Changes for page WebObjects with Scala

Last modified by Ravi Mendis on 2011/05/10 02:10

From version 436.1
edited by Ravi Mendis
on 2010/09/09 23:13
Change comment: There is no comment for this version
To version 433.1
edited by Ravi Mendis
on 2010/01/20 00:31
Change comment: There is no comment for this version

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1 1  === What is Scala? ===
2 2  
3 -[[Scala>>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scala_(programming_language)]] is a language for concurrent computing.
3 +Scala is a language for concurrent computing.
4 4  In this day and age of multi-core processors, concurrent computing can't be ignored.
5 5  
6 6  Many of Scala's features have been designed with concurrency in mind.
... ... @@ -8,26 +8,28 @@
8 8  
9 9  Here's a quick summary:
10 10  
11 -|= |= Objective-C |= Java |= Scala
12 -|= Separation of Mutable & Immuable Datatypes | Collections //e.g: NSArray/NSMutableArray// | No | Yes
13 -|= Closures | Blocks (//Extension//) | No | Anonymous Functions
14 -|= Static variables | Yes | Yes | No
15 -|= Static methods or functions | Yes | Yes | No
16 -|= Concurrency | [[Grand Central Dispatch>>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Central_Dispatch]] (//Extension//) | //Threads// | [[Actors>>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actor_model]]
17 -|= |= Weakly Typed |= --Strongly Typed-- |= Strongly Typed
11 +|= |= Objective-C |= Java |= Scala
12 +|= Mutable/Immuable Datatypes | Collections //e.g: NSArray/NSMutableArray// | No | Yes
13 +|= Closures | Blocks (//Extension//) | No | Anonymous Functions
14 +|= Static variables | Yes | Yes | No
15 +|= Static methods or functions| Yes | Yes | No
16 +|= Concurrency | [[Grand Central Dispatch>>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Central_Dispatch]] (//Extension//)| //Threads// |[[Actors>>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actor_model]]
17 +|= |= Weakly Typed |=--Strongly Typed--|= Strongly Typed
18 18  
19 19  Other notable features include:
20 20  
21 -|= |= Objective-C |= Java |= Scala
22 -|= Parametered methods | Yes //e.g: addObject: to~:// | No | Yes //e.g: add(object= ,to=)//
23 -|= Class composition | Categories | Interfaces | Traits
21 +|= |= Objective-C |= Java |= Scala
22 +|= Parametered methods | Yes //e.g: addObject: to~:// | No | Yes //e.g: add(object= ,to=)//
23 +|= Class composition | Categories | Interfaces | Traits
24 24  
25 +A fuller description of Scala can be found [[here>>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scala_(programming_language)]].
26 +
25 25  === Why Use Scala? ===
26 26  
27 27  Scala is inherently thread-safe.
28 28  It has concurrency that is effectively built-in to the language.
29 29  
30 -So for WebObjects developers, Scala offers itself as a powerful, safe and easy-to-use solution for [[concurrent applications>>Building Concurrent Applications with WebObjects and Scala]]. (In other words, Scala Actors can be used for problems that would have normally required threads).
32 +So for WebObjects developers, Scala offers itself as a powerful, safe and easy-to-use solution for concurrent applications. (In other words, Scala Actors can be used for problems that would have normally required threads).
31 31  
32 32  === Can WebObjects be Programmed In Scala? ===
33 33  
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40 40  
41 41  == EOs in Scala ==
42 42  
43 -=== Thread-Safe Shared Vars ===
45 +=== Thread-Safe Shared Vars ===
44 44  
45 -Scala doesn't have static variables or methods. Instead Scala employs the [[Singleton Pattern>>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singleton_pattern]] which is built into the language and is **thread-safe**: a class can have a //Companion Object// that will allow you to achieve something equivalent to static variables - but better.
47 +Scala doesn't have static variables or methods. However, a class can have a //Companion Object// that will allow you to achieve something equivalent to static variables.
48 +One of the advantages of this approach is that it is **thread-safe**, so you don't have to worry about synchronizing access to these fields in a concurrent application.
46 46  
47 -So you don't have to worry about synchronizing access to shared mutable fields in a concurrent application.
48 -
49 49  The following is an example of the use of a //Companion Object// for Talent in Scala instead of Talent static fields in Java.
50 50  
51 51  Java:
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66 66  
67 67  {{/code}}
68 68  
69 -This value will be accessed exactly the same way in both languages:
