I use Groovy as a scripting language for small tasks, running on
application servers that do not have very good scripting tools
available, and to which I only have limited access. Prior to Groovy
2.5, I've used the groovy-all jar as a low-impact, easy to deploy
scripting option. I run scripts as
java -cp .../groovy-all-2.4.x.jar;. groovy.ui.Main myscript.groovy
The advantages of this approach are:
1. One-off deployment of a single binary file to the server, with all
subsequent script deployments being text files (the actual scripts).
2. Works with whatever Java is present on the server.
3. Doesn't need to rely on any particular directory structure on the server.
4. Doesn't need source code to be held elsewhere (it's a
run-from-source solution rather than a compiled binary).
Since Groovy 2.5, the -all jar has been discontinued - the release
notes explain why, although the reasons don't really apply to me
(getting something as modern as Java 1.9 on the machines I work with
would be a miracle!) But they don't really offer a good replacement
for my use case.
What's the best option for a situation like mine? Things I've considered are:
1. Deploy the full Groovy lib directory and use "-cp
groovy-2.5.x/lib/*;.". Probably the best option, but either requires
copying the full lib directory around or hard-coding its path (at the
moment, I can just dump a copy of the -all jar in the directory
alongside my script).
2. Use the full install and the supplied bat file wrapper. As well as
the same problem of hard coded paths/copying directories, I find bat
file wrappers extremely problematic - as bat files don't nest, you
have to remember to say "call groovy.bat ..." when running from a
batch script - which frequently gets forgotten.
3. Compile my scripts with the needed Groovy jars embedded. This means
every script needs to be deployed as a binary, and source needs
managing. Also minor changes involve a full build-deploy cycle.
Ideally, I'd like a simple means of creating the old -all jar file.
Even if it comes with warnings and limitations, that would be fine for
me (at least, assuming the limitations aren't any worse than they were
in 2.4.x). However, I'm *not* a Java developer, so unfortunately I
don't know how to translate the comment from the release notes stating
"We also provided a convenience "all" jar by jarjar’ing the core and
"module" jars" into instructions for how I could create the -all jar
file for myself. And the comment "we do provide an "all" pom" doesn't
mean much to me either - I understand it's something to do with maven,
but as I don't use tools like maven,. that's not much help to me...
If anyone can offer any suggestions, I'd be most grateful.
Paul
