Skip to Content

Wiki source code of WebObjects with Scala

Version 228.1 by Ravi Mendis on 2009/09/15 23:39
Show last authors
1 === What is Scala? ===
2
3 Scala is a modern language not unlike Groovy.
4 It is said to be more powerful (and faster) than Groovy or Rails which has been the reason for its adoption at sites like Twitter.
5
6 Many of its features and paradigms favor multi-threaded and concurrent development which may not be unfamiliar to Objective-C and WebObjects developers. Here's a summary:
7
8 |= |= Objective-C |= Java |= Scala
9 |= Mutable/Immuable Datatypes | Collections //e.g: NSArray/NSMutableArray// | No | //All datatypes//
10 |= Closures | Blocks (//Extension//) | No | //Built-in//
11 |= Static variables | Yes | Yes | No
12 |= Static methods/functions | Yes | Yes | No
13 |= Concurrency | [[Grand Central Dispatch>>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Central_Dispatch]] (//Extension//)| //Threads// |[[Actors>>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actor_model]]
14 |= |= Weakly Typed |=--Strongly Typed--|= Strongly Typed
15
16 Other notable features include:
17
18 |= |= Objective-C |= Java |= Scala
19 |= Parametered methods | Yes //e.g: addObject: to~:// | No | Yes //e.g: add(object= ,to=)//
20 |= Class composition | Categories | Interfaces | Traits
21
22 A fuller description of Scala can be found [[here>>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scala_(programming_language)]].
23
24 === Why Use Scala? ===
25
26 With Web 2.0, building concurrent WebObjects applications is a must.
27 Developing and maintaining a concurrent or multi-threaded WebObjects application can be challenging.
28
29 Scala offers concurrency that is (effectively) built-in to the language and is inherently thread-safe.
30 So it may offer new solutions for concurrency in WebObjects.
31
32 === Can WebObjects be Programmed In Scala? ===
33
34 Yes. It is very simple.
35 Scala compiles to java bytecode. Hence using it with WebObjects is fairly straightforward.
36
37 == How to Develop WebObjects In Scala ==
38
39 1. [[Install the Scala eclipse IDE>>http://www.scala-lang.org/node/94]]
40 1. Add Scala support to your WO project
41 11. Right-click your project in the WO Explorer
42 11. In the context menu select Scala -> Add Scala Nature
43 1. Convert or use ##.scala## instead of ##.java## source
44
45 {{note title="Note"}}
46
47 This is for Eclipse/WOLips IDE
48
49 {{/note}}
50
51 == WO Scala Example ==
52
53 The following is a mixed Java/Scala version of the WO Movies D2W app.
54 All the EO logic and WO components are in Scala.
55 Only the Application class is Java.
56
57 {{attachments patterns=".*zip"}}{{/attachments}}
58
59 === Setup ===
60
61 1. Install and run the OpenBase OBMovies database.
62 1. Right-click on Application.java and run as a WOApplication (as usual).
63
64 ==== EO Templates ====
65
66 See: [[Scala templates>>http://wiki.objectstyle.org/confluence/display/WOL/EOGenerator+Templates+and+Additions]]
67
68 When you create your ##.eogen## file, be sure to make the following changes in the EOGenerator Editor:
69
70 1. Change the File Names Extension to "scala"
71 1. Uncheck Java under Options