Metaprogramming Grails

This presentation will go how to metaclass Grails classes to add functionality that may be missing in larger scale web sites. The presentation will focus on meta-classing Grails controllers, services, and a few of the key GORM classes.

For the past few years Groovy and its main web framework Grails has been garnering spotlight as the new kid on the block in the Java-sphere. Much of this praise is well deserved, Grails has simplified web application development for teams exponentially. Time to develop and cost has been cut, but why? Because, quite simply, the development is just easier. The automatic injection, the ability to create easier Hibernate queries, etc. All have attributed to making Java development easier. However, the Grails team cannot predict EVERY application needed nor all the nuances in all of those applications. But what happens when you want to start customizing? Well Groovy is a dynamic language complete with tons of ability to use Meta Programming. In this presentation we will take a brief look at some of the Grails classes that you often indirectly use and how we can use MetaProgramming to add to there already built in abilities. Specifically we will look at whats available by default in the controllers, services, domains and how to extend and use them.

The presentation will focus mostly on adding abilities to your controllers / services and more specifically interacting with GORM. We will dive into accessing features of the GORM object and meta-classing the Criteria queries which will be more helpful in large scale web applications.

About Joseph Nusairat

Joseph Faisal Nusairat, author of “Beginning JBoss Seam” and co-author “Beginning Groovy & Grails”, is a Java developer who has been working full time in the Columbus Ohio area since 1998, primarily focused on Java development. His career has taken him into a variety of Fortune 500 industries including military applications, data centers, banking, internet security, pharmaceuticals, and insurance. Joseph is particularly fond of open source projects and tries to use as much open source software as possible when working with clients. Joseph is a graduate of Ohio University with dual degrees in Computer Science and Microbiology with a minor in Chemistry. Currently, Joseph works as a Senior Partner at Integrallis Software (www.integrallis.com).

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