Customer Reviews

Groovy in Action

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Scripting languages, although initially derided as "toy languages", have continued to evolve and mature over time. Now, no serious programmer (in my opinion) would deny that a scripting language can save a ton of time and effort for many programming problems. Groovy In Action by Dierk Konig with Andrew Glover, Paul King, Guillaume Laforge, and Jon Skeet covers the Java scripting language known as Groovy, and does an excellent job in doing so.

Contents:
Your Way to Groovy
Part 1 - The Groovy Language: Overture - The Groovy Basics; The Simple Groovy Datatypes; The Collective Groovy Datatypes; Working With Closures; Groovy Control Structures; Dynamic Object Orientation - Groovy Style
Part 2 - Around The Groovy Library: Working With Builders; Working With The GDK; Database Programming With Groovy; Integrating Groovy; Working With XML
Part 3 - Everyday Groovy: Tips And Tricks; Unit Testing With Groovy; Groovy On Windows; Seeing The Grails Light
Appendix A - Installation And Documentation; Appendix B - Groovy Language Info; Appendix C - GDK API Quick Reference; Appendix D - Cheat Sheets; Index

If you're familiar with the Java language and syntax, then you've already conquered a great deal of what you need to know about Groovy. The authors show how simple a Groovy script can be, and how much can be accomplished in many fewer lines than an equivalent Java program. In part 1, you get the mental framework for how Groovy works, the model for scripts, and many examples of code that cover a broad spectrum of what's possible. Part 2 goes a bit more into the guts of the language, giving you a reference guide to the different language features. This is where you'll spend a lot of time as you start to work with the language and explore the various methods and properties that are available. And finally, the last part shows real-life solutions and scenarios that you can use to either learn how to solve your particular problem or get ideas on solutions you may not have thought about before. When you look at this as a combination tutorial/reference/cookbook title all in a single volume, you start to grasp what a great job they did...

I was especially intrigued with the integration material. Compiled Groovy scripts are actually turned into Java bytecode the same as a compiled Java program would be. With the addition of the Groovy jar files into your project, you can use the scripts in your own programs with no additional effort. I'm really wondering if adding the Groovy jar files to a Domino application would allow you to use Groovy scripts for agents. If so, that gives me a powerful new addition to the Domino development toolbox. Now if I can only find some time to give it a try...

It goes without saying that if you're interested in Groovy, you'll want this book. And if you're interested in leveraging your Java knowledge into a whole new area, I'd completely recommend checking this out. It's very good...

I am going to make this short, because I want to get ONE message across to you, loud and clear. If you are working with Java, you MUST take a look at Groovy.

I cannot overemphasize the coming importance of Groovy on the Java platform, not just in web development, but everywhere. Just try it already. You'll "get it." Just trust me and do it!

Groovy in Action is a first rate introduction and reference, and you really do need a book for this language. I don't recommend trying to go it alone with online reference material, though there is plenty there to give you a taste of why Groovy is about to become your new favorite language.

Read the other reviews. I'm not going to repeat a bunch of stuff here. But whatever you do, TRY GROOVY. You will quickly come to wonder how you ever got along without it.

When I picked up this book for the first time, I had no clue what Groovy was, what the background of Groovy was or whether it was actually useful and good. The name of the book sounded good though!

After reading this book, I know. Groovy is a new programming language that is based on Java. It's more like a scripting language than Java, but then not exactly that :) It's a dynamic language. It can be described as Java with all the missing Java features. Groovy is a serious challenger to Ruby in the race to becoming the latest modern popular programming language.

The book starts with explaining the differences between Groovy and Java. From there it goes over explaining all the basic Groovy concepts, in a way that a good programming language book should do it. It introduces exciting things like Closures and Builders. Closures in particular is something really missing from Java at the moment and it's nice to have it in Groovy.
The book continuous and talks about Groovy and XML, Databases, Web and unit testing. The book covers all major topics that it needs after finishing the book you'll know about Groovy and probably want to start developing Groovy code (if you haven't already started!)

The book is written extremly readable and it's been a very pleasent read. The autors done a great job. Thanks!

