Grails is a full stack MVC framework for building web applications for the Java platform. Grails makes web application development both fun and easy. This session covers all of the fundamentals of building web applications with Grails.

Businesses need rich web applications and developers want to be able to build those applications without the pain that usually comes along with doing so. Grails addresses these needs very well. Grails demolishes many of the pain points that Java developers have almost (not quite) become numb to after years of suffering. This session covers all of the fundamentals:

• Introduction To Grails
• Domain Objects
• Controllers
• GSPs
• Custom TagLibs
• GORM

Grails makes web application development both fun and easy. This session dives beyond the basics to cover advanced details of Grails that bring the really exciting features to your applications.

Getting started building web applications for the Java platform is easy. Following that through to rich interactive applications that solve the business needs is more tricky. Grails goes the whole way to address pain points not only for simple applications but of real enterprise applications with real demands. This session steps through many of the advanced features of Grails that help get your applications through that last 20% that teams often struggle with.

Dynamic languages bring a lot of interesting elements to the table for teams interested in doing Test Driven Development (TDD). Groovy lends itself very well to TDD and this session demonstrates many features of the language and its libraries that help teams build more testable systems and build better tests.

The value of Test Driven Development (TDD) has become widely accepted. The practice has extended beyond just XP teams. Good TDD practices yield high quality software and help teams maintain confidence in their software as complexity grows. The dynamic nature of Groovy makes TDD easy and fun. Groovy may be used to unit test not only Groovy code but other code as well. Testing Java code with Groovy is a snap. Learn to use the power of Groovy to test your systems.

There are numerous roles that Groovy may play in your build process to greatly simplify the management of the build while bringing more capabilities. This session will detail a lot of the things that Groovy can do to improve your build and lessen the amount of effort you spend on your build.

Of all the places that Groovy may help your application, the build is one that is often overlooked but there are really fantastic reasons that the build is a great place for Groovy to be. The build isn't part of your deliverable application so introducing new technology there is much easier than it might be in other areas. Introduce Groovy into your build and let your team develop their Groovy expertise there. That is a great way to discover and take advantage of the great power that Groovy has to offer. After teams appreciate that power they are in a great position to start taking advantage of that power in the application itself.

This session will details many ways that Groovy can help with your build including integrating Groovy with Ant, JUnit, Gant, Code Coverage Reports, Continuous Integration Servers and others.