Comments on: Consilidating scripts with Groovy (Merging .sh/.pl/main()/etc to .groovy) http://almaer.com/blog/consilidating-scripts-with-groovy-merging-shplmainetc-to-groovy blogging about life, the universe, and everything tech Sat, 08 Sep 2012 07:06:53 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Almost Anonymous http://almaer.com/blog/consilidating-scripts-with-groovy-merging-shplmainetc-to-groovy/comment-page-1#comment-2505 Almost Anonymous Fri, 21 May 2004 01:29:31 +0000 http://almaer.com/blog2/consilidating-scripts-with-groovy-merging-shplmainetc-to-groovy#comment-2505 No one, you're just found your first use for Groovy. All those little applications that you write for and support yourself. Or, like Dion says, hopefully Groovy can replace a few of those inevitable Perl scripts that pop up even in "enterprise applications" (or more likely, "enterprise operations"). If you have people developing "enterprise" Java applications, Groovy really shouldn't be too hard to pick up (think about it, is Java's syntax harder to learn or all of it's class libraries... and since Groovy's class libraries are Java's class libraries...). I think it's important not to force the issue, though. If you haven't found a use for Groovy yet, don't use it yet. At the very least, however, Groovy _is_ "a new toy to play with". So if you have a sandpit and enjoy playing with those kinds of toys, Groovy is a lot of fun. No one, you’re just found your first use for Groovy. All those little applications that you write for and support yourself. Or, like Dion says, hopefully Groovy can replace a few of those inevitable Perl scripts that pop up even in “enterprise applications” (or more likely, “enterprise operations”).

If you have people developing “enterprise” Java applications, Groovy really shouldn’t be too hard to pick up (think about it, is Java’s syntax harder to learn or all of it’s class libraries… and since Groovy’s class libraries are Java’s class libraries…).

I think it’s important not to force the issue, though. If you haven’t found a use for Groovy yet, don’t use it yet. At the very least, however, Groovy _is_ “a new toy to play with”. So if you have a sandpit and enjoy playing with those kinds of toys, Groovy is a lot of fun.

]]> By: Dion http://almaer.com/blog/consilidating-scripts-with-groovy-merging-shplmainetc-to-groovy/comment-page-1#comment-2504 Dion Fri, 21 May 2004 01:27:34 +0000 http://almaer.com/blog2/consilidating-scripts-with-groovy-merging-shplmainetc-to-groovy#comment-2504 The point wasn't that I couldn't do this in the past. I *was* doing this in the past. It involved shell scripts and Java, and I would contend that it was a lot more clunky that the Groovy scripts that I now have. Your point about "adding a new language" on a large project is definitely a good one. You definitely have to make up your mind on that one for your particular project or company. However, I definitely think that: a) Saving keystrokes isnt' a bad thing b) It isn't actually about saving some keystrokes Developers write code. Code has bugs. I think that some agile languages apply nicely to certain problems. In a Groovy script that I wrote recently, the outcome was ~10 lines. Each line did something important. It was done in no time. If I had chosen Java for that task I *know* it would have taken a hell of a lot longer, and I would have been fighting verbosity that I just didn't need in this case. Multiply this and it can save me a lot. The act of meta-programming itself take also allow me to do things that shrink a program in size and complexity. Of course, it is a personal thing... if you prefer Java, use Java :) The point wasn’t that I couldn’t do this in the past. I *was* doing this in the past. It involved shell scripts and Java, and I would contend that it was a lot more clunky that the Groovy scripts that I now have.

Your point about “adding a new language” on a large project is definitely a good one. You definitely have to make up your mind on that one for your particular project or company.

However, I definitely think that:

a) Saving keystrokes isnt’ a bad thing
b) It isn’t actually about saving some keystrokes

Developers write code. Code has bugs. I think that some agile languages apply nicely to certain problems. In a Groovy script that I wrote recently, the outcome was ~10 lines. Each line did something important. It was done in no time. If I had chosen Java for that task I *know* it would have taken a hell of a lot longer, and I would have been fighting verbosity that I just didn’t need in this case.

Multiply this and it can save me a lot. The act of meta-programming itself take also allow me to do things that shrink a program in size and complexity.

Of course, it is a personal thing… if you prefer Java, use Java :)

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