While getting a little long in the tooth (GINA was released pre-Groovy 1.0, Groovy is now above 1.5), the material presented in the book is still very relevant and helpful. The biggest issue is that some of the newer (and cooler!) features, such as ExpandoMetaClass, of the language are not covered.

That being said, this is still a great introduction to the a language that will likely become an important player in Java shops as developers migrate existing designs to take advantage of the power the dynamic programming provides. The authors do a great job of explaining the concepts and syntax of the language, making it easy to quickly begin writing code of your own.

While books such as Groovy Recipes: Greasing the Wheels of Java are now available that cover the newest features in Groovy, a perusal of GINA can help to flatten the learning curve.

I have read a lot of books that claim to drive you through all aspects of a new programming language. Most don't. "Groovy in Action" does this outstandingly.
Navigating in the 16 chapters is a pleasure regardless of your knowledge of the subject.

If you are a Java newbie, you will painlessly be initiated to the syntax of the language through numerous simple but useful samples. Should you already be a Java addict, you will learn the interesting subtle differences between the two languages - but be careful as this is a one way ticket :-)
You will also find Closures and the special syntax for collections missing from the JDK.
Finally, if you are already familiar with dynamic languages and Groovy itself, you will probably find it very interesting to learn how Groovy works behind the scenes with its Meta Object Protocol.

If you've been curious about dynamic languages and want to learn Groovy, this is the book that is missing on your desk. I'm pleased with the quality of the writing, the examples, and the quick pace of the book.

I am very impressed.
Thanks guys for this really enjoyable piece of work.

Guillaume Alléon

What more can be said of a book extolled by dozens of reviewers, a book that seems to have matched its subject in ubiquity, a book that will likely become to Groovy what the "pickaxe book" is to Ruby? As much as I would love to be a lone voice (or rather a lone whisper) of dissent, the clarity, simplicity, and accuracy of most of Groovy in Action cannot be overlooked. Let no one be fooled by the size of the book - to learn the gist of Groovy, all you really need is a leisurely stroll through chapters 2 through 7 (chapter 1 is the mandatory introduction/history chapter which, in the frustrating tech book tradition, doubles as the "free sample" chapter). Of course, most of its clarity and concision GIA inherits from the language it describes. Still, it is encouraging to have a book that is as valuable a reference as it is a tutorial, and GIA shines in both capacities.

With all its accolades, GIA does have two caveats. First, it is getting closer and closer to being out of date. Groovy 1.1 is already in Beta, and it has an impressive list of features not covered in this Groovy 1.0 book: EJB3 support, JUnit4 and TestNG integration and annotations, just to name a few. I am reminded of Pragmatic Programmers' Agile Web Development with Rails, whose second edition shipped a year after its first. I sincerely hope GIA 1.0 buyers will not be similarly cheated.

The second caveat is the coverage of Grails. Grails may be the single most attractive Groovy application to date yet its coverage in GIA is flaky at best. The authors decide to abandon their polished, clear, and concise writing style and instead author the entire chapter as a bland conversation amongst themselves. In addition to failing to grasp the humor in such presentation, I find that this style hinders me from following along with the tutorial. It makes scanning back for missed steps or clarifications extremely difficult. Furthermore, vapid attempts at humor occupy space that could be otherwise devoted to some omitted topics, such as mapping domain objects to specific tables or using data sources. Coverage of these topics would have been far more valuable than the authors' purported beer garden conversations with a DBA named Martin.

Despite the pour Grails coverage and the looming Groovy 1.1, Groovy in Action is a must-have for anyone who is even mildly interested in Groovy or dynamic languages in Java in general. Coupled with the ease, clarity, and downright beauty of the Groovy language, GIA can turn even a passing interest in Groovy into a burning passion.

This book is fantastic. Very well done, easy read. It was the first tech book that I read cover-to-cover -without getting bored- in a long time. The author does a good job of explaining how Groovy works under the covers and does a great job of detailing how to make effective use of it.

The language itself is also impressive and I hope Groovy gets the attention it deserves. I hope all Java developers read this to see what they're missing in Java-land. :-)

Hindsight is 20/20, I'm sure the authors are sorry they included the last chapter on Grails as they did. But I don't fault them, as I'm sure the publisher was not uninvolved in that decision... ;-)

I'm giving it 5 stars anyway. Good work!

