Griffon

1. Introduction

Developing desktop/RIA applications on the JVM is a hard task. You have to make choices up front during application design that might complicate the implementation, compromising the user experience, not to mention the amount of configuration needed.

RCP solutions like Eclipse RCP and NetBeans RCP are great for developing desktop applications, but not so much for RIAs and applets. Griffon is a framework inspired by Grails, whose aim is to overcome the problems you may encounter while developing all these types of applications. It brings along popular concepts like

  1. Convention over Configuration

  2. Don’t Repeat Yourself (DRY)

  3. Pervasive MVC

  4. Testing supported "out of the box"

This documentation will take you through getting started with Griffon and building desktop/RIA applications with the Griffon framework.

Credits and Acknowledgements

This guide is heavily influenced by the Grails Guide. It simply would not have been possible without the great efforts made by: Graeme Rocher, Peter Ledbrook, Marc Palmer, Jeff Brown and their sponsor: SpringSource. The Griffon team would like to thank them all (and the Grails community too!) for making such a great framework and bringing the fun back to programming applications.

2. Getting Started

This chapter will help you get started with Griffon by explaining how to download and install the project, how to use Griffon from within your favorite IDE, and how to write your first application.

2.1. Environment Setup

The following section outlines the minimum environment requirements to get started with Griffon.

2.1.1. JDK

JDK7 is the lowest JVM version supported by Griffon. You can safely use JDK8 features such as lambdas too. We strongly suggest to use JDK8 if you’re planning to build JavaFX based applications, as JavaFX 8 delivers many enhancements over JavaFX 2.2 (the version included in JDK7).

2.1.2. Gradle

Gradle 3.0 was used to thoroughly test the Griffon source code and as such is guaranteed to work. We suggest installing SDKMAN as a means to keep your Gradle installation up to date. SDKMAN can also be used to install Lazybones, a templating tool for creating Griffon projects.

2.1.3. Maven

Alternatively you may use Maven instead of Gradle as your build tool of choice. Maven is a popular choice amongst Java developers; however, it’s our firm belief that Gradle delivers a much better development and user experience. YMMV.

2.1.4. IDEs

Any IDE that supports Gradle and/or Maven can be used to build a Griffon project.

2.2. Console Example

2.2.1. Creating a Project

The first step is to get Lazybones installed on your system. The easiest way to achieve this goal is to install SDKMAN first:

$ curl -s http://get.sdkman.io | bash

Install the latest version of Lazybones with the following command:

$ sdk install lazybones

Next, add the official Griffon Lazybones templates repository to your Lazybones configuration. Edit $USER_HOME/.lazybones/config.groovy and paste the following content:

$USER_HOME/.lazybones/config.groovy

  
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bintrayRepositories = [
    "griffon/griffon-lazybones-templates",
    "pledbrook/lazybones-templates"
]

We’re now ready to create the project. You can list all available templates with the following command:

$ lazybones list
Available templates in griffon/griffon-lazybones-templates:

    griffon-javafx-groovy
    griffon-javafx-java
    griffon-javafx-kotlin
    griffon-lanterna-java
    griffon-lanterna-groovy
    griffon-pivot-java
    griffon-pivot-groovy
    griffon-swing-java
    griffon-swing-groovy
    griffon-plugin

Notice that template names follow a naming convention identifying the main UI toolkit and main programming language. All right, let’s create a simple project using Swing as main UI toolkit, and Groovy as main language:

$ lazybones create griffon-swing-groovy console
Creating project from template griffon-swing-groovy (latest) in 'console'
Define value for 'group' [org.example]: console
Define value for 'version' [0.1.0-SNAPSHOT]:
Define value for 'package' [console]:
Define value for 'griffonVersion' [2.12.0]:

2.2.2. Project Layout

Take a moment to familiarize yourself with the standard Griffon project layout. Every Griffon project shares the same layout, making it easy to dive in as artifacts are located in specific directories according to their responsibilities and behavior.

console
├── griffon-app
│   ├── conf
│   ├── controllers
│   ├── i18n
│   ├── lifecycle
│   ├── models
│   ├── resources
│   ├── services
│   └── views
└── src
    ├── integration-test
    │   └── groovy
    ├── main
    │   ├── groovy
    │   └── resources
    └── test
        ├── groovy
        └── resources

Griffon uses a "convention over configuration" approach to enable a fast development pace. This typically means that the name and location of files are used instead of explicit configuration, hence you need to familiarize yourself with the directory structure provided by Griffon.

Here is a breakdown and links to relevant sections:

These conventions can be ommitted provided you reconfigure the default build files provided by the chosen project template.

Here’s a screenshot of the finished, running application to give you an idea of what we’re aiming at with this example. A small Groovy script has been executed; you can see the result on the bottom right side:

Swing
Gradle

The following listing shows the Gradle build file generated by the Lazybones template:

build.gradle

  
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buildscript {
    repositories {
        jcenter()
        maven { url 'https://plugins.gradle.org/m2/' }
    }

    dependencies {
        classpath 'org.codehaus.griffon:gradle-griffon-plugin:2.12.0'
        classpath 'org.kt3k.gradle.plugin:coveralls-gradle-plugin:2.8.1'
        classpath 'nl.javadude.gradle.plugins:license-gradle-plugin:0.11.0'
        classpath 'org.gradle.api.plugins:gradle-izpack-plugin:0.2.3'
        classpath 'com.github.jengelman.gradle.plugins:shadow:2.0.1'
        classpath 'com.github.cr0:gradle-macappbundle-plugin:3.1.0'
        classpath 'org.kordamp.gradle:stats-gradle-plugin:0.2.0'
        classpath 'com.github.ben-manes:gradle-versions-plugin:0.14.0'
        classpath 'de.gliderpilot.gradle.jnlp:gradle-jnlp-plugin:1.2.1'
        classpath 'net.nemerosa:versioning:2.6.1'
        classpath 'net.ltgt.gradle:gradle-apt-plugin:0.9'
    }
}

apply plugin: 'groovy'
apply plugin: 'org.codehaus.griffon.griffon'
apply plugin: 'net.nemerosa.versioning'
apply plugin: 'net.ltgt.apt'

Date buildTimeAndDate = new Date()
ext {
    buildDate = new SimpleDateFormat('yyyy-MM-dd').format(buildTimeAndDate)
    buildTime = new SimpleDateFormat('HH:mm:ss.SSSZ').format(buildTimeAndDate)
    macosx = System.getProperty('os.name').contains('Mac OS')
}

griffon {
    disableDependencyResolution = false
    includeGroovyDependencies = true
    version = '2.12.0'
    toolkit = 'swing'
    applicationProperties = [
        'build_date'    : buildDate,
        'build_time'    : buildTime,
        'build_revision': versioning.info.commit
    ]
}

mainClassName = 'console.Launcher'

apply from: 'gradle/publishing.gradle'
apply from: 'gradle/code-coverage.gradle'
apply from: 'gradle/code-quality.gradle'
apply from: 'gradle/integration-test.gradle'
apply from: 'gradle/package.gradle'
apply from: 'gradle/docs.gradle'
apply plugin: 'com.github.johnrengelman.shadow'
apply plugin: 'org.kordamp.gradle.stats'
apply plugin: 'com.github.ben-manes.versions'
apply plugin: 'com.github.kt3k.coveralls'

dependencies {
    compile "org.codehaus.griffon:griffon-guice:${griffon.version}"

    runtime "org.slf4j:slf4j-simple:1.7.25"

    testCompile "org.codehaus.griffon:griffon-fest-test:${griffon.version}"
    testCompile "org.codehaus.groovy:groovy-all:2.4.12"
    testCompile "org.spockframework:spock-core:1.1-groovy-2.4"
}

task sourceJar(type: Jar) {
    group 'Build'
    description 'An archive of the source code'
    classifier 'sources'
    from sourceSets.main.allSource
}

tasks.withType(JavaCompile) {
    sourceCompatibility = project.sourceCompatibility
    targetCompatibility = project.targetCompatibility
}

tasks.withType(GroovyCompile) {
    sourceCompatibility = project.sourceCompatibility
    targetCompatibility = project.targetCompatibility
}

import com.github.jengelman.gradle.plugins.shadow.transformers.*
import java.text.SimpleDateFormat

shadowJar {
    transform(ServiceFileTransformer)
    transform(ServiceFileTransformer) {
        path = 'META-INF/griffon'
    }
    transform(ServiceFileTransformer) {
        path = 'META-INF/types'
    }
    transform(PropertiesFileTransformer) {
        paths = [
            'META-INF/editors/java.beans.PropertyEditor'
        ]
    }
}

startScripts {
    doLast {
        if (!macosx) unixScript.text = unixScript.text.replaceAll('"(-Xdock:(name|icon)=)([^"]*?)(")', ' ')
        windowsScript.text = windowsScript.text.replaceAll('"(-Xdock:(name|icon)=)([^"]*?)(")', ' ')
    }
}

if (hasProperty('debugRun') && ((project.debugRun as boolean))) {
    run {
        jvmArgs '-Xdebug', '-Xrunjdwp:transport=dt_socket,server=y,suspend=y,address=5005'
    }
}

task jacocoRootMerge(type: org.gradle.testing.jacoco.tasks.JacocoMerge, dependsOn: [test, jacocoTestReport, jacocoIntegrationTestReport, jacocoFunctionalTestReport]) {
    executionData = files(jacocoTestReport.executionData, jacocoIntegrationTestReport.executionData, jacocoFunctionalTestReport.executionData)
    destinationFile = file("${buildDir}/jacoco/root.exec")
}

task jacocoRootReport(dependsOn: jacocoRootMerge, type: JacocoReport) {
    group = 'Reporting'
    description = 'Generate Jacoco coverage reports after running all tests.'
    executionData file("${buildDir}/jacoco/root.exec")
    sourceDirectories = files(sourceSets.main.allSource.srcDirs)
    classDirectories = files(sourceSets.main.output)
    reports {
        csv.enabled = false
        xml.enabled = true
        html.enabled = true
        html.destination = "${buildDir}/reports/jacoco/root/html"
        xml.destination = "${buildDir}/reports/jacoco/root/root.xml"
    }
}

All right, let’s get started with the code. We’ll visit the Model first.

Model

The model for this application is simple: it contains properties that hold the script to be evaluated and the results of the evaluation. Make sure you paste the following code into griffon-app/models/console/ConsoleModel.groovy.

griffon-app/models/console/ConsoleModel.groovy

  
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package console

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonModel
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor
import griffon.transform.Observable

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonModel)
class ConsoleModel {
    String scriptSource                                  (1)
    @Observable Object scriptResult                      (2)
    @Observable boolean enabled = true                   (3)
}
1 Holds the script’s text
2 Holds the result of the script’s execution
3 Enable/disable flag

Griffon Models are not domain classes like the ones you find in Grails; they’re more akin to presentation models, and as such, they’re used to transfer data between Views and Controllers.

Notice the usage of the @ArtifactProviderFor annotation. This annotation serves as an additional hint to the compiler, letting it know it must generate or update a metadata file in an specific location. The file is named after the argument set on the annotation, in this case, griffon.core.artifact.GriffonModel. This file is automatically placed under META-INF/griffon. It’s contents are fully qualified class names of types that implement the argument set on the annotation. This results in the following file being automatically created or updated with every compilation session

META-INF/griffon/griffon.core.artifact.GriffonModel

  
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console.ConsoleModel

You will see this annotation being used by other artifacts too albeit with different values, which will produce different files, such as META-INF/griffon/griffon.core.artifact.GriffonController, META-INF/griffon/griffon.core.artifact.GriffonView, and META-INF/griffon/griffon.core.artifact.GriffonService.

It’s worth mentioning that you may skip applying this annotation, in which case you’ll be responsible for creating and updating the files mentioned earlier. These files are very important to the Griffon runtime, as they are used to locate and configure all artifacts in an application.

Controller

The controller is also trivial: throw the contents of the script from the model at an Evaluator, then store the result back into the model. Make sure you paste the following code into griffon-app/controllers/console/ConsoleController.groovy.

griffon-app/controllers/console/ConsoleController.groovy

  
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package console

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonController
import griffon.core.controller.ControllerAction
import griffon.inject.MVCMember
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor

import javax.annotation.Nonnull
import javax.inject.Inject

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonController)
class ConsoleController {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull
    ConsoleModel model                                       (1)

    @Inject
    Evaluator evaluator                                      (2)

    @ControllerAction
    void executeScript() {                                   (3)
        model.enabled = false
        def result
        try {
            result = evaluator.evaluate(model.scriptSource)  (4)
        } finally {
            model.enabled = true
            model.scriptResult = result                      (5)
        }
    }
}
1 MVC member injected by MVCGroupManager
2 Injected by JSR 330
3 Controller action; automatically executed off the UI thread
4 Evaluate the script
5 Write back result to Model

The Griffon framework will inject references to the other portions of the MVC triad if fields named model, view, and controller are present in the Model, Controller or View. This allows us to access the view widgets and the model data if needed. These properties are annotated with @griffon.inject.MVCMember and @javax.annotation.Nonnull as hints to the Griffon runtime, enabling additional checks. Any other class members annotated with @javax.inject.Inject participate in dependency injection as laid out by JSR 330, in this case the controller will get an instance of Evaluator if a suitable implementation is bound.

The executeScript 3 method will be used later in the View in combination with a button. You may notice that there’s no explicit threading management. All Swing developers know they must obey the Swing Rule: long running computations must run outside of the EDT (Swing’s Event Dispatch Thread); all UI components should be queried/modified inside the EDT. It turns out Griffon is aware of this rule, making sure an action is called outside of the EDT by default; all bindings made to UI components via the model will be updated inside the EDT 5. We’ll setup the bindings in the next listing.

We must create a Module in order to bind Evaluator. These are the required class definitions:

src/main/groovy/console/Evaluator.groovy

  
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package console

public interface Evaluator {
    Object evaluate(String input)
}
src/main/groovy/console/GroovyShellEvaluator.groovy

  
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package console

class GroovyShellEvaluator implements Evaluator {
    private GroovyShell shell = new GroovyShell()

    @Override
    Object evaluate(String input) {
        shell.evaluate(input)
    }
}
src/main/groovy/console/ApplicationModule.groovy

  
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package console

import griffon.core.injection.Module
import griffon.inject.DependsOn
import griffon.swing.SwingWindowDisplayHandler
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.injection.AbstractModule
import org.kordamp.jipsy.ServiceProviderFor

import static griffon.util.AnnotationUtils.named

@DependsOn('swing')                                                        (3)
@ServiceProviderFor(Module)                                                (4)
class ApplicationModule extends AbstractModule {
    @Override
    protected void doConfigure() {
        bind(Evaluator)                                                    (1)
            .to(GroovyShellEvaluator)
            .asSingleton()

        bind(SwingWindowDisplayHandler)                                    (2)
            .withClassifier(named('defaultWindowDisplayHandler'))
            .to(CenteringWindowDisplayHandler)
            .asSingleton()
    }
}
1 Binding definition
2 Overriding an existing binding
3 Loaded after swing module
4 Generate metadata file automatically

Modules can define several bindings, even override existing bindings. In our particular case, we defined a binding 1 for Evaluator and overrode a binding 2 for SwingWindowDisplayHandler. The latter is supplied by the swing module; thus, we must mark it as a dependency 3 in our module definition. Modules must be listed in a metadata file named META-INF/services/griffon.core.injection.Module; this is exactly what the @ServiceProviderFor annotation does, by instructing the compiler that it must create or update this particular file. This annotation is handled by the Annotation Processing tool facilities in Java via Jipsy or by AST Transformations in Groovy via Gipsy. What’s important to remember is that this annotation will keep the metadata files up to date everytime a compilation session is executed.

The implementation of our custom SwingWindowDisplayHandler is quite trivial, as shown by the following snippet:

src/main/groovy/console/CenteringWindowDisplayHandler.groovy

  
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package console

import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.swing.DefaultSwingWindowDisplayHandler

import javax.annotation.Nonnull
import java.awt.Window

import static griffon.swing.support.SwingUtils.centerOnScreen

class CenteringWindowDisplayHandler extends DefaultSwingWindowDisplayHandler {
    @Override
    void show(@Nonnull String name, @Nonnull Window window) {
        centerOnScreen(window)
        super.show(name, window)
    }
}

This handler is only concerned with centering the window on the screen before showing it.