70 -
71 -{{code}}
72 -
73 -Talent.ENTITY_NAME
74 -
75 -{{/code}}
76 -
77 77  ==== Compacted imports ====
78 78  
79 79  Two lines in Java are compacted into one in Scala.
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162 162  
163 163  {{/code}}
164 164  
165 -==== Scala Annotations vs. Generated Accessors ====
158 +==== Scala Annotations vs. Generic Accessors ====
166 166  
167 167  An example of accessing variables in WebObjects with the following languages:
168 168  
169 -|= |= Objective-C |= Java |= Scala
170 -|= getter | ##object name## | ##object.name()## | ##object.name##
171 -|= setter | ##object setName:aName## | ##object.setName(aName)## | ##object.name = aName##
162 +|= |= Objective-C |= Java |= Scala
163 +|= getter | ##object name## | ##object.name()## | ##object.name##
164 +|= setter | ##object setName:aName## | ##object.setName(aName)## | ##object.name = aName##
172 172  
173 173  Of course in Java, we may generate WebObjects classes with "get" methods as well in order to stick to convention.
174 174  In scala there is an additional convenience we may use to produce "get" and "set" methods in addition to the default Scala accessors - Scala Annotations.
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178 178  
179 179  {{code}}
180 180  
181 -import scala.reflect.BeanProperty
182 -
183 183  @BeanProperty var username = new String()
184 184  @BeanProperty var password = new String()
185 185  @BeanProperty var isAssistantCheckboxVisible = false
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188 188  
189 189  == How to Use Scala Collections with EOF ==
190 190  
191 -One of the benefits of Scala is its very powerful, concurrency-ready collection classes - primarily ##List##, ##Map## and ##Set##.
182 +One of the benefits of Scala is its very powerful, concurrency-ready collection classes - primarily ##List##, ##Map##, ##Seq## and ##Set##.
192 192  Employing these instead of ##NSArray## and ##NSDictionary## in WebObjects/EOF may be challenging.
193 193  
194 194  But one may modify the EO templates to produce API such as:
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195 195  
196 196  {{code}}
197 197  
198 -import scala.collection.JavaConversions._
199 -
200 -def movies = {
201 - storedValueForKey(_Studio.Keys.MOVIES).asInstanceOf[NSArray[Movie]]
189 +def movies: NSArray[EOGenericRecord] = {
190 + storedValueForKey(_Studio.Keys.MOVIES).asInstanceOf[NSArray[EOGenericRecord]]
202 202  }
203 -
204 -def moviesList = {
205 - movies.asInstanceOf[java.lang.Iterable[Movie]].toList
192 +
193 +def moviesList: List[EOGenericRecord] = {
194 + movies.objects.toList
206 206  }
207 207  
208 208  {{/code}}
209 209  
210 -This employs a feature of Scala known as **implicit conversions** to automagically convert a NSArray (a Java Iterable) into a Scala Iterable.
211 -
212 212  == How to Add Scala to a WO Project ==
213 213  
214 214  {{include value="WOL:Adding Scala Support to a WOLips Project"}}{{/include}}
215 215  
216 -{{note}}
203 +{{note title="Note"}}
217 217  
218 218  This is for Eclipse/WOLips IDE
219 219  
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223 223  
224 224  The following example is an almost 100% Scala WO app. In reality it is a mixed Java/Scala app:
225 225  All the EO logic and WO components are in Scala.
226 -Only the Application class remains Java.
213 +Only the Application class is Java.
227 227  
228 228  It is based on the D2W Movies example.
229 229  
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231 231  
232 232  === Setup ===
233 233  
234 -1. [[Install the Scala eclipse IDE>>http://www.scala-ide.org/]]
221 +1. [[Install the Scala eclipse IDE>>http://www.scala-lang.org/node/94]]
222 +1. Install and start the OpenBase OBMovies database.
235 235  1. Right-click on Application.java and run as a WOApplication (as usual).
236 236  
237 -== EO Templates ==
225 +==== EO Templates ====
238 238  
239 239  When you create your ##.eogen## file, be sure to make the following changes in the EOGenerator Editor:
240 240  
241 -1. Point to the local [[Scala versions>>http://wiki.objectstyle.org/confluence/display/WOL/EOGenerator+Templates+and+Additions]] of the .eotemplate files for ##Entity## and ##Entity##
229 +1. Point to the local [[Scala versions>>http://wiki.objectstyle.org/confluence/display/WOL/EOGenerator+Templates+and+Additions]] of the .eotemplate files for ##Entity## and ##//Entity//##
242 242  1. Change the File Names Extension to "scala"
243 243  1. In Destination Paths set the Superclass Package (e.g: base)
244 244  1. Uncheck Java under Options