Shell++ : Creating a "Groovy" shell for your application

We've all written shell scripts and command line Java applications for helper and troubleshooting purposes. Using Groovy we can combine the best of both worlds - a lightweight scripting language for utility purposes and the ability to reach into your Java library to interact easily with your main application. But why stop there? You can also easily extend the standard Groovy Shell to create a general-purpose, easily extensible command line client.

In this session, we'll start by creating a few Groovy scripts to do the tedious admin functions you would normally use a shell script to do. Then we'll focus on extending the existing Groovy Shell to create a complete, interactive shell for interacting with a JEE application. We'll leverage an existing codebase to make database calls, browse a JMS queue, and use a little JMX to see how the server-based JEE app is running. All of this from a fast command line Groovy prompt, complete with coloring and command completion!

About Pratik Patel

Pratik Patel is a Java Champion and developer advocate at Azul Systems and has written 3 books on programming (Java, Cloud and OSS). An all around software and hardware nerd with experience in the healthcare, telecom, financial services, and startup sectors. He's also a co-organizer of the Atlanta Java User Group and North Atlanta JavaScript meetup, frequent speaker at tech events, and master builder of nachos.

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