View

The view classes contain the visual components for your application. Please paste the following code into griffon-app/views/console/ConsoleView.groovy.

griffon-app/views/console/ConsoleView.groovy

  
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package console

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonView
import griffon.inject.MVCMember
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor

import javax.annotation.Nonnull

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonView)
class ConsoleView {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull
    FactoryBuilderSupport builder                                            (1)
    @MVCMember @Nonnull
    ConsoleModel model                                                       (1)

    void initUI() {
        builder.with {
            actions {
                action(executeScriptAction,                                  (2)
                    enabled: bind { model.enabled })
            }

            application(title: application.configuration['application.title'],
                pack: true, locationByPlatform: true, id: 'mainWindow',
                iconImage:   imageIcon('/griffon-icon-48x48.png').image,
                iconImages: [imageIcon('/griffon-icon-48x48.png').image,
                             imageIcon('/griffon-icon-32x32.png').image,
                             imageIcon('/griffon-icon-16x16.png').image]) {
                panel(border: emptyBorder(6)) {
                    borderLayout()

                    scrollPane(constraints: CENTER) {
                        textArea(text: bind(target: model, 'scriptSource'),  (3)
                            enabled: bind { model.enabled },                 (2)
                            columns: 40, rows: 10)
                    }

                    hbox(constraints: SOUTH) {
                        button(executeScriptAction)                          (4)
                        hstrut(5)
                        label('Result:')
                        hstrut(5)
                        textField(editable: false,
                                  text: bind { model.scriptResult })         (5)
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}
1 MVC member injected by MVCGroupManager
2 Bind enabled state from model
3 Bind script source to model
4 Apply controller action by convention
5 Bind script result from model

The View contains a fairly straightforward SwingBuilder script. Griffon will execute these groovy scripts in context of its CompositeBuilder.

2.2.3. Running the application

Running the application requires you to execute the run task if using Gradle:

$ ./gradlew run

Or the exec:java plugin goal if using Maven. Take special note that this goal assumes classes have been compiled already, so it’s best to pair it up with compile for safe measure. Or better yet, use the pre-configured run profile, like so

$ mvn -Prun

Now that we know the basic structure of a Griffon application and how to run it, we turn to testing.

2.2.4. Testing

It’s always a good idea to test out the code we write. It’s pretty easy to write tests for regular components such as Evaluator and GroovyShellEvaluator, as they require little or no external dependencies. Testing Griffon artifacts such as Controllers and Models on the other hand requires a bit more of effort, but not much, as shown by ConsoleControllerTest:

src/test/groovy/console/ConsoleControllerTest.groovy

  
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package console

import griffon.core.artifact.ArtifactManager
import griffon.core.injection.Module
import griffon.core.test.GriffonUnitRule
import griffon.core.test.TestFor
import griffon.inject.DependsOn
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.injection.AbstractTestingModule
import org.junit.Rule
import org.junit.Test

import javax.annotation.Nonnull
import javax.inject.Inject

import static java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit.SECONDS
import static org.awaitility.Awaitility.await
import static org.awaitility.Awaitility.fieldIn
import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.notNullValue

@TestFor(ConsoleController)                                                   (1)
class ConsoleControllerTest {
    private ConsoleController controller                                      (2)

    @Inject
    private ArtifactManager artifactManager                                   (3)

    @Rule
    public final GriffonUnitRule griffon = new GriffonUnitRule()              (4)

    @Test
    void testExecuteScriptAction() {
        // given:                                                             (5)
        ConsoleModel model = artifactManager.newInstance(ConsoleModel.class)
        controller.model = model

        // when:                                                              (6)
        String input = 'var = "Griffon"'
        model.scriptSource = input
        controller.invokeAction('executeScript')

        // then:                                                              (7)
        await().atMost(2, SECONDS)
            .until(fieldIn(model)
            .ofType(Object)
            .andWithName('scriptResult'),
            notNullValue())
        assert input == model.scriptResult
    }

    private static class EchoEvaluator implements Evaluator {                 (8)
        @Override
        Object evaluate(String input) {
            input
        }
    }

    @DependsOn('application')
    private static class TestModule extends AbstractTestingModule {
        @Override
        protected void doConfigure() {
            bind(Evaluator)
                .to(EchoEvaluator)
                .asSingleton()
        }
    }

    @Nonnull
    private List<Module> moduleOverrides() {
        [new TestModule()]
    }
}
1 Indicate class under test
2 Injected by GriffonUnitRule given 1
3 Injected by GriffonUnitRule via JSR 330
4 Instantiates and configures a GriffonAplication for testing
5 Setup collaborators
6 Stimulus
7 Validate after waiting 2 seconds at most

At the heart, we have the @TestFor 1 annotation and a JUnit4 rule: @GriffonUnitRule 4. These two key elements are responsible for injecting the required behavior into the test case. @TestFor identifies the type of component, a Controller in this case, which is under test; it assumes a suitable private field 2 to be defined in the testcase. This field is used to inject the instance under test. The GriffonUnitRule is responsible for bootstrapping a barebones application and putting together all the required bindings. Notice that the test case can participate in dependency injection too 3.

Running tests requires executing the test task:

$ ./gradlew test

A similar command can be invoked with Maven:

$ mvn test

These are the basics for getting started with a Griffon project.

3. Application Overview

3.1. Configuration

It may seem odd in a framework that embraces "convention-over-configuration" that we tackle this topic now, but since what configuration there is is typically a one-off, it is best to get it out the way.

3.1.1. Basic Configuration

For general configuration, Griffon provides a file called griffon-app/conf/Config.groovy. This file uses Groovy’s ConfigSlurper, which is very similar to Java properties files except it is pure Groovy, hence you can re-use variables and use proper Java types!

Here’s a typical configuration file:

griffon-app/conf/sample/swing/groovy/Config.groovy

  
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package sample.swing.groovy

application {
    title = 'Swing + Groovy'
    startupGroups = ['sample']
    autoShutdown = true
}
mvcGroups {
    // MVC Group for "sample"
    'sample' {
        model      = 'sample.swing.groovy.SampleModel'
        view       = 'sample.swing.groovy.SampleView'
        controller = 'sample.swing.groovy.SampleController'
    }
}

You can define this file using Java too:

griffon-app/conf/sample/swing/java/Config.java

  
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package sample.swing.java;

import griffon.util.AbstractMapResourceBundle;
import griffon.util.CollectionUtils;

import javax.annotation.Nonnull;
import java.util.Map;

import static java.util.Arrays.asList;

public class Config extends AbstractMapResourceBundle {
    @Override
    protected void initialize(@Nonnull Map<String, Object> entries) {
        CollectionUtils.map(entries)
            .e("application", CollectionUtils.map()
                .e("title", "Swing + Java")
                .e("startupGroups", asList("sample"))
                .e("autoShutdown", true)
            )
            .e("mvcGroups", CollectionUtils.map()
                .e("sample", CollectionUtils.map()
                    .e("model", "sample.swing.java.SampleModel")
                    .e("view", "sample.swing.java.SampleView")
                    .e("controller", "sample.swing.java.SampleController")
                )
            );
    }
}

Or if you prefer properties files, then do the following:

griffon-app/resources/Config.properties

  
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application.title = Swing + Groovy
application.startupGroups = sample
application.autoShutdown = true
mvcGroups.sample.model = sample.swing.groovy.SampleModel
mvcGroups.sample.view = sample.swing.groovy.SampleView
mvcGroups.sample.controller = sample.swing.groovy.SampleController

Finally, you can also use XML

griffon-app/resources/Config.xml

  
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<?xml version="1.0"?>
<configuration>
    <application>
        <title>Swing + Groovy</title>
        <startupGroups>sample</startupGroups>
        <autoShutdown>true</autoShutdown>
    </application>
    <mvcGroups>
        <sample>
            <model>sample.swing.groovy.SampleModel</model>
            <view>sample.swing.groovy.SampleView</view>
            <controller>sample.swing.groovy.SampleController</controller>
        </sample>
    </mvcGroups>
</configuration>

Take special note that these last two files must be placed under griffon-app/resources instead.

The application’s runtime configuration is available through the configuration property of the application instance. This configuration instance is read-only; you can’t modify its contents in any way.

There are 3 configuration keys that control the application’s behavior:

application.title

Defines the default title for the application.
application.startupGroups

Defines a list of MVC groups to be initialized during the Startup phase. Refer to the MVC chapter to know more about MVC groups.
application.autoShutdown

Controls if the application should shutdown when no windows are visible. Set to `true`by default.

Additional configuration keys may be added as you deem fit. Take note that the mvcGroups prefix has special meaning. Refer to the MVC chapter to know more about the different options available to you.

3.1.2. Internationalization Support

Configuration files are i18n aware, which means you can append locale specific strings to a configuration file; for example, Config_de_CH.groovy. Locale suffixes are resolved from least to most specific; for a locale with language = 'de', country = 'CH' and variant = 'Basel', the following files are loaded in order:

  • Config.groovy

  • Config.properties

  • Config_de.groovy

  • Config_de.properties

  • Config_de_CH.groovy

  • Config_de_CH.properties

  • Config_de_CH_Basel.groovy

  • Config_de_CH_Basel.properties

The current java.util.Locale is used to determine values for language, country and variant.

3.1.3. Mutable Configuration

As mentioned before, the default application configuration is made read-only, however there’s a way to make it mutable; you simply must wrap the Configuration instance with a MutableConfiguration. You can accomplish this by registering an appropriate implementation of ConfigurationDecoratorFactory, for example MutableConfigurationDecoratorFactory. You’ll have to register this class with a module:

com.acme.ApplicationModule.java

  
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package com.acme

import griffon.core.injection.Module;
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.injection.AbstractModule;
import org.kordamp.jipsy.ServiceProviderFor;
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.configuration.ConfigurationDecoratorFactory;
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.configuration.MutableConfigurationDecoratorFactory;

import static griffon.util.AnnotationUtils.named;

@ServiceProviderFor(Module.class)
public class ApplicationModule extends AbstractModule {
    @Override
    protected void doConfigure() {
        bind(ConfigurationDecoratorFactory.class)
            .to(MutableConfigurationDecoratorFactory.class)
            .asSingleton();
    }
}

3.1.4. Conditional Blocks

There are times where a configuration value may dependent on an enviromental setting such as the current Application Environment. All types of configuration files (properties, Groovy scripts, class based resource bundles) support the notion of conditional blocks. Take for example the following datasource configuration in Groovy script format:

griffon-app/resources/DataSource.groovy
dataSource.driverClassName = 'org.h2.Driver'
environments {
    development {
        dataSource.url = 'jdbc:h2:mem:${application_name}-dev'
    }
    test {
        dataSource.url = 'jdbc:h2:mem:${application_name}-test'
    }
    production {
        dataSource.url = 'jdbc:h2:file:/opt/${application_name}/data/db'
    }
}

The same configuration in properties format:

griffon-app/resources/DataSource.properties
dataSource.driverClassName = org.h2.Driver
environments.development.dataSource.url = jdbc:h2:mem:${application_name}-dev
environments.test.dataSource.url = jdbc:h2:mem:${application_name}-test
environments.production.dataSource.url = jdbc:h2:file:/opt/${application_name}/data/db

Or in XML format:

griffon-app/resources/DataSource.xml
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<configuration>
    <dataSource>
        <driverClassName>org.h2.Driver</driverClassName>
    </dataSource>
    <environments>
        <development>
            <dataSource>
                <url>jdbc:h2:mem:${application_name}-dev</url>
            </dataSource>
        </development>
        <test>
            <dataSource>
                <url>jdbc:h2:mem:${application_name}-test</url>
            </dataSource>
        </test>
        <production>
            <dataSource>
                <url>jdbc:h2:mem:${application_name}-prod</url>
            </dataSource>
        </production>
    </environments>
</configuration>

Or as a class based ResourceBundle subclass:

griffon-app/conf/DataSource.java
import java.util.Map;

import griffon.util.AbstractMapResourceBundle;

import static griffon.util.CollectionUtils.map;

public class DataSource extends AbstractMapResourceBundle {
    @Override
    protected void initialize(Map<String, Object> entries) {
        map(entries)
            .e("dataSource", map()
                .e("driverClassName", "org.h2.Driver")
            )
            .e("environments", map()
                .e("development", map()
                    .e("dataSource", map()
                        .e("url", "jdbc:h2:mem:sample-dev")
                    )
                )
                .e("test", map()
                    .e("dataSource", map()
                        .e("url", "jdbc:h2:mem:sample-test")
                    )
                )
                .e("production", map()
                    .e("dataSource", map()
                        .e("url", "jdbc:h2:file:/opt/sample/data/db")
                    )
                )
            );
    }
}

The conditional block in this case is environments; the value of Environment will dictate the actual value associated with the dataSource.url key. There are 3 conditional blocks defined by default:

Name

Default value

environments

Environment.getName()

projects

Metadata.getApplicationName()

platforms

GriffonApplicationUtils.getPlatform()

You may define additional conditional blocks as needed, but you must do it by defining appropriate binding overrides for the following types in a custom Module of your choice:

  • griffon.util.PropertiesReader for properties files.

  • griffon.util.ResourceBundleReader for class based ResourceBundle and XML.

  • griffon.util.ConfigReader for Groovy scripts.

3.1.5. Configuration Injection

Configuration values may be injected into beans if the @Configured annotation is applied to a field or setter method of a type that’s bound to the application’s dependency container. Take for example the following configuration

griffon-app/conf/sample/swing/groovy/Config.groovy

  
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application {
    title = 'JavaFX + Groovy'
    startupGroups = ['sample']
    autoShutdown = true
}
props {
    string = 'string'
    number = 42
    date   = '1970-12-24'
}
mvcGroups {
    'sample' {
        model      = 'sample.javafx.groovy.SampleModel'
        view       = 'sample.javafx.groovy.SampleView'
        controller = 'sample.javafx.groovy.SampleController'
    }
}

Any of those configuration values may be set on a managed bean, such as the SampleModel class

griffon-app/models/sample/javafx/groovy/SampleModel.groovy

  
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package sample.javafx.groovy

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonModel
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor
import griffon.transform.FXObservable
import griffon.core.configuration.Configured

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonModel)
class SampleModel {
    @FXObservable String input
    @FXObservable String output

    @Configured('application.title')
    String title

    @Configured('props.string')
    String string

    @Configured('props.number')
    int number

    @Configured(value = 'props.date', format = 'YYYY-MM-dd')
    Date date

    @Configured(value = 'props.undefined', defaultValue = 'undefined')
    String undefined
}

Values will be injected before @PostConstruct is triggered on the managed bean. Type conversion will be carried out using property editors.

3.2. Metadata

The Griffon runtime keeps track of useful metadata that can be consumed by applications. The following sections describe them with more detail.

3.2.1. Application Metadata

Access to the application’s metadata file (application.properties) is available by querying the Metadata singleton. Here’s a snippet of code that shows how to setup a welcome message that displays the application’s name and version:

griffon-app/views/sample/SampleView.groovy

  
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package sample

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonView
import griffon.core.env.Metadata
import griffon.inject.MVCMember
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor

import javax.annotation.Nonnull
import javax.inject.Inject

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonView)
class SampleView {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull FactoryBuilderSupport builder

    @Inject Metadata metadata

    void initUI() {
        builder.with {
            application(pack: true,
                title: application.configuration['application.title']) {
                label "Hello, I'm ${metadata['application.name']}-${metadata['application.version']}"
            }
        }
    }
}

There are also a few helpful methods found in Metadata:

  • getApplicationName() - same result as meta['application.name']

  • getApplicationVersion() - same result as meta['application.version']

The following table shows the default properties and values found in application.properties. You may edit this file and either set a fixed value of an existing property or add new key/value pairs

Table 1. Metadata properties
Key Value

application.name

${application_name}

 application.version

${application_version}

 build.date

${build_date}

 build.time

${build_time}

 build.revision

${build_revision}

Values surrounded by ${} are treated as placeholder tokens; their values are determined at build time. Look for the griffon section in the Gradle build file to change these values, which looks like this by default

build.gradle
griffon {
    disableDependencyResolution = false
    includeGroovyDependencies = false
    version = '2.12.0'
    toolkit = 'javafx'
    applicationProperties = [                     (1)
        'build_date'    : buildDate,
        'build_time'    : buildTime,
        'build_revision': versioning.info.commit
    ]
}
1 placeholder tokens.

3.2.2. Feature

A Feature is a boolean flag that determines if a capability is available to the application at runtime. Features are nothing more than a System property. Here’s an example of a module that decides if a specific binding should be applied over another:

src/main/groovy/org/opendolphin/demo/DolphinModule.groovy

  
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package org.opendolphin.demo

import griffon.core.env.Feature
import griffon.core.injection.Module
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.injection.AbstractModule
import org.kordamp.jipsy.ServiceProviderFor
import org.opendolphin.core.client.comm.ClientConnector
import org.opendolphin.demo.injection.HttpClientConnectorProvider
import org.opendolphin.demo.injection.InMemoryClientConnectorProvider

@ServiceProviderFor(Module)
class DolphinModule extends AbstractModule {
    @Override
    protected void doConfigure() {
        bind(ClientConnector)
            .toProvider(InMemoryClientConnectorProvider)
            .asSingleton()

        Feature.withFeature('dolphin.remote') {
            bind(ClientConnector)
                .toProvider(HttpClientConnectorProvider)
                .asSingleton()
        }
    }
}

The remote option can be enabled by running the application with -Ddolphin.remote=true, or by adding the following entry to griffon-app/resources/application.properties:

griffon-app/resources/application.properties

  
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dolphin.remote=true

3.2.3. Application Environment

A Griffon application can run in several environments, default ones being DEVELOPMENT, TEST and PRODUCTION. An application can inspect its current running environment by means of the Environment enum.

