1. A computer-implemented method for creating and configuring a component-based application, the method comprising the steps of: receiving an application description file containing a definition of a component-based application; generating, in a memory, a representation of a parse tree based on the application description file, the parse tree comprising at least one leaf; for each of a first subset of the leaves, mapping the leaf to a target class; and instantiating a component associated with the target class; and for at least a subset of the instantiated components, invoking at least one method of the component to launch the application.
1. A computer-implemented method for creating and configuring a component-based application, the method comprising the steps of: receiving an application description file containing a definition of a component-based application; generating, in a memory, a representation of a parse tree based on the application description file, the parse tree comprising at least one leaf; for each of a first subset of the leaves, mapping the leaf to a target class; and instantiating a component associated with the target class; and for at least a subset of the instantiated components, invoking at least one method of the component to launch the application. 12. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of: for each component, initializing the component; and responsive to the component having a parent component, adding the component to the parent component.