Dynamicizing Your Day Job
This session shows you how you can introduce dynamic languages like Groovy and JRuby into you day job without making anyone nervous.
So, you want to use a dynamic language like Groovy or JRuby because you are sure that it is the future of Java. Just one problem: your company is soooo conservative that they won't let anything cool past the guard house. Solution? Dynamicize your job. This session includes 5 extended examples of how to use Groovy and JRuby as part of your daily development without actually deploying any of it. It discusses using dynamic languages for unit and functional testing (including mock objects and behavior driven development), taking control of the XML sprawl of configuration files, using Groovy and JRuby for code generation and reflection, using these languages to automate common developer tasks (i.e., building shims and jigs in Groovy), and finally using build tools built in Groovy and Ruby (Gant, Jake, and Raven). The goal of this session is to allow you to start using cool tools Monday morning…and no one who cares for the wrong reasons needs to be the wiser!
About Neal Ford
Neal is Director, Software Architect, and Meme Wrangler at ThoughtWorks, a global IT consultancy with an exclusive focus on end-to-end software development and delivery.
Before joining ThoughtWorks, Neal was the Chief Technology Officer at The DSW Group, Ltd., a nationally recognized training and development firm. Neal has a degree in Computer Science from Georgia State University specializing in languages and compilers and a minor in mathematics specializing in statistical analysis.
He is also the designer and developer of applications, instructional materials, magazine articles, video presentations, and author of 6 books, including the most recent The Productive Programmer. His language proficiencies include Java, C#/.NET, Ruby, Groovy, functional languages, Scheme, Object Pascal, C++, and C. His primary consulting focus is the design and construction of large-scale enterprise applications. Neal has taught on-site classes nationally and internationally to all phases of the military and to many Fortune 500 companies. He is also an internationally acclaimed speaker, having spoken at over 100 developer conferences worldwide, delivering more than 600 talks. If you have an insatiable curiosity about Neal, visit his web site at http://www.nealford.com. He welcomes feedback and can be reached at nford@thoughtworks.com.