The following example enhances the previous one by displaying the current running environment:

griffon-app/views/sample/SampleView.groovy

  
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package sample

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonView
import griffon.core.env.Metadata
import griffon.core.env.Environment
import griffon.inject.MVCMember
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor

import javax.annotation.Nonnull
import javax.inject.Inject

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonView)
class SampleView {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull FactoryBuilderSupport builder

    @Inject Metadata metadata
    @Inject Environment environment

    void initUI() {
        builder.with {
            application(pack: true,
                title: application.configuration['application.title']) {
                gridLayout cols: 1, rows: 2
                label "Hello, I'm ${metadata['application.name']}-${metadata['application.version']}"
                label "Current environment is ${environment}"
            }
        }
    }
}

The default environment is DEVELOPMENT. A different value can be specified by setting a proper value for the griffon.env System property. The Environment class recognizes the following aliases:

  • dev - short for development.

  • prod - short for production.

You have the following options to change the environment value if using Gradle as build tool:

  • specify the value as a project property named griffonEnv.

  • specify the value in the jvmArgs property of the run task.

The value for this type is determined by the griffon.env System property.

3.2.4. Griffon Environment

The GriffonEnvironment gives you access to the following values:

  • Griffon version

  • Griffon build date & time (ISO 8601)

  • JVM version

  • OS version

Here’s an example displaying all values:

griffon-app/views/sample/SampleView.groovy

  
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package sample

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonView
import griffon.core.env.Metadata
import griffon.core.env.Environment
import griffon.inject.MVCMember
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor
import static griffon.core.env.GriffonEnvironment.*

import javax.annotation.Nonnull
import javax.inject.Inject

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonView)
class SampleView {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull FactoryBuilderSupport builder

    @Inject Metadata metadata
    @Inject Environment environment

    void initUI() {
        builder.with {
            application(pack: true,
                title: application.configuration['application.title']) {
                gridLayout cols: 1, rows: 6
                label "Hello, I'm ${metadata['application.name']}-${metadata['application.version']}"
                label "Current environment is ${environment}"
                label "Griffon version is ${getGriffonVersion()}"
                label "Build date/time is ${getBuildDateTime()}"
                label "JVM version is ${getJvmVersion()}"
                label "OS version is ${getOsVersion()}"
            }
        }
    }
}

3.3. Lifecycle

Every Griffon application goes through the same lifecycle phases no matter in which mode it is running, with the exception of applet mode where there is an additional phase due to the intrinsic nature of applets. The application’s lifecycle was inspired by JSR-296, the Swing Application Framework.

Every phase has an associated lifecycle class that will be invoked at the appropriate time. Class names match each phase name; you’ll find them inside griffon-app/lifecycle. The GriffonApplication exposes an observable property of type ApplicationPhase; this property reflects the phase the application currently has. Any component can register a listener on this property in order to be notified when the application changes phase.

3.3.1. Initialize

The initialization phase is the first to be called by the application’s life cycle. The application instance has just been created and its configuration has been read.

This phase is typically used to tweak the application for the current platform, including its Look & Feel.

The Initialize lifecycle handler will be called immediately after the configuration has been read, but before addons and managers are initialized.

3.3.2. Startup

This phase is responsible for instantiating all MVC groups that have been defined in the application’s configuration and that also have been marked as startup groups in the same configuration file.

The Startup lifecycle handler will be called after all MVC groups have been initialized.

3.3.3. Ready

This phase will be called right after Startup with the condition that no pending events are available in the UI queue. The application’s main window will be displayed at the end of this phase.

3.3.4. Shutdown

Called when the application is about to close. Any artifact can invoke the shutdown sequence by calling shutdown() on the GriffonApplication instance.

The Shutdown lifecycle handler will be called after all ShutdownHandlers and event handlers interested in the ShutdownStart event.

3.3.5. Stop

This phase is only available when running in applet mode. It will be called when the applet container invokes destroy() on the applet instance.

3.4. Locale

The GriffonApplication exposes an observable property of type java.util.Locale. This property reflects the locale the application currently has. Any component can register a listener on this property in order to be notified when the application changes locale.

You may either change the application’s locale by setting a value of type Locale or a literal that can be parsed as a locale. The format is

language[_country[_variant]]

where

  • language is an ISO 639 alpha-2 or alpha-3 language code. Example: "en" (English), "ja" (Japanese), "kok" (Konkani).

  • country is an ISO 3166 alpha-2 country code or UN M.49 numeric-3 area code. Example: "US" (United States), "FR" (France), "029" (Caribbean).

  • variant is any arbitrary value used to indicate a variation of a Locale. Example: "polyton" (Polytonic Greek), "POSIX".

Both country and variant are optional however you must specify a value for country before defining a value for variant.

3.5. Modules

Modules define components that can be injected using the JSR-330 API. Module definitions are highly influenced by the Guice 3.x API; however, they do not impose a strict dependency on Guice.

3.5.1. Module Definition

All modules must implement the Module interface shown next:


  
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public interface Module {
    @Nonnull
    List<Binding<?>> getBindings();

    void configure();
}

They also require a well defined name. This can be achieved by annotating the module class with @javax.inject.Named. If a value for @javax.inject.Named is not defined, then one will be automatically calculated using the fully qualified class name. For example:


  
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package org.example;

import griffon.core.injection.Module;
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.injection.AbstractModule;
import org.kordamp.jipsy.ServiceProviderFor;

import javax.inject.Named;

@ServiceProviderFor(Module.class)
@Named
public class CustomModule extends AbstractModule {
    @Override
    protected void doConfigure() {
        // bindings
    }
}

results in a module named org.example.custom; whereas the following definition


  
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package org.example;

import griffon.core.injection.Module;
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.injection.AbstractModule;
import org.kordamp.jipsy.ServiceProviderFor;

import javax.inject.Named;

@ServiceProviderFor(Module.class)
@Named("custom")
public class CustomModule extends AbstractModule {
    @Override
    protected void doConfigure() {
        // bindings
    }
}

results in a module simply called custom. A module may depend on another module; when that’s the case, then the bindings of this module are processed after their dependencies. This allows dependent modules to override bindings made by their dependencies. Module dependencies are specified using the @griffon.inject.DependsOn annotation, like so:


  
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import griffon.core.injection.Module;
import griffon.inject.DependsOn;
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.injection.AbstractModule;
import org.kordamp.jipsy.ServiceProviderFor;

import javax.inject.Named;

@ServiceProviderFor(Module.class)
@DependsOn("parent-module")
@Named
public class CustomModule extends AbstractModule {
    @Override
    protected void doConfigure() {
        // bindings
    }
}

3.5.2. Module Configuration

Modules perform their duty by defining bindings, of which there are 4 kinds:

Bindings have a scope of either singleton or prototype. InstanceBinding is the only binding that has singleton as implicit scope; this setting can’t be changed. All bindings accept a classifier or an classifier_type. Classifiers are annotations that have been annotated with @javax.inject.Qualifier. You must specify one or the other but not both; classifier has precedence over classifier_type.

Instance Binding

This binding is used to define explicit and eager singletons, for example:

bind(Calculator.class)
    .toInstance(new GroovyShellCalculator());

Consumers of this binding will typically define the following:

@Inject private Calculator calculator;

Notice that the field type matches the source type defined in the binding.

Target Binding

This binding enables you to specify the source type and target type. Typically the source is an interface while the target is a concrete implementation. If the target is omitted, then the binding assumes the source to be a concrete type.

bind(Calculator.class)
    .to(GroovyShellCalculator.class);

Consumers of this binding will use the following form:

@Inject private Calculator calculator;

On the other hand, if the binding where to be defined as

bind(GroovyShellCalculator.class);

then the consumers must use the same matching source/target type, that is

@Inject private GroovyShellCalculator calculator;

Attempting to use the base type Calculator by the consumer will result in an unresolved binding.

Provider Binding

This binding behaves like a factory, giving you the power to decide with extreme precision how the instance should be created. Bindings of this type require an eager instance of type javax.inject.Provider.

bind(Calculator.class)
    .toProvider(new CalculatorProvider());

Consumers of this binding will use the following form:

@Inject private Calculator calculator;
Provider Type Binding

Finally we have the most flexible binding as it lets you specify a javax.injectProvider type that will be used to lazily instantiate the provider before obtaining the type instance.

bind(Calculator.class)
    .toProvider(CalculatorProvider.class);

Consumers of this binding will use the following form:

@Inject private Calculator calculator;
Constant Value Binding

You may use a variation of Instance Binding to bind a constant value, for example an instance of java.lang.String. You must make sure to always use a qualifier. For example, the following constant value

bind(String.class)
    .withClassifier(named(GithubAPI.GITHUB_API_URL_KEY))
    .toInstance("https://api.github.com");

Can be injected into a target instance as

public class GithubBean {
    @Inject @Named(GithubAPI.GITHUB_API_URL_KEY)
    private String githubApiUrl;
}

3.5.3. Additional Settings

All bindings (with one particular exception) accept the following additional settings:

withClassifierType

This method is used to define an additional annotation type that’s been marked as a @Qualifier (such as @javax.inject.Named) that should go along with the declared binding. Any qualifiers found in the target type (or Provider) will be overridden by this setting.

withClassifier

Similar to the previous setting, this one allows you to supply an annotation instance, enabling the setting of a custom annotation property, such as the value of @javax.inject.Named. Here’s an excerpt of the default bindings provided by the Griffon runtime:

bind(Context.class)
    .withClassifier(griffon.util.AnnotationUtils.named("applicationContext"))
    .toProvider(DefaultContextProvider.class)
    .asSingleton();

Any qualifiers found in the target (or Provider) will be overridden by this setting.

asSingleton

If omitted, the binding will be placed in prototype scope. The only binding that does not conform to this rule is InstanceBinding, as it will be automatically placed in singleton scope.

3.5.4. Binding Equivalencies

Any binding can be overridden by an equivalent binding. The following table describes the equivalencies between bindings:

Binding Equivalence 
bind(Calculator.class)
    .to(GroovyShellCalculator.class);
 
bind(Calculator.class)
    .toProvider(GroovyShellCalculatorProvider.class);
 
bind(Calculator.class)
    .to(GroovyShellCalculator.class);
 
bind(Calculator.class)
    .toProvider(new GroovyShellCalculatorProvider());
 
bind(Calculator.class)
    .toProvider(GroovyShellCalculatorProvider.class);
 
bind(Calculator.class)
    .toProvider(new GroovyShellCalculatorProvider());
Equivalent bindings must match qualifiers too.

3.5.5. The Guice Injector

The dependency griffon-guice-2.12.0 uses Google Guice to implement the JSR-330 API that griffon-core-2.12.0 requires. As an additional feature, this dependency can automatically load Guice modules during startup. The only requirement is a metadata file that defines the module class that should be loaded.

Here’s an example that reuses the Quartz Scheduler from Apache Onami.


  
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package com.acme;

import org.apache.onami.scheduler.QuartzModule;
import com.google.inject.Module;
import org.kordamp.jipsy.ServiceProviderFor;

@ServiceProviderFor(Module.class)
public class MyQuartzModule extends QuartzModule {
    @Override
    protected void schedule() {
        scheduleJob(MyJobClass.class);
    }
}

When compiled, this class generates a metadata file at META-INF/services/com.google.inject.Module with contents similar to


  
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# Generated by org.kordamp.jipsy.processor.service.ServiceProviderProcessor (0.4.0)
# Thu, 7 Aug 2014 21:02:58 +0200
com.acme.MyQuartzModule

Of course the usage of @ServiceProviderFor is just a convenience; you can generate the metadata file by other means. The important thing is that the file must be available in the classpath.

Guice modules are added after all Griffon modules; this means they have the chance to override any bindings set by the Griffon modules.

3.6. Shutdown Handlers

Applications have the option to let particular artifacts abort the shutdown sequence and/or perform a task while the shutdown sequence is in process. Artifacts that desire to be part of the shutdown sequence should implement the ShutdownHandler interface and register themselves with the application instance.

The contract of a ShutdownHandler is very simple:

  • boolean canShutdown(GriffonApplication application) - return false to abort the shutdown sequence.

  • void onShutdown(GriffonApplication application) - called if the shutdown sequence was not aborted.

ShutdownHandlers will be called on the same order as they were registered.

3.7. Startup Arguments

Command line arguments can be passed to the application and be accessed by calling getStartupArgs() on the application instance. This will return a copy of the args (if any) defined at the command line.

Here’s a typical example of this feature in development mode:

src/main/groovy/sample/ApplicationEventHandler.groovy

  
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package sample

import griffon.core.GriffonApplication
import griffon.core.event.EventHandler

class ApplicationEventHandler implements EventHandler {
    void onBootstrapStart(GriffonApplication application) {
        println application.startupArgs
    }
}

Arguments must be defined in the build file if using Gradle:

build.gradle
run {
    args = ['one', 'two']
}

Running the application with run command results in an output similar to the following:

$ gradle run
:compileJava
:compileGroovy
:processResources
:classes
:run
// logging statements elided
[one, two]

3.8. Context

A Context is like a Map; it stores key/value pairs that can be used to keep track of any kind of data. However, unlike regular Maps, Contexts are hierarchical. Keys found in a child Context have precedence over keys existing in its parent, e.g, a child Context has the ability to shadow keys that may be defined up the chain.

The GriffonApplication has a default Context whose parent is set to null. This is the only case where this property will be null, as the runtime makes sure that a child context will have the right value set in its parent property when instantiated.

The Context plays an integral role in MVC Groups and controller actions.

3.9. Exception Handler

Griffon provides a centralized exception management facility: ExceptionHandler. An instance of this type is automatically registered with the application’s runtime to react to exceptions that are not caught by the application’s code. In a sense it works like an uncuaght exception handler that’s attached to all threads, including the UI thread.

An ExceptionHandler has three responsibilities:

  1. Filter out stacktraces to reduce the amount of noise.

  2. Output the exception to a log file and/or the console.

  3. Pump events to the application’s EventRouter.

Filtering out stacktraces can be configured by setting a System property named griffon.full.stacktrace whose value defaults to false. This means stacktraces will be filtered by default if no configuration changes are made. Uncaught exceptions are automatically logged with an ERROR level. You cat set the System property griffon.exception.output to true if you’d like to see the stacktraces forwarded to the console’s output. Finally, the System property griffon.sanitized.stacktraces defines the package patterns used to filter out stractrace lines. The default package patterns used are:

  • org.codehaus.groovy.

  • org.codehaus.griffon.

  • groovy.

  • java.

  • javax.

  • sun.

  • com.sun.

The ExceptionHandler will trigger the followoing events when an exception occurs.

Uncaught<ShortName>(Throwable t)

Triggered after the Throwable has had its stacktraces filtered.
UncaughtExceptionThrown(Throwable t)

Triggered after the previous event.

For the first event, <ShortName> refers to the Throwable’s short class name. If an exception of type java.lang.IllegalArgumentException was caught by the ExceptionHandler then the event name would become UncaughtIllegalArgumentException.

Please refer to the Events chapter in order to find out how these events may be handled.

4. The MVC Pattern

All Griffon applications operate with a basic unit called the MVC group. An MVC group is comprised of 3 member parts: Models, Views and Controllers. However it is possible to add (or even remove) members from an MVC group by carefully choosing a suitable configuration.

MVC groups configuration is setup in Config.groovy located inside griffon-app/conf (or Config.java if using Java as main language). This file holds an entry for every MVC group that the application has (not counting those provided by Addons).

Here’s how a typical MVC group configuration looks:


  
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mvcGroups {
    // MVC Group for "sample"
    sample {
        model      = 'sample.SampleModel'
        view       = 'sample.SampleView'
        controller = 'sample.SampleController'
    }
}

The definition order is very important, it determines the order in which each member will be initialized. In the previous example both model and view will be initialized before the controller. Do not mistake initialization for instantiation, as initialization relies on calling mvcGroupInit() on the group member. The name of each member is also defined by convention, you will typically find model, view, and controller entries in an MVC group configuration. These names are used to identify each member by their responsibility. They are also used to inject member references into a particular MVC member. For example, if a controller needs access to its model member (both defined in the same MVC group) then it simply must define a field with matching type and name, such as


  
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import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonController
import griffon.inject.MVCMember
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor
import javax.annotation.Nonnull

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonController)
class SampleController {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull SampleModel model
}

MVC group configurations accept a special key that defines additional configuration for that group, as it can be seen in the following snippet:


  
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mvcGroups {
    // MVC Group for "sample"
    sample {
        model      = 'sample.SampleModel'
        view       = 'sample.SampleView'
        controller = 'sample.SampleController'
    }

    // MVC Group for "foo"
    foo {
        model      = 'sample.FooModel'
        view       = 'sample.FooView'
        controller = 'sample.FooController'
        config {
            key = 'bar'
        }
    }
}

Values placed under this key become available to MVC members during the call to mvcGroupInit(), as part of the arguments sent to that method. Here’s how the FooController can reach the key defined in the configuration:


  
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@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonController)
class FooController {
    void mvcGroupInit(Map<String, Object> args) {
        println mvcGroup.configuration.config.key
    }
}

While being able to set additional values under this key is certainly an advantage, it would probably be better if those values could be mutated or tweaked, probably treating them as variables, effectively making a group configuration work as a template. For that we’ll have to discuss the MVCGroupManager first.

