Grails 2 A Quick Start Guide

Grails is a full-stack web development framework that enables you to build complete web applications in a fraction of the time and with less code than other frameworks. Grails uses the principle of convention over configuration and the dynamic Groovy programming language. This revised and updated new edition shows you how to use Grails by iteratively building a unique, working application. By the time you're done, you'll have built and deployed a real, functioning website. Using this hands-on, pragmatic approach, you'll explore topics such as Ajax in Grails, custom tags, and plugins. You'll dig into Grails' powerful view technology, Groovy Server Pages, and see how you can easily leverage the help offered by scaffolding to create custom user interfaces faster than you would have thought possible. Along the way, you'll learn about domain classes, controllers, and GSP views. And you'll see how Grails enables you to use powerful frameworks such as Spring and Hibernate. With Grails, you can get a lot done with little effort. With this book, you'll get a lot done as well. Get started with Grails today. What You Need: Grails 2 will run on any machine that supports Java. Grails applications can be deployed on any Java Servlet container, including Tomcat, Jetty, WebLogic, JBoss, and Websphere.

Grails is a full stack framework which aims to greatly simplify the task of building serious web applications for the JVM. The concepts within Grails, like interceptors, tag libs, and Groovy Server Pages (GSP), make those in the Java community feel right at home. Grails’ foundation is on solid open source technologies such as Spring, Hibernate, and SiteMesh, which gives it even more potential in the Java space: Spring provides powerful inversion of control and MVC, Hibernate brings a stable, mature object relational mapping technology with the ability to integrate with legacy systems, and SiteMesh handles flexible layout control and page decoration. Grails complements these with additional features that take advantage of the coding–by–convention paradigm such as dynamic tag libraries, Grails object relational mapping, Groovy Server Pages, and scaffolding. Graeme Rocher, Grails lead and founder, and Jeff Brown bring you completely up–to–date with their authoritative and fully comprehensive guide to the Grails 2 framework. You’ll get to know all the core features, services, and Grails extensions via plug–ins, and understand the roles that Groovy and Grails are playing in the changing Web.

This start-up guide explains how to use Grails by building a unique, working application. Readers learn how to build and deploy a real, functioning Web site.

Summary Grails in Action, Second Edition is a comprehensive introduction to Grails 2 focused on making you super-productive fast. In this totally revised new edition, you'll master Grails 2.3 core skills as you apply TDD techniques to developing a full-scale Twitter clone. Along the way you'll learn the latest single-page web app UI techniques, work with NoSQL backends, integrate with enterprise messaging, and implement a complete RESTful API for your services. Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications. About the Technology It may be time for you to stop reconfiguring, rewriting, and recompiling your Java web apps. Grails, a Groovy-powered web framework, hides all that busy work so you can concentrate on what your applications do, not how they're built. In addition to its famously intuitive dev environment and seamless integration with Spring and Hibernate, the new Grails 2.3 adds improved REST support, better protection against attacks from the web, and better dependency resolution. About the Book Grails in Action, Second Edition is a comprehensive introduction to Grails 2. In this totally revised edition you'll master Grails as you apply TDD techniques to a full-scale example (a Twitter clone). Along the way you'll learn single-page web app techniques, work with NoSQL back ends, integrate with enterprise messaging, implement a RESTful API ... and more. No Java or Groovy knowledge is required. Some web development and OOP experience is helpful. What's Inside Covers Grails 2.3 from the ground up Agile delivery and testing using Spock How to use and manage plugins Tips and tricks from the trenches About the Authors There's no substitute for experience: Glen Smith and Peter Ledbrook have been fixtures in the Grails community, contributing code, blogging, and speaking at conferences worldwide, since Grails 0.2. Table of Contents PART 1 INTRODUCING GRAILS Grails in a hurry The Groovy essentials PART 2 CORE GRAILS Modeling the domain 63 Creating the initial UI Retrieving the data you need Controlling application flow Services and data binding Developing tasty forms, views, and layouts PART 3 EVERYDAY GRAILS Building reliable applications Using plugins: just add water Protecting your application Exposing your app to other programs Single-page web applications (and other UI stuff) Understanding Spring and transactions PART 4 ADVANCED GRAILS Understanding events, messaging, and scheduling NoSQL and Grails Beyond compile, test, run Grails in the cloud BONUS ONLINE CHAPTERS Advanced GORM kung fu Developing plugins

