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Wiki source code of WebObjects with Scala

Version 401.1 by Ravi Mendis on 2010/01/17 19:18
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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 Ruby.
5 This's been the reason for its adoption at sites like Twitter.
6
7 Scala is a language for concurrent computing.
8 In the day and age of multi-core processors, concurrent computing can't be ignored.
9
10 Many of Scala's features have been designed with concurrency in mind.
11 Some of these may not be unfamiliar to Objective-C or WebObjects developers.
12
13 Here's a quick summary:
14
15 |= |= Objective-C |= Java |= Scala
16 |= Mutable/Immuable Datatypes | Collections //e.g: NSArray/NSMutableArray// | No | Yes
17 |= Closures | Blocks (//Extension//) | No | Anonymous Functions
18 |= Static variables | Yes | Yes | No
19 |= Static methods/functions | Yes | Yes | No
20 |= Concurrency | [[Grand Central Dispatch>>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Central_Dispatch]] (//Extension//)| //Threads// |[[Actors>>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actor_model]]
21 |= |= Weakly Typed |=--Strongly Typed--|= Strongly Typed
22
23 Other notable features include:
24
25 |= |= Objective-C |= Java |= Scala
26 |= Parametered methods | Yes //e.g: addObject: to~:// | No | Yes //e.g: add(object= ,to=)//
27 |= Class composition | Categories | Interfaces | Traits
28
29 A fuller description of Scala can be found [[here>>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scala_(programming_language)]].
30
31 === Why Use Scala? ===
32
33 Developing and maintaining a concurrent or multi-threaded WebObjects application can be challenging.
34
35 The lack of static variables means that Scala is inherently thread-safe.
36 It has concurrency that is effectively built-in to the language in the form of Actors.
37
38 So for WebObjects developers, Scala offers itself as a powerful, safe and easy-to-use solution for concurrent applications.
39
40 === Can WebObjects be Programmed In Scala? ===
41
42 Yes. It is very simple.
43 Scala compiles to java bytecode. Hence using it with WebObjects is fairly straightforward.
44
45 = WebObjects In Scala =
46
47 The following highlights some of the differences between Java and Scala in WebObjects:
48
49 == EOs in Scala ==
50
51 === Thread-Safe Shared Vars ===
52
53 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.
54 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.
55
56 The following is an example of the use of a //Companion Object// for Talent in Scala instead of Talent static fields in Java.
57
58 Java:
59
60 {{code value="java"}}
61
62 public class _Talent extends EOGenericRecord {
63 public static final String ENTITY_NAME = "Talent";
64
65 {{/code}}
66
67 Scala:
68
69 {{code}}
70
71 object Talent extends EOGenericRecord {
72 val ENTITY_NAME = "Talent"
73
74 {{/code}}
75
76 ==== Compacted imports ====
77
78 Two lines in Java are compacted into one in Scala.
79
80 In Java:
81
82 {{code value="java"}}
83
84 import com.webobjects.eocontrol.EOGenericRecord;
85 import com.webobjects.eocontrol.EORelationshipManipulation;
86
87 {{/code}}
88
89 In Scala:
90
91 {{code}}
92
93 import com.webobjects.eocontrol.{EOGenericRecord, EORelationshipManipulation}
94
95 {{/code}}
96
97 == WOComponents in Scala ==
98
99 ==== Compact Constructors ====
100
101 Scala allows for simpler use of multi-valued constructors than Java.
102
103 In Java:
104
105 {{code value="java"}}
106
107 public class MenuHeader extends WOComponent {
108
109 public MenuHeader(WOContext aContext) {
110 super(aContext);
111 }
112
113 {{/code}}
114
115 In Scala:
116
117 {{code}}
118
119 class MenuHeader(context: WOContext) extends WOComponent(context: WOContext) {