4.1. The MVCGroupManager

This class is responsible for holding the configuration of all MVC groups no matter how they were defined, which can be either in Config.groovy or in an addon descriptor.

During the startup sequence an instance of MVCGroupManager will be created and initialized. Later the application will instruct this instance to create all startup groups as required. MVCGroupManager has a handful set of methods that deal with MVC group configuration alone; however those that deal with group instantiation come in 3 versions, with 2 flavors each (one Groovy, the other Java friendly).

Locating a group configuration is easily done by specifying the name you’re interested in finding:

MVCGroupConfiguration configuration = application.mvcGroupManager.findConfiguration('foo')

Once you have a configuration reference you can instantiate a group with it by calling any of the variants of the create method:

MVCGroupConfiguration configuration = application.mvcGroupManager.findConfiguration('foo')
MVCGroup group1 = configuration.create('foo1')
MVCGroup group2 = configuration.create('foo2', [someKey: 'someValue'])
// the following will make the group's id match its name
MVCGroup group3 = configuration.create()
MVCGroup group4 = configuration.create(someKey: 'someValue')

Be aware that creating groups with the same name is usually not a good idea. The default MVCGroupManager will complain when this happens and will automatically spit out an exception. This behavior may be changed by setting a configuration key in Config.groovy:

griffon.mvcid.collision = 'warning' // accepted values are 'warning', 'exception' (default)

The manager will log a warning and destroy the previously existing group before instantiating the new one when 'warning' is the preferred strategy.

Now, even though you can create group instances based on their configurations, the preferred way is to call any of createMVC(), createMVCGroup(), withMVCGroup() or withMVC() methods. Any class annotated with the @griffon.transform.MVCAware will also gain access to these methods.

Groups will be available by id regardless of how they were instantiated. You can ask the MVCGroupManager for a particular group at any time, for example:

def g1 = application.mvcGroupManager.groups.foo1
def g2 = application.mvcGroupManager.findGroup('foo1')
def g3 = application.mvcGroupManager.foo1
assert g1 == g2
assert g1 == g3

It’s also possible to query all models, views, controllers and builders on their own. Say you’d want to inspect all currently instantiated models; this is how it can be done:

application.mvcGroupManager.models.each { model ->
    // do something with model
}

4.2. MVC Groups

Now that we know the different ways to instantiate MVC groups, we can go back to customizing them.

The simplest way is to pass in new values as part of the arguments map that mvcGroupInit() receives, for example:

MVCGroup group = application.mvcGroupManager.createMVCGroup('foo', [key: 'foo'])

However, if you wish to use the special config key that every MVC group configuration may have, then you must instantiate the group in the following way:

MVCGroupConfiguration configuration = application.mvcGroupManager
                                          .cloneMVCConfiguration('foo', [key: 'someValue'])
MVCGroup group = configuration.create()

Note that you can still send custom arguments to the create() method.

4.2.1. Configuring MVC Groups

The following options are available to all MVC groups as long as you use the config key.

Disabling Lifecycle Events

Every MVC group triggers a few events during the span of its lifetime. These events will be sent to the event bus even if no component is interested in handling them. There may be times when you don’t want these events to be placed in the event bus in order to speed up group creation/destruction. Use the following configuration to obtain this effect:


  
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mvcGroups {
    // MVC Group for "sample"
    sample {
        model      = 'sample.SampleModel'
        view       = 'sample.SampleView'
        controller = 'sample.SampleController'
        config {
            events {
                lifecycle = false
            }
        }
    }
}

The following events will be disabled with this setting:

Disabling Instantiation Events

The Griffon runtime will trigger an event for every artifact it manages. As with the previous events, this one will be sent to the event bus even if no component handles it. Skipping publication of this event may result in a slight increase of speed during group instantiation. Use the following configuration to obtain this effect:


  
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mvcGroups {
    // MVC Group for "sample"
    sample {
        model      = 'sample.SampleModel'
        view       = 'sample.SampleView'
        controller = 'sample.SampleController'
        config {
            events {
                instantiation = false
            }
        }
    }
}

The following events will be disabled with this setting:

Disabling Destruction Events

This is the counterpart to the NewInstance event. Skipping publication of this event may result in a slight increase of speed when a group or any artifact instance is destroyed. Use the following configuration to obtain this effect:


  
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mvcGroups {
    // MVC Group for "sample"
    sample {
        model      = 'sample.SampleModel'
        view       = 'sample.SampleView'
        controller = 'sample.SampleController'
        config {
            events {
                destruction = false
            }
        }
    }
}

The following events will be disabled with this setting:

Disabling Controllers as Application Event Listeners

Controllers are registered as application event handlers by default when a group is instantiated. This makes it very convenient to have them react to events placed in the application’s event bus. However you may want to avoid this automatic registration altogether, as it can lead to performance improvements. You can disable this feature with the following configuration:


  
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mvcGroups {
    // MVC Group for "sample"
    sample {
        model      = 'sample.SampleModel'
        view       = 'sample.SampleView'
        controller = 'sample.SampleController'
        config {
            events {
                listener = false
            }
        }
    }
}

You can still manually register a controller as an application event handler at any time, with the caveat that it’s now your responsibility to unregister it when the time is appropriate, most typically during the group’s destroy sequence when mvcGroupDestroy() is invoked.

4.2.2. MVC Group Relationships

Instances of MVCGroup can be created at any time by any other instance. If an MVCGroup instance is created explicitly by another MVCGroup instance or by an MVC member (such as a Controller) then a special link is established: the newly created MVCGroup will have access to its parent MVCGroup.

Here’s an example. Assuming the following MVCGroup configuration is in place:


  
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mvcGroups {
    app {
        model      = 'org.example.AppModel'
        view       = 'org.example.AppView'
        controller = 'org.example.AppController'
    },
    tab {
        model      = 'org.example.TabModel'
        view       = 'org.example.TabView'
        controller = 'org.example.TabController'
    }
}

An instance of the app MVCGroup can be used to instantiate tab in this way:

MVCGroup appGroup = createMVCGroup('app')
MVCGroup tabGroup = appGroup.createMVCGroup('tab')
assert appGroup == tabGroup.parentGroup

Parent-child relationships are established right after MVC members have been instantiated and can be accessed immediately inside life-cycle methods such as mvcGroupInit(); this comes in handy when a child group adds new UI content to the parent’s, for example:

class TabView {
    private JComponent tab

    void initUI() {
        tab = ... // initialize
    }

    void mvcGroupInit(Map<String, Object> args) {
        group.parentGroup.view.tabContainer.addTab(group.mvcId, tab)
    }
}

As a shortcut you may specify additional MVC members as properties using a parent prefix; when this happens the matching parent MVC members will be injected into the child MVC member. The previous example can be rewritten as

class TabView {
    private JComponent tab
    AppView parentView

    void initUI() {
        tab = ... // initialize
    }

    void mvcGroupInit(Map<String, Object> args) {
        parentView.tabContainer.addTab(group.mvcId, tab)
    }
}
as with the default model, view and controller MVC properties, the parent prefix can only be combined to form parentModel, parentView and parentController.

4.2.3. MVC Group Context

An MVCGroup has its own Context. The parent of this context is set to the context of the owner of this MVCGroup; thus the parent of all startup MVCGroups is the application’s Context. In the previous examples, the context of the app group is set as the parent of the context of the tab group.

The Context of an MVCGroup has the same lifetime of its owning group, that is, once the owning MVCGroup is destroyed so is the Context.

MVC members can have some of their properties injected from the group’s Context. Either annotate a field or a property setter with @Contextual. If the @Contextual field or argument does not have @Named qualifier then the fully qualified class name of the field’s or argument’s type will be used as a key.

It’s worth noting that failure to resolve a @Contextual injection does not result in an immediate exception; if the key could not be found in the Context then a null value will be set as value. You may annotate the field or argument with @Nonnull, in which case contextual injection will fail if the named key was not found in the context or if its value is null.

4.3. Typed MVCGroups

Typed MVCGroups gives you type safe access to each MVC member defined by the group. This feature assumes the MVC group has the required Model, View, and Controller members; it won’t work for groups that define less than these 3 members. You may define additional typed accessors for other members too. For example

src/main/java/org/example/FooMVCGroup.java

  
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package org.example;

import javax.inject.Named;
import griffon.core.mvc.MVCGroup;
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.mvc.AbstractTypedMVCGroup;

@Named("foo")
public class FooMVCGroup extends AbstractTypedMVCGroup<FooModel, FooView, FooController> {
    public FooMVCGroup(MVCGroup delegate) {
        super(delegate);
    }
}

Instances of this group can be created as follows


  
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FooMVCGroup fooGroup1 = createMVCGroup(FooMVCGroup.class);
FooMVCGroup fooGroup2 = createMVCGroup(FooMVCGroup.class, "foo2");

You may now refer to the exact types of each MVC member, for example


  
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FooMVCGroup fooGroup = createMVCGroup(FooMVCGroup.class);
fooGroup.model().setSomeProperty("value"); // returned model type is FooModel

// the following won't even compile
MVCGroup mvcGroup = createMVCGroup("foo");
mvcGroup.getModel().setSomeProperty("value"); // returned model type is GriffonModel !!

The name of the group is determined by the value of the @Named annotation. If the annotation is not present then the simple class name (FooMVCGroup in this case) will be used instead.

4.4. MVC Lifecycle

All subclasses of GriffonMvcArtifact (such as controllers, models, and views) have a basic lifecycle that complements the lifecycle offered by the Depenendency Injection container. The following rules apply (in order):

Initialization

  1. The artifact’s constructor is invoked by the DI container.

  2. If a method is annotated with @javax.annotation.PostConstruct then it’s invoked by the DI container.

  3. All members (fields and setters) annotated with @Contextual are resolved and injected.

  4. The MVCGroupManager invokes mvcGroupInit() on the artifact.

Destruction

  1. The MVCGroupManager invokes mvcGroupDestroy() on the artifact.

  2. All members (fields and setters) annotated with @Contextual are set to null.

  3. If a method is annotated with @javax.annotation.PreDestroy then it’s invoked by the DI container.

4.5. The @MVCAware Transformation

Any component may gain the ability to create and destroy MVC groups through an MVCGroupManager instance. You only need annotate the class with @griffon.transform.MVCAware and it will automatically gain all methods exposed by MVCHandler.

This feature is just a shortcut to avoid reaching for the application instance from objects that do not hold a reference to it.

Here’s an example of a custom bean that’s able to work with MVC groups:


  
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@griffon.transform.MVCAware
class Bean {
}

This class can be used in the following way


  
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class SampleService {
    @Inject Bean bean

    void buildSecondary(String groupName) {
        def (m, v, c) = bean.createMVC(groupName)
        // do something with m, v and c
    }
}

5. Models

This chapter describe models and all binding options.

Models are very simple in nature. Their responsibility is to hold data that can be used by both Controller and View to communicate with each other. In other words, Models are not equivalent to domain classes.

5.1. Swing Binding

Binding in Griffon is achieved by leveraging Java Beans' java.beans.PropertyChangeEvent and their related classes; thus binding will work with any class that fires this type of event, regardless of its usage of @griffon.transform.Observable or not.

5.1.1. Groovy Bindings

The following options are available for writing bindings using the bind call when Groovy is the source language:

Long

The most complete of all three. You must specify both ends of the binding explicitly. The following snippet sets a unidirectional binding from bean1.prop1 to bean2.prop2:

bind(source: bean1, sourceProperty: 'prop1',
     target: bean2, targetProperty: 'prop2')
Contextual

This type of binding can assume either the sources or the targets depending on the context. The following snippets set an unidirectional binding from bean1.prop1 to bean2.prop2

Implicit Source
bean(bean1, prop1: bind(target: bean2, targetProperty: 'prop2'))
Implicit Target
bean(bean2, prop2: bind(source: bean1, sourceProperty: 'prop1'))

When used in this way, either sourceProperty: or targetProperty: can be omitted; the bind node’s value will become the property name, in other words

bean(bean1, prop1: bind('prop2', target: bean2))
Short

This type of binding is only useful for setting implicit targets. It expects a closure as the definition of the binding value:

bean(bean2, prop2: bind{ bean1.prop1 })

The following properties can be used with either the long or contextual binding syntax:

mutual

Bindings are usually setup in one direction. If this property is specified with a value of true then a bidirectional binding will be created instead.


  
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import griffon.transform.Observable
import groovy.swing.SwingBuilder

class MyModel {
    @Observable String value
}

def model = new MyModel()
def swing  = new SwingBuilder()
swing.edt {
    frame(title: 'Binding', pack: true, visible: true) {
        gridLayout(cols: 2, rows: 3)
        label 'Normal'
        textField(columns: 20, text: bind('value', target: model))
        label 'Bidirectional'
        textField(columns: 20, text: bind('value', target: model, mutual: true))
        label 'Model'
        textField(columns: 20, text: bind('value', source: model))
    }
}

Typing text on textfield #2 pushes the value to model, which in turns updates textfield #2 and #3, demonstrating that textfield #2 listens top model updates. Typing text on textfield #2 pushes the value to textfield #3 but not #1, demonstrating that textfield #1 is not a bidirectional binding.

converter

Transforms the value before it is sent to event listeners.


  
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import griffon.transform.Observable
import groovy.swing.SwingBuilder

class MyModel {
    @Observable String value
}

def convertValue = { val ->
    '*' * val?.size()
}

def model = new MyModel()
def swing  = new SwingBuilder()
swing.edt {
    frame(title: 'Binding', pack: true, visible: true) {
        gridLayout(cols: 2, rows: 3)
        label 'Normal'
        textField(columns: 20, text: bind('value', target: model))
        label 'Converter'
        textField(columns: 20, text: bind('value', target: model, converter: convertValue))
        label 'Model'
        textField(columns: 20, text:  bind('value', source: model))
    }
}

Typing text on textfield #1 pushes the value to the model as expected, which you can inspect by looking at textfield #3. Typing text on textfield #2 however transform’s every keystroke into an '*' character.

reverseConverter

Transforms the value from the target to the source.

validator

Guards the trigger. Prevents the event from being sent if the return value is false or null.


  
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import griffon.transform.Observable
import groovy.swing.SwingBuilder

class MyModel {
    @Observable String value
}

def isNumber = { val ->
    if(!val) return true
    try {
        Double.parseDouble(val)
    } catch(NumberFormatException e) {
        false
    }
}

def model = new MyModel()
def swing  = new SwingBuilder()
swing.edt {
    frame(title: 'Binding', pack: true, visible: true) {
        gridLayout(cols: 2, rows: 3)
        label 'Normal'
        textField(columns: 20, text: bind('value', target: model))
        label 'Converter'
        textField(columns: 20, text: bind('value', target: model, validator: isNumber))
        label 'Model'
        textField(columns: 20, text:  bind('value', source: model))
    }
}

You can type any characters on textfield #1 and see the result in textfield #3. You can only type numbers on textfield #2 and see the result in textfield #3.

This type of validation is not suitable for semantic validation (a.k.a. constraints in domain classes).
sourceEvent

Maps a different event type, instead of PropertyChangeEvent.

sourceValue

Specify a value that may come from a different source. Usually found in partnership with sourceEvent.


  
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import griffon.transform.Observable
import groovy.swing.SwingBuilder

class MyModel {
    @Observable String value
}

def model = new MyModel()
def swing  = new SwingBuilder()
swing.edt {
    frame(title: 'Binding', pack: true, visible: true) {
        gridLayout(cols: 2, rows: 3)
        label 'Text'
        textField(columns: 20, id: 'tf1')
        label 'Trigger'
        button('Copy Text', id: 'bt1')
        bind(source: bt1,
             sourceEvent: 'actionPerformed',
             sourceValue: {tf1.text},
             target: model,
             targetProperty: 'value')
        label 'Model'
        textField(columns: 20, text:  bind('value', source: model))
    }
}

A contrived way to copy text from one textfield to another. The copy is performed by listening to `ActionEvent`s pumped by the button.

These examples made use of the @griffon.transform.Observable AST transformation. This transformation is a carbon copy of @groovy.beans.Bindable with one addition: the owner class will also implement the `Observable interface. Both transformations are functionally equivalent and can be used interchangeably.

5.2. JavaFX Binding

JavaFX provides its own binding mechanism, based on Observable and related types, such as javafx.beans.property.Property and javafx.beans.binding.Binding.

5.2.1. Groovy Bindings

GroovyFX brings Groovy support for JavaFX in a similar way as standard Groovy does for Swing, which was discussed in a previous section. However there are some slight differences.

The griffon-javafx-groovy-2.12.0.jar delivers a new AST Transformation: @FXObservable, which by all means and purposes is functionally equivalent to GroovyFX’s @FXBindable annotation. However @FXObservable delivers better integration with the Griffon runtime, for example hooking into ThreadingManager instead of calling into Platform.runLater.

