Paul M. Wiedel said
Groovy Recipes is an excellent introductory book into Groovy programming. The first few chapters give clear instructions for learning how to use Groovy. The remaining chapters give clear instructions for using some of Groovy's cool features: using Groovy with Java, Grails programming, metaprogramming, working with XML, File manipulation, and web services).
Much akin to the fun and energetic manner that Davis speaks in his presentations he writes Groovy Recipes.
If you haven't heard him speak(and even if you have), do a quick Google Video search for Scott Davis Groovy and you'll find a presentation or two of his. I recommend them.
One technique that I found especially useful is how Davis compared performing a simple task in the Java world, and then showed how it could be done in the Groovy world. Of course, it's easier in the groovy world for all the examples. It's nice to see areas where we can take advantage of Groovy's strengths.
Groovy Recipes has enough content to sit on an experienced Groovy developer's book shelf, but the more novice Groovy people will find more value in Groovy Recipes.
Arif &Ed : Books,Music And Java said
It is a nice little book to have by your computer, if you are working with Groovy. I give this book 3 star review because this could have done without first 5 chapters. I think Groovy is a great language, and in my humble opinion it is more useful to a Java programmer, then Ruby, however the quality of Ruby books is far superior to books available in Groovy.
Michael Ernest said
I got this book after hearing the author speak at JavaOne. His talk covers the content of the first chapter along with a few other items, but I didn't mind. It was quite helpful to read through the points and examples he made and try them out at my own pace.
The book is driven by a series of insights rather than complete, formal coverage. I found this approach very useful to getting started and experimenting. The writing is clear, light-hearted, and relaxed, especially in the beginning.
Towards the end of the book, the explanations wane a bit. The sample code is more often given without an introduction, beyond the section header. I was less sure what was going on in some of these cases, as I had gotten accustomed to picking things up very quickly in the beginning. The explanations that followed these code bits were good enough, but I missed that sense of the author's energy from beginning to end of each section.
I don't understand at all why it's called Groovy Recipes. There aren't any. The examples illustrate very well the power of this tool, but I didn't see anything that amounts to, say, the Groovy way to mine a web page, create an IM interface, read mail, etc. If you are looking for code you can apply immediately to some series of problems, this isn't the one.
Daniel McKinnon said
'Groovy Recipes: Greasing the Wheels of Java' is a typical Pragmatic release in that it is written well, free of bells and whistles, and jam full of relevant and useful information. There is 250+ pages of information here on how to use and implement Groovy, the wonderful Java addition that makes programming easier and more exciting for any and all developers!
Content is spread over 12 chapters:
01. Intro
02. Getting Started
03. New to Groovy
04. Java + Groovy
05. Command Line Groovy
06. File Tricks
07. XML Parsing
08. Writing XML
09. Web Services
10. Metaprogramming
11. Grails
12. Grails + Web Services
As can be seen by the TOC, this is a book for programmers of today living in a networked world. The focus is on writing efficient, good code that is fast and useful. This book is extremely beneficial to any and all Groovy developers that want to learn better and faster this wonderful technology.
***** RECOMMENDED
Adam T. Bartlett said
So you're in a hurry to pick up Groovy, and you're not a big fan of books that while informative, fill you with more language theory than useful knowledge. This buck, while around 240 pages in length, manages to take you from Hello World! to Web Service programming and Grails rapid development in a short period. If you know Java, you'll feel right at home with Groovy, and will feel good about your skills after you're done reading this book.
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