Summary Making Java Groovy is a practical handbook for developers who want to blend Groovy into their day-to-day work with Java. It starts by introducing the key differences between Java and Groovy—and how you can use them to your advantage. Then, it guides you step-by-step through realistic development challenges, from web applications to web services to desktop applications, and shows how Groovy makes them easier to put into production. About this Book You don't need the full force of Java when you're writing a build script, a simple system utility, or a lightweight web app—but that's where Groovy shines brightest. This elegant JVM-based dynamic language extends and simplifies Java so you can concentrate on the task at hand instead of managing minute details and unnecessary complexity. Making Java Groov is a practical guide for developers who want to benefit from Groovy in their work with Java. It starts by introducing the key differences between Java and Groovy and how to use them to your advantage. Then, you'll focus on the situations you face every day, like consuming and creating RESTful web services, working with databases, and using the Spring framework. You'll also explore the great Groovy tools for build processes, testing, and deployment and learn how to write Groovy-based domain-specific languages that simplify Java development. Written for developers familiar with Java. No Groovy experience required. Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications. What's Inside Easier Java Closures, builders, and metaprogramming Gradle for builds, Spock for testing Groovy frameworks like Grails and Griffon About the Author Ken Kousen is an independent consultant and trainer specializing in Spring, Hibernate, Groovy, and Grails. Table of Contents PART 1: UP TO SPEED WITH GROOVY Why add Groovy to Java? Groovy by example Code-level integration Using Groovy features in Java PART 2: GROOVY TOOLS Build processes Testing Groovy and Java projects PART 3: GROOVY IN THE REAL WORLD The Spring framework Database access RESTful web services Building and testing web applications

Dig deeper into Grails architecture and discover how this application framework works its magic. Written by a core developer on the Grails team, this practical guide takes you behind the curtain to reveal the inner workings of its 2.0 feature set. You’ll learn best practices for building and deploying Grails applications, including performance, security, scaling, tuning, debugging, and monitoring. Understand how Grails integrates with Groovy, Spring, Hibernate, and other JVM technologies, and learn how to create and use plugins to augment your application’s functionality. Once you know how Grails adds behavior by convention, you can solve problems more easily and develop applications more intuitively. Write simpler, more powerful code with the Groovy language Manage persistence in Grails, using Hibernate or a NoSQL datastore Learn how Grails uses Spring’s functionality and optional modules Discover how Hibernate handles details for storing and retrieving data Integrate technologies for messaging, mail, creating web services, and other JEE technologies Bypass convention and configure Grails manually Learn a general approach to upgrading applications and plugins Use Grails to develop and deploy IaaS and PaaS applications

Summary Groovy in Action, Second Edition is a thoroughly revised, comprehensive guide to Groovy programming. It introduces Java developers to the dynamic features that Groovy provides, and shows how to apply Groovy to a range of tasks including building new apps, integration with existing code, and DSL development. Covers Groovy 2.4. Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications. About the Technology In the last ten years, Groovy has become an integral part of a Java developer's toolbox. Its comfortable, common-sense design, seamless integration with Java, and rich ecosystem that includes the Grails web framework, the Gradle build system, and Spock testing platform have created a large Groovy community About the Book Groovy in Action, Second Edition is the undisputed definitive reference on the Groovy language. Written by core members of the Groovy language team, this book presents Groovy like no other can—from the inside out. With relevant examples, careful explanations of Groovy's key concepts and features, and insightful coverage of how to use Groovy in-production tasks, including building new applications, integration with existing code, and DSL development, this is the only book you'll need. Updated for Groovy 2.4. Some experience with Java or another programming language is helpful. No Groovy experience is assumed. What's Inside Comprehensive coverage of Groovy 2.4 including language features, libraries, and AST transformations Dynamic, static, and extensible typing Concurrency: actors, data parallelism, and dataflow Applying Groovy: Java integration, XML, SQL, testing, and domain-specific language support Hundreds of reusable examples About the Authors Authors Dierk König, Paul King, Guillaume Laforge, Hamlet D'Arcy, Cédric Champeau, Erik Pragt, and Jon Skeet are intimately involved in the creation and ongoing development of the Groovy language and its ecosystem. Table of Contents PART 1 THE GROOVY LANGUAGE Your way to Groovy Overture: Groovy basics Simple Groovy datatypes Collective Groovy datatypes Working with closures Groovy control structures Object orientation, Groovy style Dynamic programming with Groovy Compile-time metaprogramming and AST transformations Groovy as a static language PART 2 AROUND THE GROOVY LIBRARY Working with builders Working with the GDK Database programming with Groovy Working with XML and JSON Interacting with Web Services Integrating Groovy PART 3 APPLIED GROOVY Unit testing with Groovy Concurrent Groovy with GPars Domain-specific languages The Groovy ecosystem