Using the @FXObservable AST transformation results in shorter, more expressive code. For example, the following code


  
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class MyModel {
    @FXObservable String value
}

Is transformed into byte code as if you had written the following source code


  
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import javafx.beans.property.SimpleStringProperty
import javafx.beans.property.StringProperty

class MyModel {
    private StringProperty value

    String getValue() { valueProperty().get() }
    void setValue(String s) { valueProperty().set(s) }

    StringProperty getValueProperty() { valueProperty() }
    StringProperty valueProperty() {
        if (value == null) {
            value = new SimpleStringProperty(this, 'value')
        }
        value
    }
}

This annotation serves then as a shortcut for writing observable properties and nothing more.

5.3. The @Observable AST Transformation

The @griffon.transform.Observable transformation will inject the behavior of Observable into the annotated class. It basically injects an instance of java.beans.PropertyChangeSupport and all methods required to make the model an observable class. It will also ensure that a java.beans.PropertyChangeEvent is fired for each observable property whenever said property changes value.

The following is a list of all methods added by @griffon.transform.Observable:

  • void addPropertyChangeListener(PropertyChangeListener listener)

  • void addPropertyChangeListener(String propertyName, PropertyChangeListener listener)

  • void removePropertyChangeListener(PropertyChangeListener listener)

  • void removePropertyChangeListener(String propertyName, PropertyChangeListener listener)

  • PropertyChangeListener[] getPropertyChangeListeners()

  • PropertyChangeListener[] getPropertyChangeListeners(String propertyName)

  • void firePropertyChange(String propertyName, Object oldValue, Object newValue)

5.4. The @Vetoable AST Transformation

The @griffon.transform.Vetoable transformation will inject the behavior of Vetoable into the annotated class. It basically injects an instance of java.beans.VetoableChangeSupport and all methods required to make the model a vetoable class. It will also ensure that a java.beans.PropertyChangeEvent is fired for each vetoable property whenever said property changes value.

The following is a list of all methods added by @griffon.transform.Vetoable:

  • void addVetoableChangeListener(VetoableChangeListener listener)

  • void addVetoableChangeListener(String propertyName, VetoableChangeListener listener)

  • void removeVetoableChangeListener(VetoableChangeListener listener)

  • void removeVetoableChangeListener(String propertyName, VetoableChangeListener listener)

  • VetoableChangeListener[] getVetoableChangeListeners()

  • VetoableChangeListener[] getVetoableChangeListeners(String propertyName)

  • void fireVetoableChange(String propertyName, Object oldValue, Object newValue)

5.5. The @PropertyListener AST Transformation

The @griffon.transform.PropertyListener helps you to register PropertyChangeListeners without so much effort. The following code


  
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import griffon.transform.PropertyListener
import griffon.transform.Observable
import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonModel
import griffon.inject.MVCMember
import javax.annotation.Nonnull

@griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonModel)
@PropertyListener(snoopAll)
class SampleModel {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull SampleController controller
    @Observable String name

    @Observable
    @PropertyListener({controller.someAction(it)})
    String lastname

    def snoopAll = { evt -> ... }
}

is equivalent to this one:


  
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import java.beans.PropertyChangeListener
import griffon.transform.Observable
import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonModel
import griffon.inject.MVCMember
import javax.annotation.Nonnull

@griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonModel)
@PropertyListener(snoopAll)
class SampleModel {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull SampleController controller
    @Observable String name
    @Observable String lastname

    def snoopAll = { evt -> ... }

    SampleModel() {
        addPropertyChangeListener(snoopAll as PropertyChangeListener)
        addPropertyChangeListener('lastname', {
            controller.someAction(it)
        } as PropertyChangeListener)
    }
}

@griffon.transform.PropertyListener accepts the following values:

  • in-place definition of a closure

  • reference of a closure property defined in the same class

  • a List of any of the previous two

5.6. The @ChangeListener AST Transformation

The @griffon.transform.ChangeListener helps you to register ChangeListeners without so much effort. The following code


  
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import griffon.transform.ChangeListener
import griffon.transform.FXObservable
import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonModel
import griffon.inject.MVCMember
import javax.annotation.Nonnull

@griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonModel)
class SampleModel {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull SampleController controller

    @FXObservable
    @ChangeListener(snoopAll)
    String name

    @FXObservable
    @ChangeListener({ ob, ov, nv -> controller.someAction(nv)})
    String lastname

    def snoopAll = { ob, ov, nv -> ... }
}

is equivalent to this one:


  
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import javafx.beans.value.ChangeListener
import griffon.transform.FXObservable
import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonModel
import griffon.inject.MVCMember
import javax.annotation.Nonnull

@griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonModel)
class SampleModel {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull SampleController controller

    @FXObservable String name
    @FXObservable String lastname

    def snoopAll = { ob, ov, nv -> ... }

    SampleModel() {
        nameProperty().addListener(snoopAll as ChangeListener)
        lastnameProperty().addListener({ ob, ov, nv ->
            controller.someAction(nv)
        } as ChangeListener)
    }
}

@griffon.transform.ChangeListener accepts the following values:

  • in-place definition of a closure

  • reference of a closure property defined in the same class

  • a List of any of the previous two

@griffon.transform.ChangeListener has an additional member named weak. When set to true the generated ChangeListener will be wrapped with a WeakChangeListener.

5.7. The @ListChangeListener AST Transformation

The @griffon.transform.ListChangeListener helps you to register ListChangeListeners without so much effort. The following code


  
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import griffon.transform.ListChangeListener
import griffon.transform.FXObservable
import javafx.collections.FXCollections
import javafx.collections.ObservableList
import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonModel
import griffon.inject.MVCMember
import javax.annotation.Nonnull

@griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonModel)
class SampleModel {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull SampleController controller

    @FXObservable
    @ListChangeListener(snoop)
    ObservableList list = FXCollections.observableArrayList()

    def snoop = { change -> ... }
}

is equivalent to this one:


  
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import javafx.collections.ListChangeListener
import javafx.collections.FXCollections
import javafx.collections.ObservableList
import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonModel
import griffon.inject.MVCMember
import javax.annotation.Nonnull

@griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonModel)
class SampleModel {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull SampleController controller

    @FXObservable ObservableList list = FXCollections.observableArrayList()

    def snoop = { change -> ... }

    SampleModel() {
        listProperty().addListener(snoopAll as ListChangeListener)
    }
}

@griffon.transform.ListChangeListener accepts the following values:

  • in-place definition of a closure

  • reference of a closure property defined in the same class

  • a List of any of the previous two

@griffon.transform.ListChangeListener has an additional member named weak. When set to true the generated ListChangeListener will be wrapped with a WeakListChangeListener.

5.8. The @MapChangeListener AST Transformation

The @griffon.transform.MapChangeListener helps you to register MapChangeListeners without so much effort. The following code


  
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import griffon.transform.MapChangeListener
import griffon.transform.FXObservable
import javafx.collections.FXCollections
import javafx.collections.ObservableMap
import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonModel
import griffon.inject.MVCMember
import javax.annotation.Nonnull

@griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonModel)
class SampleModel {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull SampleController controller

    @FXObservable
    @MapChangeListener(snoop)
    ObservableMap map = FXCollections.observableHashMap()

    def snoop = { change -> ... }
}

is equivalent to this one:


  
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import javafx.collections.MapChangeListener
import javafx.collections.FXCollections
import javafx.collections.ObservableMap
import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonModel
import griffon.inject.MVCMember
import javax.annotation.Nonnull

@griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonModel)
class SampleModel {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull SampleController controller

    @FXObservable ObservableMap map = FXCollections.observableHashMap()

    def snoop = { change -> ... }

    SampleModel() {
        listProperty().addListener(snoop as MapChangeListener)
    }
}

@griffon.transform.MapChangeListener accepts the following values:

  • in-place definition of a closure

  • reference of a closure property defined in the same class

  • a List of any of the previous two

@griffon.transform.MapChangeListener has an additional member named weak. When set to true the generated MapChangeListener will be wrapped with a WeakMapChangeListener.

5.9. The @InvalidationListener AST Transformation

The @griffon.transform.InvalidationListener helps you to register InvalidationListeners without so much effort. The following code


  
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import griffon.transform.InvalidationListener
import griffon.transform.FXObservable
import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonModel
import griffon.inject.MVCMember
import javax.annotation.Nonnull

@griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonModel)
class SampleModel {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull SampleController controller

    @FXObservable
    @InvalidationListener(snoopAll)
    String name

    @FXObservable
    @InvalidationListener({ controller.someAction(it)})
    String lastname

    def snoopAll = { ... }
}

is equivalent to this one:


  
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import javafx.beans.InvalidationListener
import griffon.transform.FXObservable
import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonModel
import griffon.inject.MVCMember
import javax.annotation.Nonnull

@griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonModel)
class SampleModel {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull SampleController controller

    @FXObservable String name
    @FXObservable String lastname

    def snoopAll = { ... }

    SampleModel() {
        nameProperty().addListener(snoopAll as InvalidationListener)
        lastnameProperty().addListener({
            controller.someAction(it)
        } as InvalidationListener)
    }
}

@griffon.transform.InvalidationListener accepts the following values:

  • in-place definition of a closure

  • reference of a closure property defined in the same class

  • a List of any of the previous two

@griffon.transform.InvalidationListener has an additional member named weak. When set to true the generated InvalidationListener will be wrapped with a WeakInvalidationListener.

5.10. The @FXObservable AST Transformation

The @griffon.transform.FXObservable transformation modifies a class in such a way that plain fields become JavaFX bindable properties. Each field generates mutators and accessors that accept the plain type and the JavaFX property type. For example,

griffon-app/models/org/example/SampleModel.groovy

  
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package org.example

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonModel
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor
import griffon.transform.FXObservable

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonModel)
class SampleModel {
    @FXObservable String input = 'foo'
}

is functionally equivalent to

griffon-app/models/org/example/SampleModel.groovy

  
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package org.example

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonModel
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor
import javafx.beans.property.SimpleStringProperty
import javafx.beans.property.StringProperty

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonModel)
class SampleModel {
    private StringProperty input

    final StringProperty getInputProperty() {
        inputProperty()
    }

    final StringProperty inputProperty() {
        if (input == null) {
            input = new SimpleStringProperty(this, 'foo')
        }
        input
    }

    void setInput(String input) {
        inputProperty().set(input)
    }

    String getInput() {
        return input == null ? null : inputProperty().get()
    }
}

The following is a list of field types that @griffon.transform.FXObservable can transform:

Type JavaFX Property

Boolean.class

javafx.beans.property.BooleanProperty

Boolean.TYPE

javafx.beans.property.BooleanProperty

Double.class

javafx.beans.property. DoubleProperty

Double.TYPE

javafx.beans.property.DoubleProperty

Float.class

javafx.beans.property.FloatProperty

Float.TYPE

javafx.beans.property.FloatProperty

Integer.class

javafx.beans.property.IntProperty

Integer.TYPE

javafx.beans.property.IntProperty

Long.class

javafx.beans.property.LongProperty

Long.TYPE

javafx.beans.property.LongProperty

Short.class

javafx.beans.property.IntProperty

Short.TYPE

javafx.beans.property.IntProperty

Byte.class

javafx.beans.property.IntProperty

Byte.TYPE

javafx.beans.property.IntProperty

String.class

javafx.beans.property.StringProperty

List.class

javafx.beans.property.ListProperty

Map.class

javafx.beans.property.MapProperty

Set.class

javafx.beans.property.SetProperty

6. Controllers

Controllers are the entry point for your application’s logic. Each controller has access to their model and view instances from their respective MVC group.

Controller actions are defined as public methods on a controller class. For example, in Groovy you’d write


  
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package sample

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonController
import griffon.core.controller.ControllerAction
import griffon.inject.MVCMember
import javax.annotation.Nonnull

@griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonController)
class SampleController {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull SampleModel model

    @ControllerAction
    void click() {
        model.clickCount++
    }
}

The corresponding code for Java 8 would be


  
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package sample;

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonController;
import griffon.core.controller.ControllerAction;
import griffon.inject.MVCMember;
import javax.annotation.Nonnull;

@griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonController.class)
public class SampleController {
    private SampleModel model;

    @MVCMember
    public void setModel(@Nonnull SampleModel model) {
        this.model = model;
    }

    @ControllerAction
    public void click() {
        runInsideUIAsync(() -> {
            model.setClickCount(model.getClickCount() + 1);
        });
    }
}

Actions must follow these rules in order to be considered as such:

The application’s ActionManager will automatically configure an Action instance for each matching controller action. These Action instances can be later used within Views to link them to UI components. The following example shows a Swing View making use of the configured clickAction from SampleController:


  
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package sample

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonView
import griffon.inject.MVCMember
import javax.annotation.Nonnull

@griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonView)
class SampleView {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull FactoryBuilderSupport builder
    @MVCMember @Nonnull SampleModel model

    void initUI() {
        builder.with {
            application(title: 'Clicker', pack: true)) {
                button(clickAction, label: bind { model.clickCount })
            }
        }
    }
}

Controllers can perform other tasks too:

6.1. Actions and Threads

A key aspect that you must always keep in mind is proper threading. Often, controller actions will be bound in response to an event driven by the UI. Those actions will usually be invoked in the same thread that triggered the event, which would be the UI thread. When that happens, you must make sure that the executed code is short and that it quickly returns control to the UI thread. Failure to do so may result in unresponsive applications.

The following example is the typical usage:


  
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package sample

import groovy.sql.Sql
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent
import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonController
import griffon.core.controller.ControllerAction
import griffon.inject.MVCMember
import javax.annotation.Nonnull

@griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonController)
class BadController {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull def model

    @ControllerAction
    void badAction(ActionEvent evt = null) {
        def sql = Sql.newInstance(
            application.configuration.datasource.url,
            model.username,
            model.password,
            application.configuration.datasource.driver
        )
        model.products.clear()
        sql.eachRow("select * from products") { product ->
            model.products << [product.id, product.name, product.price]
        }
        sql.close()
    }
}

What’s wrong with this code? It’s very likely that this action is triggered by clicking on a button, in which case its body will be executed inside the UI thread. This means the database query will be executed on the UI thread too. The model is also updated; one could assume the model is bound to an UI component. This update should happen inside the UI thread, but clearly that’s not what’s happening here.

In order to simplify things, the Griffon runtime (via the ActionManager) assumes by default that all actions will be invoked outside of the UI thread. This solves the first problem, that of performing a database operation on the wrong thread. The second problem, updating the model, can be solved in the following manner:


  
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package sample

import groovy.sql.Sql
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent
import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonController
import griffon.core.controller.ControllerAction
import griffon.inject.MVCMember
import javax.annotation.Nonnull

@griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonController)
class GoodController {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull def model

    @ControllerAction
    void goodAction(ActionEvent evt = null) {                           (1)
        def sql = Sql.newInstance(
            application.configuration.datasource.url,
            model.username,
            model.password,
            application.configuration.datasource.driver
        )

        try {
            List results = []
            sql.eachRow("select * from products") { product ->
                results << [product.id, product.name, product.price]
            }

            runInsideUIAsync {                                          (2)
                model.products.clear()
                model.products.addAll(results)
            }
        } finally {
            sql.close()
        }
    }
}
1 Executed outside the UI thread
2 Go back inside the UI thread

There are other options at your disposal to make sure the code behaves properly according to the specific threading rules of a particular UI toolkit. These options are covered in the threading chapter.

The default behavior of invoking controller actions outside of the UI thread can be altered in different ways, here listed from most specific to most generic:

  • annotating the action method with @Threading.

  • annotating the controller class with @Threading. All controller actions belonging to the annotated controller will use this setting.

  • specify a value under key controller.threading.default in the application’s configuration. Accepted values and their equivalent Threading.Policy value are listed below:

Threading.Policy.INSIDE_UITHREAD_SYNC

sync, inside sync, inside uithread sync, inside_uithread_sync.
Threading.Policy.INSIDE_UITHREAD_ASYNC

async, inside async, inside uithread async, inside_uithread_async.
Threading.Policy.OUTSIDE_UITHREAD

outside, outside uithread, outside_uithread.
Threading.Policy.SKIP

skip.

You may use lower case and/or upper case values. You may also use a real value of the Threading.Policy enum if the application’s configuration is defined using Java or Groovy code.

It’s also possible to completely disable automatic UI threading management for a particular action, controller, package, or even the whole application. Just specify a value in the application’s configuration with the prefix controller.threading. Here are some examples:

controller.threading.com.acme.SampleController.click = false    (1)
controller.threading.org.example.SimpleController = false       (2)
controller.threading.org.another = false                        (3)
griffon.disable.threading.injection = true                      (4)
1 targeted action
2 targeted controller
3 targeted package
4 application wide

The 1 setting disables threading management for a single action only. The 2 disables threading management for all actions belonging to a single controller. 3 disables threading management for all controllers inside the org.another package. Finally, 4 disables threading management altogether, for the whole application.

6.2. The ActionManager

Controller actions may automatically be wrapped and exposed as toolkit specific actions; this greatly simplifies how actions can be configured based on i18n concerns.

