Groovy as "Better Java"
You can use groovy in different ways - for scripting, Grails, quick prototyping, creation of DSLs etc. But I like Groovy first of all as "better Java". Really, look - almost every Java code is valid Groovy code, i.e. - if you do not remember how to do something in a groovy way, you can write Java code in a Groovy class, but if you remember - use closures, Groovy lists, and many other nice features The only thing, that does not allow me to use Groovy in a production code instead Java - is the lack of compilation time errors in many cases - calling to non existing methods or variable, etc.
Many Groovy frameworks is using this (see, for example Groovy XML handling ), but if I'm writing regular code, I want to see here compilation errors. Finally, Groovy 2.0 provides a feature of strict compilation time checking.
Let's take such class:
It passes a compilation w/o any problem.But if we will add @TypeChecked (this annotation may be used for a class or a method), we will receive compilation errors:
This type checking is turned on automatically also if we are turning on static compilation for the class, using annotation @CompileStatic:
So now I can use Groovy for production code, instead of Java! Full list of compile time messages for @TypeChecked you can see here.
Published at DZone with permission of its author, Pavel Bernshtam.Many Groovy frameworks is using this (see, for example Groovy XML handling ), but if I'm writing regular code, I want to see here compilation errors. Finally, Groovy 2.0 provides a feature of strict compilation time checking.
Let's take such class:
It passes a compilation w/o any problem.But if we will add @TypeChecked (this annotation may be used for a class or a method), we will receive compilation errors:
This type checking is turned on automatically also if we are turning on static compilation for the class, using annotation @CompileStatic:
So now I can use Groovy for production code, instead of Java! Full list of compile time messages for @TypeChecked you can see here.
(Note: Opinions expressed in this article and its replies are the opinions of their respective authors and not those of DZone, Inc.)
Comments
Murali Mohan Rath replied on Thu, 2012/06/07 - 7:36pm
Groovy for production.. not yet. Some of my colleagues use Groovy for few scripts and their opinion is Groovy not for production use. The implementation is not yet stable for serious applications. I have tried Groovy as well, I liked the syntax. I appreciate the work done for static compilation. But few things I wanted didn't work out of box, e.g. generating JPA meta model classes from groovy models.. Once you hit a bug, it gets difficult to progress. There might be work arounds etc but I want it to work out of box when I use it for production apps.
My opinion groovy is a great language with nice and clean syntax but the implementation is not good enough for production use.
Ken Wong replied on Fri, 2012/06/08 - 12:25am
I am missing the wonderful Groovy++.
Pity of human self-pride and a not-made-here reinvention of wheel.
Pavel Bernshtam replied on Fri, 2012/06/08 - 2:28am
in response to:
Ken Wong
Thomas Eichberger replied on Fri, 2012/06/08 - 5:36am
I don't know why people say that Groovy is not production ready - it is - and it has been for some years now.
For me personally it is definitely the better Java :-)
Mitch Pronschinske replied on Fri, 2012/06/08 - 9:26am
in response to:
Thomas Eichberger
Let's see what JL as a whole thinks...
darryl west replied on Fri, 2012/06/08 - 9:26am
Groovy has been production ready for years now.
Greg Allen replied on Fri, 2012/06/08 - 4:17pm
Some folks don't seem to be able to contemplate a "dynamic" or un-typed language as being suitable for production. Perhaps some university courses drill this idea into students. Them don't see to be aware the kernel of their OS is only "loosely" typed, with void* pointers being chucked around widely. Meanwhile substantial parts of the production system, including monitoring system, are likely written in shell script and perl...
IMHO, python and groovy are already suitable for production. It is the ability to write simple, concise and readable code that is going to improve the reliability of you production system, not type-checking.
Bob Jones replied on Tue, 2012/06/12 - 2:22pm
Abby Lays replied on Wed, 2012/09/12 - 6:55am
Onea Florin replied on Sat, 2013/03/09 - 10:28pm
http://www.bulgaria-all-inclusive.ro
Onea Florin replied on Sat, 2013/03/09 - 10:29pm
in response to:
Onea Florin
Oferte Bulgaria , e ok cu java asta nu imi pare foarte bun dar e ok , nu vad de ce nu ar fi ok o sa il folosesc si eu pe la proiectele mele care le am sa vad daca am unde mie imi place ceva mai vechi decat asta