Grails
Grails is a popular Java language framework licensed on Apache and built off of the Spring boot.
- Built off Groovy, a popular language similar to Java
- Support via IDEs and text editors
- A completely open source project complemented by a number of plugins
- Comes with up to date and highly informative documentation
- Viewing changes is as simple as hitting the refresh button
- Quick setup and minimal learning curve
- Requires users to learn Groovy
- Only supports GORM and not other ORMs
Where languages known and languages implemented once dominated the conversation of developers, much of these discussions have since transitioned to which framework to use. As new apps become built on increasingly complex latticeworks of multiple languages and the languages themselves become exceedingly more complicated, a solid framework can help veteran developers automate much of their behavior and help rookie developers do more with a rudimentary understanding of the language in question. Grails seeks to simplify the process of Java development, and it comes with a wide variety of useful features in pursuit of those aims. Grails is built off of the Spring Boot system, and that comes with a number of distinct advantages. Spring Boot is designed fundamentally with rapid design in mind, allowing developers to rapidly move from the prototyping stage to a final working product, and Grails makes use of these quality of life functions inherent in the Spring Boot experience. A number of major Spring Boot features, such as dependency injection, work well and exactly in the way you expect. These Spring Boot functions make Grails an ideal choice if you're working on small or medium sized projects that you want to rapidly push through development. Grails comes with extensive, comprehensive, and easily readable documentation as well, making it easier for new developers to get a firm understanding of how the framework operates and just jump straight into the design process. The actual language on which Grails is built off of is Groovy, an Apache language with a number of core similarities to Java. This means that Java programmers will have a significantly easier time getting a grip on how the system works and learning its ins and outs. This is further bolstered by the smooth inclusion of Java code directly into the framework. Grails offers seamless and transparent integration with Java, JVM, and Java EE containers, and its minimal CSS framework plug-ins makes integrating CSS into your JavaScript a pretty simple process. If you're looking to create a Java frontend and connect it to a more complicated pile of code, integration of REST APIs as well as React and Angular greatly simplify the act. You can focus on creating dynamic pieces of code without having to worry about how well they're going to play with apps built in a foreign language. But perhaps the most distinct advantage of the Grails experience is that it's an entirely open source project. The shallow learning curve for Groovy expedites the process of creating new materials for Grails, and this has facilitated an environment that's flooded with a wide range of plug-ins that are easily integrated into your framework. If you're looking to integrate some high concept or specialized features into your Grails framework, there's a pretty good chance you'll find it either directly through the Grails development site or through GitHub.