At the heart of this feature lies the ActionManager. This component is responsible for instantiating, configuring and maintaining references to all actions per controller. It will automatically harvest all action candidates from a Controller once it has been instantiated. Each action has all of its properties configured following this strategy:

  • match <controller.class.name>.action.<action.name>.<key>

  • match application.action.<action.name>.<key>

<action.name> should be properly capitalized. In other words, you can configure action properties specifically per Controller or application wide. Available keys are

Table 2. Swing
Key Type Default Value

name

String

Natural name minus the Action suffix

accelerator

String

undefined

long_description

String

undefined

short_description

String

undefined

mnemonic

String

undefined

small_icon

String

undefined

large_icon

String

undefined

enabled

boolean

true

selected

boolean

false
Table 3. JavaFX
Key Type Default Value

name

String

Natural name minus the Action suffix

accelerator

String

undefined

description

String

undefined

mnemonic

String

undefined

icon

String

undefined

image

String

undefined

enabled

boolean

true

selected

boolean

false

visible

boolean

true

style

String

undefined

styleclass

String

undefined

graphic

String

undefined

graphic_style

String

undefined

graphic_styleclass

String

undefined
Table 4. Pivot
Key Type Default Value

name

String

Natural name minus the Action suffix

description

String

undefined

enabled

boolean

true
Table 5. Lanterna
Key Type Default Value

name

String

Natural name minus the Action suffix

Icon keys should point to a URL available in the classpath, or they may use the following notation:

iconClassName|constructorArg

Here’s an example using the Ikonli library with the FontAwesome icon pack installed:

org.kordamp.griffon.addressbook.AddresbookController.action.New.icon=org.kordamp.ikonli.javafx.FontIcon|fa-flash

Values must be placed in resources files following the internationalization guidelines. It’s worth mentioning that all of action properties will react to changes made to the application’s Locale.

6.2.1. Configuration Examples

The following Controller defines 2 actions; one of them uses the Action suffix because its name clashes with a known Java keyword.


  
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package sample

import java.awt.event.ActionEvent

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonController
import griffon.core.controller.ControllerAction

@griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonController)
class SampleController {
    @ControllerAction
    void close(ActionEvent evt) { ... }

    @ControllerAction
    void newAction(ActionEvent evt) { ... }
}

The ActionManager will generate and configure the following actions:

  • newAction

  • closeAction

The following keys are expected to be available in the application’s i18n resources (i.e. griffon-app/i18n/messages.properties):


  
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sample.SampleController.action.New.name = New
sample.SampleController.action.Open.name = Open
sample.SampleController.action.Close.name = Close
sample.SampleController.action.Delete.name = Delete
# additional keys per action elided

In the case that you’d like the close action to be customized for all controllers, say using the Spanish language, then you’ll have to provide a file named griffon-app/i18n/messages_es.properties with the following keys:


  
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application.action.Close.name = Cerrar

Make sure to remove any controller specific keys when reaching for application wide configuration.

6.3. Action Handlers

ActionHandlers open a new set of possibilities by allowing developers and addon authors to define code that should be executed before and after any controller action is invoked by the framework. For example, you may want to protect the execution of a particular action given specific permissions; the shiro plugin uses annotations that are handled by an ActionHandler, like this:


  
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import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonController
import griffon.core.controller.ControllerAction
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor
import griffon.plugins.shiro.annotation.*

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonController)
@RequiresAuthentication
class PrinterController {
    @RequiresPermission('printer:print')
    @ControllerAction
    void print () { ... }

    @RequiresRoles('administrator')
    @ControllerAction
    void configure() { ... }
}

The scaffolding plugin on the other hand modifies the arguments sent to the action. Take the following snippet for example


  
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import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonController
import griffon.core.controller.ControllerAction
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor
import griffon.plugins.shiro.annotation.*
import org.apache.shiro.authc.UsernamePasswordToken
impprt org.apache.shiro.subject.Subject
import javax.swing.JOptionPane

import javax.inject.Inject

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonController)
class StrutsController {
    @Inject
    private Subject subject

    @RequiresGuest
    @ControllerAction
    void login(LoginCommandObject cmd) {
        try {
            subject.login(new UsernamePasswordToken(cmd.username, cmd.password))
        } catch(Exception e) {
            JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(
                app.windowManager.findWindow('mainWindow'),
                'Invalid username and/or password',
                'Security Failure', JOptionPane.ERROR_MESSAGE)
        }
    }

    @RequiresAuthentication
    @ControllerAction
    void logout() {
        subject.logout()
    }
}

Note that the login action requires an instance of LoginCommandObject. The scaffolding plugin is aware of this fact; it will create an instance of said class, wire up a scaffolded view in a dialog and present it to the user. The LoginCommandObject instance will be set as the action’s arguments if it validates successfully, otherwise action execution is aborted.

6.3.1. Implementing an Action Handler

Action handlers must implement the ActionHandler interface. There’s a handy base class (org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.controller.AbstractActionHandler) that provides sensible defaults. Say you’d want to know how much time it took for an action to be executed, also if an exception occurred during its execution. This handler could be implemented as follows:


  
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package com.acme

import griffon.core.controller.Action
import griffon.core.controller.ActionExecutionStatus
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.controller.AbstractActionHandler

import javax.inject.Named

@Named('tracer')
class TracerActionHandler extends AbstractActionHandler {
    private final Map<String, Long> TIMES = [:]

    Object[] before(Action action, Object[] args) {
        TIMES[action.fullyQuallifiedName] = System.currentTimeMillis()
        return super.before(controller, actionName, args)
    }

    Object after(ActionExecutionStatus status, Action action, Object[] args, Object result) {
        long time = System.currentTimeMillis() - TIMES[action.fullyQuallifiedName]
        println("Action ${action.fullyQuallifiedName} took ${time} ms [${status}]")
        result
    }
}

The ActionHandler interface defines a handful of methods that are invoked by the ActionManager at very specific points during the lifetime and execution of controller actions.

void configure(Action action, Method method)

The configure() method is called during the configuration phase, when the ActionManager creates the actions. This method is called once in the lifetime of an action.

void update(Action action)

The update() method can be called at any time. Its responsibility is to update the action’s properties, such as the enabled state, given the current state of the application.

Object[] before(Action action, Object[] args)

The before() method is executed every time an action is about to be invoked. This method is responsible for adjusting the arguments (if needed) or aborting the action execution altogether. Any exception thrown by an handler in this method will halt action execution however only AbortActionExecution is interpreted as a graceful abort.

boolean exception(Exception exception, Action action, Object[] args)

The exception() method is invoked only when an exception occurred during the action’s execution. Implementors must return true if the exception was handled successfully. The exception will be rethrown by the ActionManager if no handler handled the exception. This happens as the last step of the action interception procedure.

Object after(ActionExecutionStatus status, Action axtion, Object[] args, Object result)

The after() method is called after an action has been executed. Any exceptions occurred during the action’s execution should have been handled by exception(). The status argument specifies if the action was successfully executed (OK), if it was aborted by an handler (ABORTERD) or if an exception occurred during its execution (EXCEPTION).

Action handlers can participate in Dependency Injection.

6.3.2. Configuration

Action Handlers must be registered within a Module in order to be picked up by the ActionManager. The following example shows how the previous TracerActionHandler can be registered in a Module:

src/main/com/acme/ApplicationModule.groovy

  
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package com.acme

import griffon.core.injection.Module
import griffon.core.controller.ActionHandler
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.injection.AbstractModule
import org.kordamp.jipsy.ServiceProviderFor

import javax.inject.Named

@ServiceProviderFor(Module)
@Named('application')
public class ApplicationModule extends AbstractModule {
    @Override
    protected void doConfigure() {
        bind(ActionHandler)
            .to(TracerActionHandler)
            .asSingleton()
    }
}

A Handler may define a dependency on another handler; use the @griffon.inject.DependsOn annotation to express the relationship.

It’s also possible to globally override the order of execution of handlers, or define an order when handlers are orthogonal. Take for example the security handler provided by the shiro plugin and the scaffolding handler provided by scaffolding plugin. These handlers know nothing about each other; however, security should be called before scaffolding. This can be accomplished by adding the following snippet to Config.groovy:

griffon.controller.action.handler.order = ['security', 'scaffolding']

6.4. Actions and Contexts

Actions have direct access to their controller’s Context which means they can retrieve and store information at any time. It’s also possible to specify that the arguments of an action should be matched against keys that may exist in a Context; this enables ActionHandlers to decorate the value without directly affecting the Context itself.

The following example shows a different implementation of a controller whose login action expects an instance of org.apache.shiro.authc.UsernamePasswordToken. This instance has been created somewhere else and stored in the group’s context using the "credentials" key.


  
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import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonController
import griffon.core.controller.ControllerAction
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor
import griffon.plugins.shiro.annotation.*
import org.apache.shiro.authc.UsernamePasswordToken
impprt org.apache.shiro.subject.Subject
import javax.swing.JOptionPane

import javax.inject.Inject
import javax.inject.Named
import griffon.inject.Contextual

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonController)
class StrutsController {
    @Inject
    private Subject subject

    @RequiresGuest
    @ControllerAction
    void login(@Contextual @Named('credentials') UsernamePasswordToken token) {
        try {
            subject.login(token)
        } catch(Exception e) {
            JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(
                app.windowManager.findWindow('mainWindow'),
                'Invalid username and/or password',
                'Security Failure', JOptionPane.ERROR_MESSAGE)
        }
    }

    @RequiresAuthentication
    @ControllerAction
    void logout() {
        subject.logout()
    }
}

Because the org.apache.shiro.authc.UsernamePasswordToken resides in the context, it can now be shared with other actions that need it, something that could not be done in the previous example because the LoginCommandObject existed only for the action that declared it as an argument.

Another interesting thing is that the instance of org.apache.shiro.authc.UsernamePasswordToken could have been added by the parent Context, or the application’s Context (remember that contexts are hierarchical); thus the value can be shared with more than one controller or with the whole application, as needed.

If the @Contextual argument does not have @Named qualifier, then the fully qualified class name of the argument’s type will be used as a key. This means that the key "org.apache.shiro.authc.UsernamePasswordToken" would be used to search for the argument if @Named('credentials') were to be omitted.

It’s worth noting that failure to resolve a @Contextual argument does not result in an immediate exception; if the key could not be found in the Context, then a null value will be set as the argument’s value. It’s the action’s job to ensure that it received the correct arguments. An alternative would be to annotate the parameter with @Nonnull, in which case the ActionManager will abort the execution if the named parameter was not found in the context, or if its value is null.

7. Services

Services are responsible for the application logic that does not belong to a single controller. They are meant to be treated as singletons, and are injected to MVC members by following a naming convention. Services must be located inside the griffon-app/services.

Let’s say you want to create a Math service. A trivial implementation of an addition operation performed by the MathService would look like the following snippet:

griffon-app/services/sample/MathService.groovy

  
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package sample

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonService

@javax.inject.Singleton
@griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonService)
class MathService {
    def addition(a, b) { a + b }
}

Using this service from a Controller is a straightforward task; you just have to define an injection point and annotate it with @javax.inject.Inject:

griffon-app/controllers/sample/SampleController.groovy

  
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package sample

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonController
import griffon.core.controller.ControllerAction
import griffon.inject.MVCMember
import javax.annotation.Nonnull

@griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonController)
class SampleController {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull SampleModel model

    @javax.inject.Inject
    private MathService mathService

    @ControllerAction
    void calculate(evt = null) {
        model.result = mathService.addition model.a, model.b
    }
}

Given that services are inherently treated as singletons, they are also automatically registered as application event listeners. Be aware that services will be instantiated lazily, which means that some events might not reach a particular service if it has not been instantiated by the framework by the time of event publication. Using Groovy’s @Singleton annotation on a Service class is also discouraged, as it will cause trouble with the automatic singleton management Griffon has in place.

7.1. Life Cycle

Services do not have a well-defined lifecycle like other MVC artifacts, because they do not implement the GriffonMvcArtifact interface. However, you may annotate service methods with @javax.annotation.PostConstruct and @javax.annotation.PreDestroy.

The Griffon runtime guarantees that methods annotated with @javax.annotation.PostConstruct will be invoked right after the instance has been created by the Injector. Likewise, it will invoke all methods annotated with @javax.annotation.PreDestroy when the Injector is closed.

Only one method of the same class can be annotated with @javax.annotation.PostConstruct or @javax.annotation.PreDestroy.

8. Views

8.1. The WindowManager

Although the following API refers directly to Swing in all examples, it’s possible to use the WindowManager with other toolkits such as JavaFX, Pivot and Lanterna, as there are specific WindowManager implementations plus helper classes for those UI toolkits too.

The WindowManager class is responsible for keeping track of all the windows managed by the application. It also controls how these windows are displayed (via a pair of methods: show, hide). WindowManager relies on an instance of WindowDisplayHandler to actually show or hide a window. The default implementation simply shows and hides windows directly; however, you can change this behavior by setting a different implementation of WindowDisplayHandler on the application instance.

8.1.1. WindowManager DSL

This configuration can be set in griffon-app/conf/Config.groovy file; here is how it looks:

griffon-app/conf/Config.groovy

  
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windowManager {
    myWindowName = [
        show: {name, window -> ... },
        hide: {name, window -> ... }
    ]
    myOtherWindowName = [
        show: {name, window -> ... }
    ]
}

The name of each entry must match the value of the Window’s name: property (if supported) or the name used to register the Window with the WindowManager. Each entry may have any of the following options:

show

Used to show the window to the screen. It must be a closure that takes two parameters: the name of the window and the window to be displayed.
hide

Used to hide the window from the screen. It must be a closure that takes two parameters: the name of the window and the window to be hidden.
handler

A custom WindowDisplayHandler instance.
You must use CallableWithArgs instead of closures if using the Java version of the Config file.

The first two options have priority over the third one. If one is missing, then the WindowManager will invoke the default behavior. There is one last option that can be used to override the default behavior provided to all windows:

griffon-app/conf/Config.groovy

  
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windowManager {
    defaultHandler = new MyCustomWindowDisplayHandler()
}

You can go a bit further by specifying a global show or hide behavior, as shown in the following example:

griffon-app/conf/Config.groovy

  
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windowManager {
    defaultShow: {name, window -> ... },
    myWindowName = [
        show: {name, window -> ... },
        hide: {name, window -> ... }
    ]
    myOtherWindowName = [
        show: {name, window -> ... }
    ]
}

8.1.2. Starting Window

By default, the WindowManager picks the first available window from the managed windows list to be the starting window. However, this behavior can be configured by means of the WindowManager DSL. Simply specify a value for windowManager.startingWindow, like this:

griffon-app/conf/Config.groovy

  
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windowManager {
    startingWindow = 'primary'
}

This configuration flag accepts two types of values:

  • a String that defines the name of the Window. You must make sure the Window has a matching name property or was attached to the WindowManager with the same name.

  • a Number that defines the index of the Window in the list of managed windows.

If no match is found, then the default behavior will be executed.

8.1.3. Custom WindowDisplayHandlers

The following example shows how you can center on screen all managed windows:

src/main/groovy/sample/CenteringWindowDisplayHandler.groovy

  
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package sample

import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.swing.DefaultSwingWindowDisplayHandler

import javax.annotation.Nonnull
import java.awt.Window

import static griffon.swing.support.SwingUtils.centerOnScreen

class CenteringWindowDisplayHandler extends DefaultSwingWindowDisplayHandler {
    @Override
    void show(@Nonnull String name, @Nonnull Window window) {
        centerOnScreen(window)
        super.show(name, window)
    }
}

You can register CenteringWindowDisplayHandler using the WindowManager DSL. Alternatively, you may use a Module to register the class/instance.

src/main/groovy/sample/ApplicationModule.groovy

  
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package sample

import griffon.core.injection.Module
import griffon.inject.DependsOn
import griffon.swing.SwingWindowDisplayHandler
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.injection.AbstractModule
import org.kordamp.jipsy.ServiceProviderFor

import static griffon.util.AnnotationUtils.named

@DependsOn('swing')
@ServiceProviderFor(Module)
class ApplicationModule extends AbstractModule {
    @Override
    protected void doConfigure() {
        bind(SwingWindowDisplayHandler)
            .withClassifier(named('defaultWindowDisplayHandler'))
            .to(CenteringWindowDisplayHandler)
            .asSingleton()
    }
}

This example is equivalent to defining a WindowDisplayHandler for all windows. You may target specific windows, by define multiple bindings, making sure that the name of the classifier matches the window name. Notice the explicit dependency on the swing module. If this dependency is left out, it’s very likely that the WindowManager will fail to pick the correct WindowDisplayHandler.

8.2. BuilderCustomizers

Recall from the ConsoleView sample application that you can use a Groovy DSL for building View components when the main language of the application is Groovy. This DSL is configured with default nodes that are tightly coupled with the chosen UI toolkit.

