Andy Stark 31479cfaa4 [ADF-4152] Restructured remaining doc folders and fixed links (#4441)
* [ADF-4152] Moved proc services cloud docs to subfolders

* [ADF-4152] Fixed links in PS cloud docs

* [ADF-4152] Added subfolders and checked links for extensions and insights docs

* [ADF-4152] Moved proc services cloud docs to subfolders

* [ADF-4152] Fixed links in PS cloud docs

* [ADF-4152] Added subfolders and checked links for extensions and insights docs

* [ADF-4152] Fixed links in Proc cloud, Insights and Extensions docs

* [ADF-4152] Updated links in user guide

* [ADF-4152] Fixed broken links in tutorials

* [ADF-4152] Fixed remaining links in core docs

* [ADF-4152] Fixed remaining links in proc services docs

* [ADF-4152] Fixed remaining links in content services docs

* [ADF-4152] Fixed links in breaking changes docs

* [ADF-4152] Updated main README index page

* [ADF-4152] Fixed glitches with preview ext component docs
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---
Title: Introduction to ADF
Added: 2019-03-13
---
# Introduction to the Application Development Framework (ADF)
Alfresco's Application Development Framework (ADF) lets you add your own custom front end to the existing Alfresco services.
ADF is a set of custom [TypeScript](https://www.typescriptlang.org/) classes based on
the [Angular](https://angular.io/) web application framework. The most important classes
are the **components** that implement interactive UI features.
The components and other classes access information from Alfresco's main backend products,
[Content Services](https://www.alfresco.com/platform/content-services-ecm) and
[Process Services](https://www.alfresco.com/platform/process-services-bpm).
You can combine these classes to produce your own custom web app with the exact styling,
branding, and features that you need. Some examples of where this can be useful are:
- **Feature based apps** with functionality based around tasks that arise frequently
in your business.
- **Role based apps** where specific types of user have their own feature set, tailor-made
for their role in the business.
- [**Mashups**](https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/mash-up) where Alfresco services
are integrated with services from other suppliers in the same app.
## Getting started with ADF
You can find full instructions for installing ADF and its prerequisites in our
tutorial
[_Creating your first ADF application_](../tutorials/creating-your-first-adf-application.md).
When you have the environment and the scaffold app set up, the other
[tutorials](../tutorials/README.md) then explain how to connect to the backend services
and add custom features to your app. Use the [component reference](../README.md) pages
to learn [about component](../core/components/about.component.md) features and the [user guide](../user-guide/README.md)
to learn about specific tasks and topics in depth.