Your passion is programming? You're fluent in Java? Then you'll love GINA - akronym for "Groovy in Action". And you'll put the Ruby-Pickaxe aside....

Dierk and his co-authors did a truly marvelous job: clear structure, highly (and I really mean HIGHLY) motivating language plus the best language-intro I read for a very long time... (and I've read quite a few during the last 20 years, believe me...)

GINA is made up from three parts: language intro, library intro and practical tipps, each part approx. 5 chapters.

Lets start with the language intro: After reading a few pages I could not stop - a real page-turner. Brilliant examples - they use java's assert-statement to make the intention of every example crystal-clear, a pattern which I have never encountered before - congratulations to this idea and its perfect realization throughout the book!

In the library part you'll find intro to groovy builders, database and XML development and the integration of Groovy in "conventional" java programms. Imho the authors again did a great job in choosing proper samples and making them transparent to us readers.

Finally, more than 100 pages on everyday solutions - a nice selection.

My personal summary: Go, get it! I liked it better than Pick-Axe (which I really adore!). The only other in quality is "Practical Common Lisp" by Peter Seibel (too sad that nobody uses Lisp these days...) - all other
programming books I know really fall behind.

I fear that many experienced Java programmers will have difficulties to continue programming in Java after having read this book! ;-)

Groovy in Action presents the Groovy language in a very clear and well structured form. This allows to rapidly enjoy the excellent expressivity and conciseness of this language. This has a major drawback: when you come back to Java you will often ask yourself why you have to write so much cumbersome code in many circumstances and will often think "in Groovy this would be a one-liner". There is an outlook: the book presents how easy it is to combine the best of both languages!

Well done Dierk & Co!

Groovy brings advanced language features such as closures, dynamic typing, and the meta object protocol to the Java platform, and at the same time makes your codebase smaller and more concise. By concise I don't mean so compact that nobody can understand it. Groovy builds on your existing experience and familiarity with the Java platform and allows you to pick and choose when to use particular tools and when to combine Groovy and Java.

The book begins by introducing you to what you will need to compile and run Groovy as far as jar files and tools. Part one of the book is entirely dedicated to the language basics: syntax, grammar, and typical idioms. The language is presented via a combination of examples and discussion. The descriptions are detailed but are not overly academic. Chapter two is most important here, because that is where many of the examples lie that you will need to come back to later in the book.

Part 2, "Around the Groovy Library", explores how Groovy extends the Java Runtime Environment. Part one of the book demonstrated how Groovy makes commonly performed tasks easier. The second part shows how the same principle is applied in Groovy's libraries, using many of the advanced language features available to let you do more work with less code. Chapter 8 introduces the builder concept, which is one of Groovy's distinctive capabilities, because it can only be implemented in a general library class with a truly dynamic language. There are builders that come as part of the Groovy distribution, and you are also shown how to create your own builders. Chapter 9 covers the object/method pure GDK library capabilities. Chapter 10 goes covers Groovy's library support for dealing with relational database systems, providing great flexibility when necessary, and significant shortcuts when simple solutions will do. Chapter 11 presents various methods of making Java applications more dynamic by integrating them with Groovy. I found this to be one of the book's most useful chapters, but you need the first 10 for chapter 11 to make sense.

Part 3 supplies guidance on how to best apply your new Groovy knowledge to practical tasks. Chapter 13 reveals tricks of the trade - how to avoid common errors, using snippet collections, and command-line and automation support. Chapter 14 is about unit testing. I just skimmed this part since the subject doesn't appeal to me. Chapter 15 takes Java and Groovy to the Windows platform. It shows how to put Groovy's expressiveness into action for the automation of Windows controls and applications. Finally, chapter 16 looks at Grails and shows how it leverages J2EE, Hibernate, Spring, and Groovy to allow rapid application development.

This book is a great introduction to Groovy, and even at its rather advanced age for a programming book it is still the best of the Groovy introductory texts. However, I am a person who needs an extreme amount of examples to really get something. For that reason I also highly recommend Groovy Recipes: Greasing the Wheels of Java (Pragmatic Programmers). What this book lacks in examples that book has. What that book lacks in detailed explanation, this book has. Thus they go hand in hand extremely well.