Generate a ZIP file of your ABL application
- Last Updated: February 9, 2026
- 1 minute read
- OpenEdge
- Version 12.8
- Documentation
You can create ZIP file of an ABL application so it can be deployed in a Docker container. For more information about ABL applications, see ABL application architecture.
Directory structure of an ABL application
An ABL applicationhas the following directories:
- conf—ABL application-level
configurations are defined in this directory. This directory includes files
such as
startup.pf, which provides any database details that are required. - openedge—This directory contains common, compiled ABL code.
- tlr—This directory contains the
run-time merge properties and the
openedge.properties.mergefile, which provides run-time merge property details. - webapps—This directory contains the WebApp WAR files for ABL web applications.
Create an ABL application
To create an application archive that can be used with a PAS for OpenEdge container, add the following artifacts to the project. The artifacts are located in the Sample App directory on the Progress Community site. The artifacts copied are:
| Artifacts | Description |
|---|---|
.scripts |
Copy this directory and its contents from the Sample App directory to the ABL application directory. |
conf |
Copy this directory and its contents from the Sample App directory to the ABL application directory. |
tlr |
Copy this directory and its contents from the Sample App directory to the ABL application directory. |
PASOEContent/build.properties |
Copy this from the PASOEContent directory inside Sample App to the PASOEContent directory in the ABL application directory. |
PASOEContent/build.xml |
Copy this from the PASOEContent directory inside Sample App to the PASOEContent directory in the ABL application directory. |
build.properties |
Copy this file from the Sample App directory to the ABL application directory. |
build.xml |
Copy this file from the Sample App directory to the ABL application directory. |
After adding the artifacts, open Proenv and run
ant
package to build and package the project. An ABL application archive
file is created with the ABL application directory structure. Within the
Output directory, the package-outputis created, where the archive file will be
located:sample_ABLApp\output\package-output\sample_ABLApp.zipNote: You can generate an ABL archive in
other ways and without adhering to the structure given in this topic. This topic
describes the approach that Progress recommends.