120
121 {{/code}}
122
123 ==== Simplified Exception Handling ====
124
125 Scala doesn't force you to catch exceptions unlike in Java.
126 In addition, the syntax employs Scala's very powerful pattern matching to handle different exceptions.
127
128 In Java:
129
130 {{code value="java"}}
131
132 try {
133 EditPageInterface epi = D2W.factory().editPageForNewObjectWithEntityNamed(_manipulatedEntityName, session());
134 epi.setNextPage(context().page());
135 nextPage = (WOComponent) epi;
136 } catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
137 ErrorPageInterface epf = D2W.factory().errorPage(session());
138 epf.setMessage(e.toString());
139 epf.setNextPage(context().page());
140 nextPage = (WOComponent) epf;
141 }
142
143 {{/code}}
144
145 In Scala:
146
147 {{code}}
148
149 try {
150 var epi: EditPageInterface = D2W.factory.editPageForNewObjectWithEntityNamed(_manipulatedEntityName, session)
151 epi.setNextPage(context.page)
152 nextPage = epi.asInstanceOf[WOComponent]
153 } catch {
154 case e: IllegalArgumentException => {
155 var epf: ErrorPageInterface = D2W.factory.errorPage(session)
156 epf.setMessage(e.toString)
157 epf.setNextPage(context.page)
158 nextPage = epf.asInstanceOf[WOComponent]
159 }
160 }
161
162 {{/code}}
163
164 ==== Scala Annotations vs. Generic Accessors ====
165
166 An example of accessing variables in WebObjects with the following languages:
167
168 |= |= Objective-C |= Java |= Scala
169 |= getter | ##object name## | ##object.name()## | ##object.name##
170 |= setter | ##object setName:aName## | ##object.setName(aName)## | ##object.name = aName##
171
172 Of course in Java, we may generate WebObjects classes with "get" methods as well in order to stick to convention.
173 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.
174
175 E.g, in Main.scala we annotate our component keys with ##@BeanProperty## to automatically create public "set" and "get" methods.
176 These variables can then be accessed via //KVC//.
177
178 {{code}}
179
180 @BeanProperty var username = new String()
181 @BeanProperty var password = new String()
182 @BeanProperty var isAssistantCheckboxVisible = false
183
184 {{/code}}
185
186 == How to Use Scala Collections with EOF ==
187
188 One of the benefits of Scala is its very powerful, concurrency-ready collection classes - primarily ##List##, ##Map##, ##Seq## and ##Set##.
189 Employing these instead of ##NSArray## and ##NSDictionary## in WebObjects/EOF may be challenging.
190
191 But one may modify the EO templates to produce API such as:
192
193 {{code}}
194
195 def movies: NSArray[EOGenericRecord] = {
196 storedValueForKey(_Studio.Keys.MOVIES).asInstanceOf[NSArray[EOGenericRecord]]
197 }
198
199 def moviesList: List[EOGenericRecord] = {
200 movies.objects.toList
201 }
202
203 {{/code}}
204
205 == How to Add Scala to a WO Project ==
206
207 {{include value="WOL:Adding Scala Support to a WOLips Project"}}{{/include}}
208
209 {{note title="Note"}}
210
211 This is for Eclipse/WOLips IDE
212
213 {{/note}}
214
215 == WO Scala Example ==
216
217 The following example is an almost 100% Scala WO app. In reality it is a mixed Java/Scala app:
218 All the EO logic and WO components are in Scala.
219 Only the Application class is Java.
220
221 It is based on the D2W Movies example.
222
223 {{attachments patterns=".*zip"}}{{/attachments}}
224
225 === Setup ===
226
227 1. [[Install the Scala eclipse IDE>>http://www.scala-lang.org/node/94]]
228 1. Install and start the OpenBase OBMovies database.
229 1. Right-click on Application.java and run as a WOApplication (as usual).
230
231 ==== EO Templates ====
232
233 When you create your ##.eogen## file, be sure to make the following changes in the EOGenerator Editor:
234
235 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//##
236 1. Change the File Names Extension to "scala"
237 1. In Destination Paths set the Superclass Package (e.g: base)
238 1. Uncheck Java under Options
239
240 == How to Build & Deploy a WebObjects Scala Project with Ant ==
241
242 1. [[Download>>http://www.scala-lang.org/downloads]] and install Scala
243 1. Set ##scala.home## (the location Scala has been installed onto) in the project ##build.properties## file
244 1. [[Add the scalac task and properties>>Configuring Ant to Build Scala with WebObjects]] to the ant build.xml file
245 1. Run from the project directory: ##sudo ant clean install##