Ballerina Installation and Project Setup Simplified for Beginners

Introduction

Ballerina is an open-source, cloud-native programming language that makes it easy to create and deploy services with a focus on data handling and integration. Whether you’re building APIs, handling data streams, or creating complex applications, Ballerina is optimized to make these tasks simpler. This guide will walk you through setting up Ballerina on your local machine so you can start building your first project right away.

Downloading Ballerina

1. Visit the Ballerina Download Page.

2. Select the appropriate installer for your operating system (Windows, macOS, or Linux).

3. Once the download is complete, you’re ready to start the installation process.

Installing Ballerina

Windows

1. Run the downloaded .msi installer.

2. Follow the installation wizard steps, and make sure the Add Ballerina to PATH option is selected so you can access it from the command line.

3. After installation, open Command Prompt or PowerShell to verify the installation.

macOS

1. Open the downloaded .pkg file and go through the installer steps.

2. Alternatively, if you use Homebrew, you can install Ballerina by running:

    brew install ballerina
   

3. To verify the installation, open the Terminal.

Linux

1. Extract the downloaded .zip file.

2. Move the extracted folder to /usr/lib/ (or any preferred location).

3. Add Ballerina to your PATH by adding the following line to your .bashrc or .zshrc file:

    export PATH=$PATH:/usr/lib/ballerina/bin
   

4. Refresh your terminal session by running:

    source ~/.bashrc
   

5. Open a terminal to verify the installation.

Verifying the Installation

To confirm Ballerina is installed correctly, open a terminal or command prompt and run:

bal -v

If Ballerina is installed successfully, this command will display the version number. You’re now ready to create a Ballerina project!

Setting Up a New Ballerina Project

Ballerina organizes projects with a specific structure, making it easy to manage code, dependencies, and modules.

1. Create a New Project Folder: Choose or create a directory where you want your project to reside.

2. Initialize the Project: Run the following command in your project folder:

    bal new my_project
   

   Replace my_project with your desired project name.

This command will set up the following directory structure:

my_project
├── Ballerina.toml       # Project configuration file
└── main.bal             # Main Ballerina file

Understanding Project Files

• Ballerina.toml: This configuration file defines project metadata, dependencies, and settings.

• main.bal: This is the main entry point for your Ballerina application.

Writing Your First Ballerina Program

Navigate to your project directory and open main.bal in a text editor. Replace the contents with the following “Hello, World!” code:

import ballerina/io;

public function main() {
    io:println("Hello, World!");
}

Running Your Ballerina Program

To run your program, use the following command in the terminal:

bal run

You should see the output:

Hello, World!

Installing Additional Ballerina Packages (Optional)

If your project needs additional libraries, Ballerina’s package management system makes it easy to add them.

1. Search for packages on the Ballerina Central repository.

2. To add a package, use:

    bal add <package-name>
   

3. These packages will be automatically included in your project, and you can use them by importing them into your code.

Testing Your Ballerina Project

Ballerina includes a built-in testing framework. To create tests:

1. Add a test file in your project’s test directory.

2. Write test functions, then run tests with:

    bal test
   

Building and Packaging Your Ballerina Project

When you’re ready to deploy your project, you can build it into a standalone .jar file. Run:

bal build

The output .jar file will be available in the target/bin directory, making it easy to deploy and run anywhere.

Conclusion

You’ve now set up Ballerina on your machine and created a basic project. From here, you can explore Ballerina’s extensive capabilities for cloud-native and data-centric applications. As you get more familiar, dive into creating APIs, integrating with databases, or handling complex data structures with ease.