Top 3 Groovy Frameworks and Tools Java Developers Can Learn in 2024
Gradle, Grails, and Spock are the three best Groovy Frameworks and Tools which is worth learning for Java developers in 2024.
Hello guys, if you are looking for the best Groovy frameworks to learn in 2024 then you have come to the right place. In the last few articles, I have shared the best Java frameworks for Microservices, best Java libraries as well best Scala frameworks Java developers can learn, and in this article, I am going to share the best Groovy frameworks for Java developers.
If you don’t know, Groovy is another JVM-based programming language that complements Java by its terse and concise syntax and ease of programming. It’s one of the best programming language to create scripts for Java developers.
The best thing about Groovy is that its code is compiled into Java bytecode which means it's fully compatible with Java and you can also use any Java library in Groovy.
At the same time, there are excellent Groovy frameworks and tools like Grails, Gradle, and Spock which is even worth learning for Java developers and that’s what we are going to look into in this article.
By the way, if you are new to Groovy and don’t know how to code in Groovy then I highly recommend you to learn. It’s a great second langauge for Java programmers and I can say this from our own experience. I used Groovy for both creating build scripting and unit testing and then there is Gradle.
And, if you need a resource to learn Groovy, I highly recommend The Complete Apache Groovy Developer Course course on Udemy. This 13.5 hour, 4.5 stars rated course is a great course from Dan Vega to learn Groovy from scratch.
And, if you like to read books, I have also shared my favorite Groovy books here, you can also check them out to learn Groovy faster.
3 Best Groovy Frameworks and Tools to Learn in 2024
Without wasting any more of your time, here are the best Groovy Frameworks you can learn in 2024 and add more tools to your arsenal.
1. Gradle
Gradle is probably the most popular tool written in Groovy. It was initially touted as a replacement for Maven because of crisp and concise build files which removed the boilerplate of XML from the pom.xml file but now it co-exists with Maven.
Though more and more developers are moving to Gradle for simpler and easy-to-read build files and in the future it may really become the go-to build tool for Java developers and Java applications.
It’s a good tool to learn especially if you are a hands-on Java developer and if you want to learn Gradle then you can check out this Gradle MasterClass course on Udemy.
2. Grails
Grails is a powerful Groovy-based web application framework for the JVM which is built on top of the Spring Boot, another popular framework for Java development. Grails, like Ruby on Rails, aims to simplify Java development by leveraging Groovy’s simplicity and expressiveness.
Grails adopts best practices from popular Java framework like its use of convention-over-configuration, sensible defaults, opinionated APIs, and the Groovy language combine to make Grails easy to learn for Java developers.
Another good thing about Grails is that it seamlessly and transparently integrates and interoperates with Java, the JVM, and existing Java EE containers.
If you are into Java web development then learning Grails can be a good addition to your skill. If you want to learn Grails and need a resource then I suggest you check out this Grails MasterClass on Udemy.
3. Spock Testing Framework
If you are passionate about testing in Java then you might have heard about Spock, one of the best Groovy frameworks for unit testing and specification. You can use Spock to write a unit test for not just Groovy apps but also Java applications.
Spock is inspired by JUnit, RSpec, jMock, Mockito, Groovy, Scala, Vulcans, and other popular Java tools.
What makes it stand out from the crowd is its beautiful and highly expressive specification language. Thanks to its JUnit runner, Spock is compatible with most IDEs, build tools, and continuous integration servers.
There are not many resources to learn Spock online but Learn Automation with Geb and Spock on Udemy is the best course to start with
And, if you love books then this Java Testing with Spock book on Manning is probably all you need to get started with Spock.
That’s all about the best Groovy Frameworks and Tools Java developers can learn in 2024. There is a great chance that you already know a couple of these tools as they are quite popular in the Java world, particularly Gradle, but if you don’t know, 2024 is the best time to learn them. Groovy tools and frameworks are simple, easy-to-learn and can improve your productivity a lot.
Other Programming Courses and Articles you may like
- The 2024 Java Developer RoadMap
- 3 programming language Java developers can learn
- 10 Reasons to learn Scala Programming
- 5 Free Courses to learn Apache Spark with Scala
- My favorite courses to learn Software Architecture
- 10 Things Java Developer should learn in 2024
- The 2024 DevOps RoadMap for Programmers
- Top 10 Courses to learn Spring Boot in 2024
- 10 DevOps Courses for Programmers and Engineers
- 10 Frameworks Java and Web Developer should learn
- Top 5 Java Design Pattern Courses for Programmers
- 5 Free Courses to learn Core Spring and Spring Boot
Thanks for reading this article so far. If you like these Best Groovy Tools and frameworks for Java development then please share with your friends and colleagues. If you have any questions or feedback then please drop a note.
P. S. — If you are serious about learning Groovy and frameworks like Gradle and Grails and looking for the best Groovy courses to start with then you can also check out The Complete Apache Groovy Developer Course by Dan Vega on Udemy. This 13 hour 30 minutes online course is the best course to learn Groovy online.
