Groovy and Grails

Groovy…

• is an agile and dynamic language for the Java Virtual Machine
• builds upon the strengths of Java but has additional power features inspired by languages like Python, Ruby and Smalltalk
• makes modern programming features available to Java developers with almost-zero learning curve
• supports Domain-Specific Languages and other compact syntax so your code becomes easy to read and maintain
• makes writing shell and build scripts easy with its powerful processing primitives, OO abilities and an Ant DSL
• increases developer productivity by reducing scaffolding code when developing web, GUI, database or console applications
• simplifies testing by supporting unit testing and mocking out-of-the-box
• seamlessly integrates with all existing Java objects and libraries
• compiles straight to Java bytecode so you can use it anywhere you can use Java

Grails is an open source web application framework which leverages the Groovy programming language (which is in turn based on the Java platform). It is intended to be a high-productivity framework by following the “coding by convention” paradigm, providing a stand-alone development environment and hiding much of the configuration detail from the developer.

Grails has been developed with a number of goals in mind:

• Provide a high-productivity web framework for the Java platform.
• Re-use proven Java technologies such as Hibernate and Spring under a simple, consistent interface
• Offer a consistent framework which reduces confusion and is easy to learn.
• Offer documentation for those parts of the framework which matter for its users.
• Provide what users expect in areas which are often complex and inconsistent:
  • Powerful and consistent persistence framework.
  • Powerful and easy to use view templates using GSP (Groovy Server Pages).
  • Dynamic tag libraries to easily create web page components.
  • Good Ajax support which is easy to extend and customize.
• Provide sample applications which demonstrate the power of the framework.
• Provide a complete development mode, including web server and automatic reload of resources.

Grails has been designed to be easy to learn, easy to develop applications and extensible. It attempts to offer the right balance between consistency and powerful features.