Setup First Sitecore Helix Example From Scratch (Blank solution)

A quick walk through of Sitecore helix on how to setup a Sitecore website based on Helix 

      Architecture from scratch/blank solution

       There is two solution to start with Helix:

  a.  First to download the habitat demo site, cleanup and rename the project as per the requirement of the Project, and start working on the top up of the habitat.

  b.  Second, create the solution from scratch means from blank solution.

      I always preferred the second approach, because we can have full control of the solution and no need to understand the existing site logic and complexity.

     So with the consideration of approach 2, here we are going to setup the site from scratch using Helix principle.

    

      Hope you already have gone through the Sitecore helix principles, habitat documents, and training.

   There was a lot of confusion regarding the Helix and Habitat terms, is it architecture? Principle? design? Sitecore accelerator, what exactly is it?? It was a big question mark in the Sitecore community when Sitecore introduced this in the September 2016.

    Helix is a set of overall design principles and conventions for Sitecore development.

    Habitat is a real Sitecore project implemented on the Sitecore Experience Platform using Helix. It is an

   example that allows developers to see how Helix is applied and lets developers experience a project based on these principles.

    I am not going to explaining in detail what is helix and habitat?

    Refer the below Sitecore helix documentary link for more details:

    http://helix.sitecore.net/introduction/what-is-helix.html

    Helix is all about the structure, structure, and structure, Helix says to split your solution into the logical and physical structure. Everything thing is a component here.

   “A Visual Studio solution can host a number of different project types, such as Web Application projects, unit test projects, Team Development for Sitecore (TDS) projects, behavioural testing projects, Xamarin projects, etc., but modules are always grouped by their logical connection to a module – and never by type.”

   On the very high level, implementation point of view, I divided the solution into 2 Main categories as below:

    Physical Structure: Create file system structure (physical structure)

    Logical/Virtual Structure: Create Visual Studio Solution structure (logical Structure)

   Logical Structure – Solution Structure

      For maximum discoverability, the structure of the Visual Studio solution must represent the layer

      an module structure, i.e. have solution folders for Project, Feature and Foundation layers and separate

     solution folders for each module. If there are any additional grouping of modules, these can havetheir own solution folders.Then I set up the folder structure inside Visual Studio, adding the Project, Feature and Foundation folders. Solution folders are virtual, not physical.

So let’s start one by one to create helix example.

    1.Create a website folder in your local drive where you want to setup Helix Example once you created  folder the come in Visual studio.

   2. Go in visual studio and create blank solution and choose location website folder which is created recently and put name HelixExample.

 

Once you created successfully then its looks like.

     3.      Go in solution and right click on HelixExample and create 3 folder.

a.      Feature

b.      Foundation

c.      Project

     4.      Now create the multiple modules under: Foundation, Feature, and Project layer

     5.      Once you created folder then add folders under the every folder. Refer images

    6. So our folder structure are ready and going to create project in every folder so click on website     folder and empty project.

a. Here we need to take care path and folders name.

b. For project name we are set code name and location we have to add src/Project/Website. So that its create a right location.

     7.  Once you created successfully then its looks like so now we need to change name for the project to make proper helix architecture. Click on code solution and put the name  HelixExample.Project.Website. once you change the name then its looks like.

And also we need to change one more field. Go in HelixExample.Project.Website properties and change the  assembly name and default namespace.

   8.  Now go foundation and feature folder and do the same step to create project and one more thing we    have to disable web.config for build purpose in every project.

   9.  Select web.config and go in properties and choose build action content to none and save it.

 Now your solution looks like and also go in your website folder and you have seen folder structure   as per helix.

 

    10.  Now its complete and we need to add configuration part for publish all the code in our root folder.      so let’s start to setup Gulp.

   Go this URL and download Habitat repository https://github.com/Sitecore/Habitat

   Once download finished then copy below file/folder and paste under the HelixExample folder.

 Now your website folder have all the files which required to setup gulp.

Before go ahead check your machine for node.js. if not installed then you have to install node.js. you can download latest version below link.

https://nodejs.org/en/

Once you done installation part then Open cmd as a administrator mode and run command

When you run the command then its downloaded all the required file and stored under the helixExample folder. once finish this command open your solution in visual studio as a administrator mode and you see gulp file under the task runner.

Open your task runner (short cut key)  ctrl+shift+backspace

  

I hope this article will help you to understand the basic setup of sitecore helix project from scratch. This is the basic idea for more details and more clarification please visit below URL.

https://helix.sitecore.net/introduction/what-is-helix.html

if you have any concern please put comment.

Happy Coding😇