8.2.1. Extending the UI DSL

The UI DSL can be extended by registering new BuilderCustomizers with the application using a Module. The BuilderCustomizer instance defines methods that can be used to configure every aspect of groovy.factory.FactoryBuilderSupport. Here’s an example of the miglayout-swing extension:

src/main/java/griffon/builder/swing/MiglayoutSwingBuilderCustomizer.java

  
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package griffon.builder.swing;

import griffon.inject.DependsOn;
import groovy.swing.factory.LayoutFactory;
import net.miginfocom.swing.MigLayout;
import groovy.util.Factory;
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.groovy.view.AbstractBuilderCustomizer;

import javax.inject.Named;
import java.util.LinkedHashMap;
import java.util.Map;

@DependsOn("swing")
@Named("miglayout-swing")
public class MiglayoutSwingBuilderCustomizer extends AbstractBuilderCustomizer {
    public MiglayoutSwingBuilderCustomizer() {
        Map<String, Factory> factories = new LinkedHashMap<>();
        factories.put("migLayout", new LayoutFactory(MigLayout.class));
        setFactories(factories);
    }
}

This customizer registers a single factory, miglayout. It also defines a dependency on the swing customizer in order for its customizations to be applied after swing's. The customizer is registered using the following Module.

src/main/java/org/codehaus/griffon/runtime/miglayout/MiglayoutSwingGroovyModule.java

  
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package org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.miglayout;

import griffon.builder.swing.MiglayoutSwingBuilderCustomizer;
import griffon.core.injection.Module;
import griffon.inject.DependsOn;
import griffon.util.BuilderCustomizer;
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.injection.AbstractModule;
import org.kordamp.jipsy.ServiceProviderFor;

import javax.inject.Named;

@DependsOn("swing-groovy")
@Named("miglayout-swing-groovy")
@ServiceProviderFor(Module.class)
public class MiglayoutSwingGroovyModule extends AbstractModule {
    @Override
    protected void doConfigure() {
        bind(BuilderCustomizer.class)
            .to(MiglayoutSwingBuilderCustomizer.class)
            .asSingleton();
    }
}

This module is loaded before swing-groovy, as per the @griffon.inject.DependsOn definition, thus ensuring that the customizations from this customizer are applied afterwards.

8.2.2. Default DSL Nodes

The griffon-groovy dependency delivers the following nodes:

MetaComponent

Enables the usage of a meta-component as a View node. Meta-components are MVC groups that contain additional configuration, for example:


  
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mvcGroups {
    'custom' {
        model      = 'sample.CustomModel'
        view       = 'sample.CustomView'
        controller = 'sample.CustomController'
        config {
            component = true
            title = 'My Default Title'
        }
    }
}

The metaComponent() node instantiates the MVC group and attaches the top node from the groups' View member into the current hierarchy. Using the previous group definition in a View is straightforward:

metaComponent('custom', title: 'Another Title')

8.2.3. Default Builder Delegates

The griffon-groovy dependency delivers the following delegates:

Root

Identifies the root node of a View. Views may identify the root node. The root node is the first node call invoked on the builder member.

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package org.example

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonView
import griffon.inject.MVCMember
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor
import javax.annotation.Nonnull

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonView)
class SampleView {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull FactoryBuilderSupport builder

    void initUI() {
        builder.with {
            button(id: 'clickActionTarget', clickAction)
        }
    }
}
griffon-app/views/com/acme/PrimaryView.groovy

  
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package com.acme

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonView
import griffon.inject.MVCMember
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor
import javax.annotation.Nonnull

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonView)
class PrimaryView {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull FactoryBuilderSupport builder

    void initUI() {
        builder.with {
            application(title: 'Sample') {
                borderLayout()
                label 'Options', constraints: NORTH
                node createMVCGroup('sample').rootNode
            }
        }
    }
}

You may also define an explicit rootNode attribute with a boolean value on the target node that should be treated as the root.

8.3. Swing Specific

Refer to the list of nodes which become available when the griffon-swing-groovy-2.12.0.jar is added as a dependency.

8.4. JavaFX Specific

Refer to the list of nodes which become available when the griffon-javafx-groovy-2.12.0.jar is added as a dependency.

8.4.1. I18n Support

Nodes of type Labeled can react to changes made to the application’s Locale provided you supply enough information to resolve the target message. JavaFXUtils exposes 3 synthetic properties and 1 connect method to make this feature work. You may use these properties with FXML, for example

<Label JavaFXUtils.i18nKey="key.label"
       JavaFXUtils.i18nArgs="one, two"
       JavaFXUtils.i18nDefaultValue="No value supplied"/>

These values are used in combination with MessageSource to resolve a message and set it as the value of the node’s text property. The message will be resolved again anytime the application’s Locale changes value. You must use the connect method on the View class too, by invoking the following method during UI construction

connectMessageSource(node);

Where node is the root of the hierarchy.

8.4.2. Action Support

Actions can be attached to JavaFX nodes defined in two ways:

  • By defining a node id that follows the <action_name>ActionTarget naming convention.

  • By invoking JavaFXUtils.setGriffonActionId() with the target node and action id as arguments.

Both methods work whether you create the UI using the JavaFX API directly or with FXML. The advantage of the second option is that you can link mutliple nodes to the same action. Once action ids have been set on the target nodes you must still establish a connection between the configured nodes and the controller; this task is attained by invoking the following method during UI construction in the view

connectActions(node, controller);

Where node is the root of the hierarchy. Here’s an example of 3 actions being used by two different controls each:

<?import griffon.javafx.support.JavaFXUtils?>
...
<VBox>
    <MenuBar>
        <Menu text="File">
            <MenuItem JavaFXUtils.griffonActionId="cut"/>
            <MenuItem JavaFXUtils.griffonActionId="copy"/>
            <MenuItem JavaFXUtils.griffonActionId="paste"/>
        </Menu>
    </MenuBar>
    <ToolBar>
        <Button JavaFXUtils.griffonActionId="cut"/>
        <Button JavaFXUtils.griffonActionId="copy"/>
        <Button JavaFXUtils.griffonActionId="paste"/>
    </ToolBar>
</VBox>

In contrast this is how the FXML would look if node ids would be set instead

...
<VBox>
    <ToolBar>
        <Button fx:id="cutActionTarget"/>
        <Button fx:id="copyActionTarget"/>
        <Button fx:id="pasteActionTarget"/>
    </ToolBar>
</VBox>

In this case we can’t assign the same action to a different node because the node ids would clash. It’s possible to override this naming convention by defining your own strategy. Simply implement ActionMatcher, making sure to bind your custom strategy with module binding, such as

org/example/ApplicationModule.java

  
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package org.example;

import griffon.core.injection.Module;
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.injection.AbstractModule;
import org.kordamp.jipsy.ServiceProviderFor;
import griffon.javafx.support.ActionMatcher;
import griffon.inject.DependsOn;

@DependsOn("javafx")
@ServiceProviderFor(Module.class)
public class ApplicationModule extends AbstractModule {
    @Override
    protected void doConfigure() {
        bind(ActionMatcher.class)
            .to(MyActionMatcher.class)
            .asSingleton();
    }
}
Be aware that using the standard FXML notation (#actionName) for event handlers is not compatible with Griffon actions!

FXML conventions dictate that the argument specified in fx:controller defines the type on which node injections via @FXML will take place. It’s also the source for any event handler defined using the format #<actionName> where <actionName> matches a public method that takes the required event type as argument. In othwer words, the following code shows a simple FXML controller

com/acme/SampleView.java
package com.acme;

import javafx.scene.control.Label;
import javafx.event.ActionEvent;

public class SampleView {
    @FXML private void myLabel;

    @FXML
    public void initialize() {
        myLabel.setText("random text");
    }

    public void click(ActionEvent ignored) { ... }
}
com/acme/sample.fxml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<?import javafx.scene.control.Button?>
<?import javafx.scene.control.Label?>
<?import javafx.scene.control.VBox?>
<VBox xmlns:fx="http://javafx.com/fxml/1" xmlns="http://javafx.com/javafx/8"
      fx:controller="com.acme.SampleView">
    <Label fx:id="myLabel"/>
    <Button text="click" onAction="#click"/>
</VBox>

Notice that the name SampleView was chosen on purpose. This demonstrates one of the problems with the concept behind fx:controller, as it defines both the place where widgets may be configured and the source of event handlers. The first is the sole responsibility of a View component while the latter is the responsibility of a Controller. Griffon decided to split these responsibilities into their proper MVC members; thus the previous example can be rewritten as follows:

griffon-app/controllers/com/acme/SampleController.java
package com.acme;

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonController;
import griffon.core.controller.ControllerAction;
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor;
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.artifact.AbstractGriffonController;
import javafx.event.ActionEvent;

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonController.class)
public class SampleController extends AbstractGriffonController {
    @ControllerAction
    public void click(ActionEvent ignored) { ... }
}
griffon-app/views/com/acme/SampleView.java
package com.acme;

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonView;
import griffon.inject.MVCMember;
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor;
import javafx.fxml.FXML;
import javafx.scene.control.Label;
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.javafx.artifact.AbstractJavaFXGriffonView;
import javax.annotation.Nonnull;

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonView.class)
public class SampleView extends AbstractJavaFXGriffonView {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull
    private SampleController controller;

    @FXML private void myLabel;

    @Override
    public void initUI() {
        VBox content = loadFromFXML();
        myLabel.setText("random text");
        connectActions(content, controller);
        connectMessageSource(content);
        // add content to SceneGraph ...
    }
}
griffon-app/resources/com/acme/sample.fxml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<?import javafx.scene.control.Button?>
<?import javafx.scene.control.Label?>
<?import javafx.scene.control.VBox?>
<?import griffon.javafx.support.JavaFXUtils?>
<VBox xmlns:fx="http://javafx.com/fxml/1" xmlns="http://javafx.com/javafx/8"
      fx:controller="com.acme.SampleView">
    <Label fx:id="myLabel"/>
    <Button JavaFXUtils.griffonActionId="click"/>
    <!--
        As an alternative you may define the Button like this too
        <Button fx:id="clickActionTarget"/>
    -->
</VBox>

There may be cases where you would still like to use the standar FXML event handlers, for exmaple where an event handler is UI specific such a focus handler or a scroll handler. In this case you would define the event handler as a public method on the View class.

8.4.3. Binding Support

Collections

CollectionBindings class provides binding factories on ObservableList/ObservableSet/ObservableMap

  • Join source observable collection to StringBinding.

  • Calculate min, max, average, and sum on source observable collection.

Filtering

FilteringBindings class provides filtering capabilities on ObservableList/ObservableSet/ObservableMap

  • Filter ObservableList/ObservableSet/ObservableMap and find first match, creating a ObjectBinding.

  • Filter ObservableList/ObservableSet/ObservableMap then map and find first match to X; where X may be a wrapper type, String or a type R.

  • Map elements of ObservableList/ObservableSet/ObservableMap to X then filter and find first match; where X may be a wrapper type, String or a type R.

Matching

MatchingBindings class provides matching capabilities on ObservableList/ObservableSet/ObservableMap

  • Apply allMatch, anyMatch, and noneMatch predicates.

Mapping

MappingBindings class provides lots of useful binding and property factories

  • Convert ObservableValue<X> to is corresponding XBinding.

  • Convert ObservableXValue to ObjectBinding<X>.

Reducing

ReducingBindings class provides reduce capabilities on ObservableList/ObservableSet/ObservableMap

  • Reduce ObservableList/ObservableSet/ObservableMap to ObjectBinding.

  • Reduce ObservableList/ObservableSet/ObservableMap then map to X; where X may be a wrapper type, String or a type R.

  • Map elements of ObservableList/ObservableSet/ObservableMap to X then reduce; where X may be a wrapper type, String or a type R.

UI Thread Specific

It’s very important to obey the basic rules of UI programming in the Java platform. Basically everything related to UI must be performed inside the UI thread. Everything that’s not UI related must be executed outside the UI thread. Griffon provides the means to wrap ObservableList, ObservableSet, and ObservableMap with versions that guarantee to notify its listeners inside the UI thread. This lets you write the following code in a View artifact:

import griffon.javafx.collections.GriffonFXCollections;
...

ObservableList<String> items = model.getItems();
ObservableList<String> uiItems = GriffonFXCollections.uiThreadAwareObservableList(items);
listView.setItems(uiItems);

Now every time the items list that belongs to the Model gets updated so will be the listView widget with the guarantee that it doesn’t matter which thread pushes the original changes the listView will be updated inside the UI thread.

You may also create UI thread aware versions of ChangeListener, InvalidationListener, ListChangeListener, SetChangeListener, MapChangeListener, all combinations of Property<X> and their specializations, XProperty; where X stands for Boolean, Integer, Long, Float, Double, String, Map, List, Set. The class UIThreadAwareBindings provides the means to create these type of bindings.

8.5. Lanterna Specific

Lanterna is a Java library allowing you to easily write semi-graphical user interfaces in a text-only environment, very similar to the C library curses, but with more functionality. Lanterna supports xterm compatible terminals and terminal emulators such as konsole, gnome-terminal, putty, xterm and many more. One of the main benefits of lanterna is that it’s not dependent on any native library, but runs 100% in pure Java.

Refer to the list of nodes which become available when the griffon-lanterna-groovy-2.12.0.jar is added as a dependency.

8.6. Pivot Specific

Apache Pivot is an open-source platform for building installable Internet applications (IIAs). It combines the enhanced productivity and usability features of a modern user interface toolkit with the robustness of the Java platform.

Pivot has a deep listener hierarchy as opposed to the simple one found in Swing. This listener hierarchy does not follow the conventions set forth by the JavaBeans Conventions, thus making it difficult to extrapolate synthetic properties based on event methods when using Groovy builders, as happens with Swing classes. However this plugin applies a convention for wiring up listeners. Take for example Button and ButtonPressListener; the following example shows how to wire up a buttonPressed event handler.

button('Click me!') {
    buttonPressListener {
        buttonPressed = { source -> println "You pressed on button ${source}!" }
    }
}

For each listener in the Pivot listener list, there’s a corresponding node matching its name. For each method of such listener interface, there’s a variable matching its name that may have a closure assigned to it. The closure must match the same arguments as the method.

Refer to the list of nodes which become available when the griffon-pivot-groovy-2.12.0.jar is added as a dependency.

9. Threading

Building a well-behaved multi-threaded desktop application has been a hard task for many years; however, it does not have to be that way anymore. The following sections explain the threading facilities supplied by the Griffon framework.

9.1. Synchronous Calls

Synchronous calls inside the UI thread are made by invoking the runInsideUISync method. This method results in the same behavior as calling SwingUtilities.invokeAndWait() when using Swing.


  
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package sample

import java.awt.event.ActionEvent
import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonController
import griffon.core.controller.ControllerAction
import griffon.inject.MVCMember
import javax.annotation.Nonnull

@griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonController)
class SampleController {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull SampleModel model

    @ControllerAction
    void work(evt = null) {
        // will be invoked outside of the UI thread by default
        def value = model.value
        // do some calculations
        runInsideUISync {
            // back inside the UI thread
            model.result = ...
        }
    }
}

9.2. Asynchronous Calls

Similarly to synchronous calls, asynchronous calls inside the UI thread are made by invoking the runInsideUIAsync method. This method results in the same behavior as calling SwingUtilities.invokeLater() when using Swing.


  
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package sample

import java.awt.event.ActionEvent
import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonController
import griffon.core.controller.ControllerAction
import griffon.inject.MVCMember
import javax.annotation.Nonnull

@griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonController)
class SampleController {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull SampleModel model

    @ControllerAction
    void work(evt = null) {
        // will be invoked outside of the UI thread by default
        def value = model.value
        // do some calculations
        runInsideUIAsync {
            // back inside the UI Thread
            model.result = ...
        }
    }
}

9.3. Outside Calls

Making sure a block of code is executed outside the UI thread is accomplished by invoking the runOutsideUI method. This method is smart enough to figure out if the unit of work is already outside of the UI thread; otherwise it instructs the Griffon runtime to run the unit in a different thread. This is usually performed by a helper java.util.concurrent.ExecutorService.


  
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package sample

import java.awt.event.ActionEvent
import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonController
import griffon.core.controller.ControllerAction
import griffon.inject.MVCMember
import javax.annotation.Nonnull

@griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonController)
class SampleController {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull SampleModel model

    @ControllerAction
    void work(evt = null) {
        // will be invoked outside of the UI thread by default
        def value = model.value
        // do some calculations
        runInsideUIAsync {
            // back inside the UI thread
            model.result = ...
            runOutsideUI {
                // do more calculations
            }
        }
    }
}

9.4. Background Calls

Making sure a block of code is executed on a background thread is accomplished by invoking the runOutsideUIAsync method. This method always runs the code on a bakcground thread regardless of the caller / invoking thread. This is usually performed by a helper java.util.concurrent.ExecutorService.


