Sabre Red 360 Software Development Kit is limited and may suffer some issues. Please report them to redappssupport@sabre.com. The Sabre Red 360 Software Development Kit on macOS can be used for development, but you should always test your Red App in the Win32 environment before submitting it to the RedAppCentre.

Setup differences

Using the Java Distribution from Sabre Red 360 installation
Setting VM arguments

Using Sabre Red 360 Software Development Kit Sandbox Mode

Sabre Red 360 Software Development Kit Sandbox Mode is a feature that allows running and testing a Red App in isolated environment – without connectivity to Sabre infrastructure or real Sabre credentials. It may be useful as a temporary approach when your Sabre credentials are not set up yet and wanting to test the Sabre Red 360 Software Development Kit prior to develop a real Red App, or when you need to test your Red App in specifically hard to reproduce on real environment scenarios. Sandbox Mode allows you to emulate any Host response as well as any Sabre Web Service response. In Sandbox Mode you configure Agent Profile information (like ID, language, email address).

Sabre Red 360 Software Development Kit Sandbox Mode setup

Prerequisites

com.sabre.edge.platform.optional.sandbox plugin needs to be added to your Target Platform and Run Configuration.

Run Configuration

Follow all steps for regular configuration and add the following:

-Dredapp.fake.session=true

to VM arguments section on Arguments tab.

Credentials

As there is no connection to Sabre infrastructure, no credentials are needed. However, you still will see login screen when running Platform in Sandbox Mode. To get pass it simply, enter any 6-digit Agent ID, non-empty password and any 4-character PCC.

First run

First run is required to extract sample XML file with sets of commands and responses. It will be located in your run configuration workspace in:

.metadata\.plugins\com.sabre.edge.platform.optional.sandbox\resources\default_emulator.xml.

Your run configuration workspace is by default in the same folder as your eclipse workspace.

Sample command set file

Sabre Red 360 Software Development Kit comes with a set of sample command/response test cases that you can change and extend providing responses that you expect for certain command. Command sets file contains 3 sections: one for host communication (both emulator and direct), one for SWS and one for agent profile data.

Host communication

<host-configuration>
	<commandset id="001">
		<command content="1KRKDFW">
			<response>
				<content>SIGN IN A</content>
			</response>
			<response delay="5000">
				<content>SECOND RESPONSE</content>
			</response>
		</command>
	</commandset>
</host-configuration>

Communication with Host is defined in this section. All commands should be defined in the same <commandset> tag. Currently, only one commandset tag is supported. Responses are defined within <content> tag. You can define one or many responses for a command. If delay attribute is defined for response it will be delivered after provided number of milliseconds. Multiple responses will be delivered in order they appear in the file.

SWS communication

<sws-configuration>
	<actionset id="001">
		<action content="OTA_AirAvailLLSRQ">
			<response>
				<content>
				<![CDATA[
					<test>TEST SWS RESPONSE</test>
				]]>
				</content>
			</response>
		</action>
	</actionset>
</sws-configuration>

SWS communication is based on actions. You can define one XML answer for each action. Response is defined in <content> tag. Remember to put your xml content in <![CDATA[ ]]> tag.

Agent profile information

<profile-configuration>
	<agent-id>AGENT_ID</agent-id>
	<agency-name>AGENCY NAME</agency-name>
	<pcc>PCC</pcc>
	<language>LANGUAGE</language>
	<country>COUNTRY</country>
	<region>REGION</region>
	<username>USERNAME</username>
	<email>fake@email.com</email>
</profile-configuration>

In this section you can provide agent information that would be available with IAgentProfileService.

Sabre Scribe Environment Setup

The below section explains how to setup of your Scribe environment to create and modify native Sabre Script files (*.SST) to generate Scribe compiled files that can be deployed to Sabre Red 360 as native legacy Scripts or wrapping as Sabre Red Apps.

Close all Perspectives - From the Menu, click ‘Window → Close All Perspectives’

Open a ‘Scribe’ Perspective and Click on the icon to open a perspective:

Select ‘Scribe’ and click ‘OK’

Create a new Scribe Project

Highlight the ‘Project Explorer’ tab

With the ‘Project Tab’ still highlighted, click on ‘File → New → Project’ from the menu:

Highlight “General → Project” and click ‘Next’

Input the desired name of the Project and click ‘Finish’

The new project name will now display in the Project Explorer tab:

Scribe Settings

Configure the compiled path - for each scribe project the developer will have the option to select where the compiled scripts (.SCC file) are created.

In the Project Explorer tab, highlight the desired Scribe project:

With the desired Scribe project highlighted in the Project Explorer tab, click ‘File → Properties’:

The ‘Properties for FirstScribeProject’ windows will appear. Select ‘Scribe properties’ on the left. Make sure the check box for ‘Enable specific project settings’ is checked on. Enter the desired directory in the ‘Compiled scripts directory’ box, then click Apply and Close:

Creating your first Scribe script

With the desired Scribe project highlighted in the Project Explorer tab, click on ‘File → New → Scribe Script’:

Input the name of the script and click ‘Finish’

A new tab will open for editing the script, and the script will appear in the Project Explorer tab under the applicable project name: