Play continues to emerge as one of the fastest growing web frameworks, gaining more and more attention in production and popularity surveys. Here we see a nice tutorial on using the Play test runner.
http://www.devinprogress.info/2011/04/how-play-framework-test-runner-works.html
Hi,
having heared of Play for the first only a couple of weeks ago by job applicant, I looked into it to find out what it is all about. One of the first aspects that struck me, is the claim about the java platform being "infamous for its low productivity". Is there any data anywhere to back this up or is it just an assumption by the framework authors? A brief web research did not provide any sources for this and so I thought anyone here could help me out...
Regards,
J.
haha. Anyway, you've got to be easy on them: they're new in the market, and full of excitement after having introduced the ultimate java web framework (after the other 458 ultimate ones). But the statement you quote really deserves a litte more context:
"The Java platform is infamous for its low productivity, mainly due to repeated and tedious compile-package-deploy cycles"
so the problem they have identified does not apply to Java per se, but to java servlet engines. I am not sure, however, that it really exists (my last web project was 3 years ago, and I dont remember having had this problem) resp. that theirs is the only solution to this specific issue.
Build/deploy or build/restart cycles in web development dont take significant amount of time to require a new framework for it.
I personally spend about 5% of my time on this and even this 5% does not get wasted but can be used to take a break from coding and think over of what you just did.
If you are spending more than that, you better reconsider your build environment (like choosing Maven where you only need to build sub modules) or maybe it is time to move from vi to real IDE where it can show you compile errors without the need to build everything.
Its just not serious when frameworks like Play or RoR show how it is easy to develop Hello World application but fail to mention that real application are done in totally different way and require more important things like skilled developer pool, better integration with other systems and platforms, mature libraries and tools.
As for blaming everything on Java, servlets or JSPs. It is totally irresponsible. I had to write "JPS myths" after starting hearing how JSP where to blame for everything.
Guys, though I do not use Play, (I developed a similar framework) I will defend it. Really seems that Java developers have been living under a rock, and when they see anything new it looks scary, so they laugh it down. I've been a Java developer since 1996, when JDK could fit on the floppy and can attest that Java development was fun until Sun destroyed it with heavy standards and Spring made it numbingly hard. I came across RoR a few years ago and was forced to learn it. I can attest that regular Java Web development is dog slow, boring and difficult compared to RoR. I did briefly look at Play, and it seems that the guys got most things right. The main reason why we have 480 frameworks, is because they all suck. New styles of development are introduced by other technologies, and Java developers will only benefit if they borrow heavily from other communities, but that requires learning - stepping outside your comfort zone. For instance, in a Ruby shop not writing good quality tests (actually specifications of behavior - BDD) is considered a crime, while on a Java project this is a "normal" thing.
My point is: other communities are moving ahead and Java while could be a great platform is looking more like a Cobol of the day (uncool). This can be changed though, and Play is one that is making a dent.
As I mentioned, I developed a brand new ORM for Java and a web framework based on the same principals with RoR. The team I manage have been using it for over a year and I can tell you that productivity, developer satisfaction and code quality soared.
I hope this helps,
igor
