What are your views on the Groovy Programming Language?

[Danno]

Well, my svn switch is taking too long, so I will take the opportunity
to ask all the members of this group what they think of the Groovy
programming language? If you don't use it? Will you?, If you do use
it? How do you use it (testing, code gen, workhorse code, full apps)?

I personally am using it, and I am enjoying quite a bit of it.
Currently I am using it as code generation, and testing, with a few
workhorse applications here and there.

 

[Andrew Thompson]

....I will take the opportunity
to ask all the members of this group what they think of the Groovy
programming language?..

Not used it, but think it has a silly name.
(Not *much* sillier than 'Java', but sillier)

Otherwise, no knowledge, and no impressions beyond that.

Andrew T.

 

[Andy Dingley]

Not used it, but think it has a silly name.

I can forgive a lot to get away from those infernal late '90s coffee
puns.

I'm looking at using it as a substitute for SQL (!) We have a huge
Java app that's monstrously configurable by our per-customer
implementors, if not actually the customers and users themselves.
Currently this is done through SQL, simply because our shop has an
awful lot of SQL-shaped hammers and everything starts to look like a
relational nail.

What I'd really like feedback for is Groovy vs. Jython vs. Rhino /
JavaScript

 

[=?ISO-8859-1?Q?Arne_Vajh=F8j?=]

Well, my svn switch is taking too long, so I will take the opportunity
to ask all the members of this group what they think of the Groovy
programming language? If you don't use it? Will you?, If you do use
it? How do you use it (testing, code gen, workhorse code, full apps)?

I personally am using it, and I am enjoying quite a bit of it.
Currently I am using it as code generation, and testing, with a few
workhorse applications here and there.

That kind of language (other include Python, Ruby etc.) are quite
popular now a days.

If one has Java know how then Groovy seems as an obvious
choice (even though Jython and JRuby do exist).

I have not used it much myself. Neither do I expect to.

But I can see its usage. It seems rather obvious to
do things where development speed is essential. One
time conversion programs. Some department internal
utilities. Anything where the concept "just code it"
applies well.

Arne

 

[Chris Uppal]

Well, my svn switch is taking too long, so I will take the opportunity
to ask all the members of this group what they think of the Groovy
programming language?

If you don't use it? Will you?

Very unlikely that I ever will: as a language I find it somewhat unappealing --
graceless, unimaginative, and underpowered. Mind you, that's the impression I
got when I last looked at it several years ago; I might change my mind if I
looked again, but I'm not likely to do so precisely /because/ that's how I
remember it...

If I were looking for a scripting language to run on a JVM for my own use, then
I would go some way to avoid anything which based itself on Java (but with
additional features). OTOH, if I were looking for something to build into a
development environment to reduce the "deadness" of the typical Java IDE, then
I'd want the language to extend Java in only the very most minimal ways.
Lastly, if I were looking for a scripting component to build into an
application for end-users with some programming savvy then I'd probably opt for
jPython. Or maybe one of the Lisp-on-Javas if the users were of a mathematical
bent and I could find a suitable embeddable Lisp (or Scheme).

BTW, for another opinion this (rather old) article reviews several of the
"alternative" JVM languages, and rather hammers Groovy. I don't know how
representative the author's views are of the current state of Groovy
development (or even if they were ever representative, although I see no reason
to doubt it).

http://www.cabochon.com/~stevey/sokoban/docs/intro.html

(The server seems to be down as I write; I hope that's only temporary.)

-- chris