  
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package sample

import java.awt.event.ActionEvent
import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonController
import griffon.core.controller.ControllerAction
import griffon.inject.MVCMember
import javax.annotation.Nonnull

@griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonController)
class SampleController {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull SampleModel model

    @ControllerAction
    void work(evt = null) {
        // will be invoked outside of the UI thread by default
        def value = model.value
        // do some calculations
        runInsideUIAsync {
            // back inside the UI thread
            model.result = ...
            runOutsideUIAsync {
                // do more calculations
            }
        }
    }
}

9.5. Additional Threading Methods

There are two additional methods that complement the generic threading facilities which Griffon exposes to the application and its artifacts:

isUIThread()

Returns true if the current thread is the UI thread, false otherwise. Functionally equivalent to calling SwingUtilities.isEventDispatchThread() in Swing.

runFuture(ExecutorService s, Callable c)

schedules a callable on the target ExecutorService. The executor service can be left unspecified; if so, a default Thread pool executor will be used.

9.6. The @Threading Annotation

The @griffon.transform.Threading annotation can be used to alter the default behavior of executing a controller action outside of the UI thread. There are 4 possible values that can be specified for this annotation:

INSIDE_UITHREAD_SYNC

Executes the code in a synchronous call inside the UI thread. Equivalent to wrapping the code with runInsideUISync.
INSIDE_UITHREAD_ASYNC

Executes the code in an asynchronous call inside the UI thread. Equivalent to wrapping the code with runInsideUIAsync.
OUTSIDE_UITHREAD

Executes the code outside of the UI thread. Equivalent to wrapping the code with runOutsideUI.
OUTSIDE_UITHREAD_ASYNC

Executes the code on a background thread regardless of the invoking thread. Equivalent to wrapping the code with runOutsideUIAsync.
SKIP

Executes the code in the same thread as the invoker, whatever it may be.

This annotation can be used as an AST transformation on any other component that’s not a controller. Any component may gain the ability to execute code in a particular thread, following the selected UI toolkit’s execution rules.

Here’s an example of a custom component that’s able to call its methods on different threads:


  
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package sample

import griffon.transform.Threading

class Sample {
    @Threading
    void doStuff() {
        // executed outside of the UI thread
    }

    @Threading(Threading.Policy.INSIDE_UITHREAD_SYNC)
    void moreStuff() {
        // executed synchronously inside the UI thread
    }
}

You must annotate a method with @griffon.transform.Threading. Annotated methods must conform to these rules:

9.7. The @ThreadingAware AST Transformation

Any component may gain the ability to execute code in a particular thread, following the selected UI toolkit’s execution rules. It injects the behavior of ThreadingHandler into the annotated class.

This feature is just a shortcut to avoid obtaining the UIThreadManager instance by objects which do not hold a reference to it.

Here’s an example of a custom component which is able to call its methods in different threads:


  
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package sample

@griffon.transform.ThreadingAware
class Sample {
    void doStuff() {
        runOutsideUI {
            // executed outside of the UI thread
        }
    }

    void moreStuff() {
        runInsideUIAsync {
            // executed asynchronously inside the UI thread
        }
    }
}

10. Events

Applications have the ability to publish events from time to time to communicate that something of interest has happened at runtime. Events will be triggered by the application during each of its life cycle phases, and also when MVC groups are created and destroyed.

All application event handlers are guaranteed to be called in the same thread that originated the event.

10.1. Publishing Events

Any instance that obtains a reference to an EventRouter can publish events. GriffonApplication exposes the application wide EventRouter via a read-only property. You may use Dependency Injection to inject an EventRouter to any class too.

Publishing an event can be done synchronously on the current thread, asynchronously to the current thread, or asynchronously relative to the UI thread. For example, the following snippet will trigger an event that will be handled in the same thread, which could be the UI thread itself:

application.eventRouter.publishEvent('MyEventName', ['arg0', 'arg1'])

Whereas the following snippet guarantees that all event handlers that are interested in an event of type MyEventName will be called outside of the UI thread:

application.eventRouter.publishEventOutsideUI('MyEventName', ['arg0', 'arg1'])

Finally, if you’d like event notification to be handled in a thread that is not the current one (regardless if the current one is the UI thread or not), then use the following method:

application.eventRouter.publishEventAsync('MyEventName', ['arg0', 'arg1'])

Alternatively, you may specify an instance of a subclass of Event as the sole argument to any of these methods. The event instance will be the single argument sent to the event handlers when the event methods are invoked in this way.

There may be times when event publishing must be stopped for a while. If that’s the case, then you can instruct the application to stop delivering events by invoking the following code:

application.eventRouter.eventPublishingEnabled = false

Any events sent through the application’s event bus will be discarded after that call; there’s no way to get them back or replay them. When it’s time to enable the event bus again, simply call

application.eventRouter.eventPublishingEnabled = true

10.2. Consuming events

Any artifact or class that abides by the following conventions can be registered as an application listener. These conventions are:

  • it is a Map, a RunnableWithArgs or an Object.

  • in the case of a Map, each key maps to <EventName>, the value must be a RunnableWithArgs.

  • in the case of object, public methods whose name matches on<EventName> will be used as event handlers.

  • Objects and maps can be registered/unregistered by calling addApplicationListener()/removeApplicationListener() on the EventRouter instance.

  • RunnableWithArgs event handlers must be registered with an overloaded version of addApplicationListener()/removeApplicationListener() that takes <EventName> as the first parameter, and the runnable itself as the second parameter.

There is a global, per-application event handler that can be registered. If you want to take advantage of this feature, you must define a class that implements the EventHandler interface. This class must be registered with a Module. Lastly, both Controller and Service instances are automatically registered as application event listeners.

10.2.1. Examples

These are some examples of event handlers.

Display a message right before default MVC groups are instantiated:

src/main/com/acme/ApplicationEventHandler.groovy

  
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package com.acme

import griffon.core.GriffonApplication
import griffon.core.event.EventHandler

class ApplicationEventHandler implements EventHandler {
    void onBootstrapEnd(GriffonApplication application) {
        println """
            Application configuration has finished loading.
            MVC Groups will be initialized now.
        """.stripIndent(12)
    }
}
src/main/groovy/com/acme/ApplicationModule.groovy

  
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package com.acme

import griffon.core.event.EventHandler
import griffon.core.injection.Module
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.injection.AbstractModule
import org.kordamp.jipsy.ServiceProviderFor

@ServiceProviderFor(Module)
class ApplicationModule extends AbstractModule {
    @Override
    protected void doConfigure() {
        bind(EventHandler)
            .to(ApplicationEventHandler)
            .asSingleton()
    }
}

Print the name of the application plus a short message when the application is about to shut down:

griffon-app/controller/MyController.groovy

  
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package com.acme

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonController

@griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonController)
class MyController {
    void onShutdownStart(application)
        println "${application.configuration['application.title']} is shutting down"
    }
}

Print a message every time the event "Foo" is published:

griffon-app/controller/MyController.groovy

  
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package com.acme

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonController
import griffon.core.controller.ControllerAction

@griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonController)
class MyController {
    void mvcGroupInit(Map<String, Object> args) {
        application.eventRouter.addEventListener([
            Foo: { println 'got foo!' } as RunnableWithArgs
        ])
    }

    @ControllerAction
    void fooAction() {
        // do something
        application.eventRouter.publishEvent('Foo')
    }
}

An alternative to the previous example using a RunnableWithArgs event handler:

griffon-app/controller/MyController.groovy

  
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package com.acme

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonController
import griffon.core.controller.ControllerAction

@griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonController)
class MyController {
    void mvcGroupInit(Map<String, Object> args) {
        application.eventRouter.addEventListener('Foo',
            { println 'got foo!' } as RunnableWithArgs
        ])
    }

    @ControllerAction
    void fooAction() {
        // do something
        application.eventRouter.publishEvent('Foo')
    }
}

An alternative to the previous example using a custom event class:

griffon-app/controller/MyController.groovy

  
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package com.acme

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import griffon.core.controller.ControllerAction

@griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonController)
class MyController {
    void mvcGroupInit(Map<String, Object> args) {
        application.eventRouter.addListener(Foo) { e -> assert e instanceof Foo }
    }

    @ControllerAction
    void fooAction() {
        // do something
        application.eventRouter.publishEvent(new MyController.Foo(this))
    }

    static class Foo extends griffon.core.Event {
        Foo(Object source) { super(source) }
    }
}

10.3. Application Events

The following events will be triggered by the application when dealing with artifacts:

NewInstance(Class klass, Object instance)

When a new artifact is created.
DestroyInstance(Class klass, Object instance)

When an artifact instance is destroyed.
LoadAddonsStart(GriffonApplication application)

Before any addons are initialized, during the Initialize phase.
LoadAddonsEnd(GriffonApplication application, Map<String, GriffonAddon> addons)

After all addons have been initialized, during the Initialize phase.
LoadAddonStart(String name, GriffonAddon addon, GriffonApplication application)

Before an addon is initialized, during the Initialize phase.
LoadAddonEnd(String name, GriffonAddon addon, GriffonApplication application)

After an addon has been initialized, during the Initialize phase.

These events will be triggered when dealing with MVC groups:

InitializeMVCGroup(MVCGroupConfiguration configuration, MVCGroup group)

When a new MVC group is initialized.
CreateMVCGroup(MVCGroup group)

When a new MVC group is created.
DestroyMVCGroup(MVCGroup group)

When an MVC group is destroyed.

10.4. Lifecycle Events

The following events will be triggered by the application during each one of its phases:

BootstrapStart(GriffonApplication application)

After logging configuration has been setup, during the Initialize phase.
BootstrapEnd(GriffonApplication application)

At the end of the Initialize phase.
StartupStart(GriffonApplication application)

At the beginning of the Startup phase.
StartupEnd(GriffonApplication application)

At the end of the Startup phase.
ReadyStart(GriffonApplication application)

At the beginning of the Ready phase.
ReadyEnd(GriffonApplication application)

At the end of the ready phase.
ShutdownRequested(GriffonApplication application)

Before the Shutdown begins.
ShutdownAborted(GriffonApplication application)

If a ShutdownHandler prevented the application from entering the Shutdown phase.
ShutdownStart(GriffonApplication application)

At the beginning of the Shutdown phase.

10.5. Miscellaneous Events

These events will be triggered when a specific condition is reached:

WindowShown(String name, W window)

Triggered by the WindowManager when a window is shown.
WindowHidden(String name, W window)

Triggered by the WindowManager when a window is hidden.
WindowAttached(String name, W window)

Triggered by the WindowManager when a window is attached to it.
WindowDetached(String name, W window)

Triggered by the WindowManager when a window is detached from it.

10.6. The @EventPublisher AST Transformation

Any component may gain the ability to publish events through an EventRouter instance. You only need annotate the class with @griffon.transform.EventPublisher and it will automatically gain all methods exposed by EventPublisher.

The following example shows a trivial usage of this feature:


  
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@griffon.transform.EventPublisher
class Publisher {
   void doit(String name) {
      publishEvent('arg', [name])
   }

   void doit() {
      publishEvent('empty')
   }
}

The application’s event router will be used by default. If you’d like your custom event publisher to use a private EventRouter, then you must define a binding for it using a specific name, like this:


  
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import griffon.core.injection.Module
import griffon.core.event.EventRouter
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import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.injection.AbstractModule
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.event.DefaultEventRouter

import javax.inject.Named
import static griffon.util.AnnotationUtils.named

@ServiceProviderFor(Module)
@Named
class ApplicationModule extends AbstractModule {
    @Override
    protected void doConfigure() {
        bind(EventRouter)
            .withClassifier(named('my-private-event-router'))
            .to(DefaultEventRouter)
            .asSingleton()
    }
}

Next, specify the named EventRouter as a parameter on the @griffon.transform.EventPublisher transformation:


  
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@griffon.transform.EventPublisher('my-private-event-router')
class Publisher {
   void doit(String name) {
      publishEvent('arg', [name])
   }

   void doit() {
      publishEvent('empty')
   }
}

11. Internationalization

This chapter describes the Internationalization (I18N) features available to all applications.

11.1. MessageSource

Applications have the ability to resolve internationalizable messages by leveraging the behavior exposed by MessageSource. This interface exposes the following methods:

  • String getMessage(String key)

  • String getMessage(String key, Locale locale)

  • String getMessage(String key, Object[] args)

  • String getMessage(String key, Object[] args, Locale locale)

  • String getMessage(String key, List args)

  • String getMessage(String key, List args, Locale locale)

  • String getMessage(String key, Map args)

  • String getMessage(String key, Map args, Locale locale)

  • Object resolveMessageValue(String key, Locale locale)

The first set throws a NoSuchMessageException if a message could not be resolved given the key sent as argument. The following methods take an additional defaultMessage parameter that may be used if no configured message is found. If this optional parameter is null, then the key is used as the message; in other words, these methods never throw NoSuchMessageException nor return null unless the passed in key is null.

  • String getMessage(String key, String defaultMessage)

  • String getMessage(String key, Locale locale, String defaultMessage)

  • String getMessage(String key, Object[] args, String defaultMessage)

  • String getMessage(String key, Object[] args, Locale locale, String defaultMessage)

  • String getMessage(String key, List args, String defaultMessage)

  • String getMessage(String key, List args, Locale locale, String defaultMessage)

  • String getMessage(String key, Map args, String defaultMessage)

  • String getMessage(String key, Map args, Locale locale, String defaultMessage)

The simplest way to resolve a message is as follows:

getApplication().getMessageSource().getMessage('some.key')

The set of methods that take a List as arguments are meant to be used from Groovy code, whereas those that take an Object[] are meant for Java code; this leads to better idiomatic code, as the following examples reveal:

getApplication().getMessageSource()
                .getMessage('groovy.message', ['apples', 'bananas'])
getApplication().getMessageSource()
                .getMessage("java.message", new Object[]{"unicorns", "rainbows"});

Of course you may also use List versions in Java, like this:

getApplication().getMessageSource()
                .getMessage("hybrid.message", Arrays.asList("bells", "whistles"));

11.1.1. Message Formats

There are three types of message formats supported by default. Additional formats may be supported if the right plugins are installed. Resources may be configured using either properties files or Groovy scripts; please refer to the configuration section.

Standard Format

The first set of message formats are those supported by the JDK’s MessageFormat facilities. These formats work with all versions of the getMessage() method that take a List or an Object[] as arguments. Examples follow. First, the messages may be stored in a properties file:


  
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healthy.proverb = An {0} a day keeps the {1} away
yoda.says = {0} is the path to the dark side. {0} leads to {1}. {1} leads to {2}. {2} leads to suffering.

Then the code used to resolve them is:

String quote = getApplication().getMessageSource()
                               .getMessage('healthy.proverb', ['apple', 'doctor'])
assert quote == 'An apple a day keeps the doctor away'
String quote = getApplication().getMessageSource()
                               .getMessage("yoday.says", new Object[]{"Fear", "Anger", "Hate"});
assertEquals(quote, "Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to Anger. Anger leads to Hate. Hate leads to suffering");
Map Format

The following format is non-standard (i.e, not supported by MessageFormat) and can only be resolved by Griffon. This format uses symbols instead of numbers as placeholders for arguments. Thus the previous messages can be rewritten as follows:


  
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healthy.proverb = An {:fruit} a day keeps the {:occupation} away
yoda.says = {:foo} is the path to the dark side. {:foo} leads to {:bar}. {:bar} leads to {:foobar}. {:foobar} leads to suffering.

Which may be resolved in this manner:

String quote = getApplication().getMessageSource()
                               .getMessage('healthy.proverb', [fruit: 'apple', occupation: 'doctor'])
assert quote == 'An apple a day keeps the doctor away
import static griffon.util.CollectionUtils.map;
String quote = getApplication().getMessageSource()
                               .getMessage("yoday.says", map().e("foo", "Fear")
                                                              .e("bar", "Anger")
                                                              .e("foobar","Hate"));
assertEquals(quote, "Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to Anger. Anger leads to Hate. Hate leads to suffering");
Groovy format

Groovy scripts have one advantage over properties files: you can embed custom logic that may conditionally resolve a message based on environmental values or generate a message on the fly. In order to accomplish this feat, messages must be defined as closures and must return a String value; if they do not, then their return value will be translated to a String. The following message uses the value of the current running environment to determine the text of a warning to be displayed on a label:


  
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import griffon.util.Environment

warning.label = { args ->
    if (Environment.current == Environment.PRODUCTION) {
        "The application has encountered an error: $args"
    } else {
        "Somebody sent us a bomb! $args"
    }
}

11.1.2. Reference Keys

There may be times where you would want to have 2 keys reference the same value, as if one key were an alias for the other. MessageSource supports the notion of referenced keys for this matter. In order to achieve this, the value of the alias key must define the aliased key with a special format, for example


  
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famous.quote = This is {0}!
hello.world = @[famous.quote]

Resolving those keys results in

assert getApplication()
           .getMessageSource()
           .getMessage('famous.quote', ['Sparta']) == 'This is Sparta!'

assert getApplication()
          .getMessageSource()
          .getMessage('hello.world', ['Griffon']) == 'This is Griffon!'

11.2. MessageSource Configuration

Messages may be configured in either properties files or Groovy scripts. Groovy scripts have precedence over properties files should there be two files that match the same basename. The default configured basename is “messages”, thus the application will search for the following resources in the classpath.

  • messages.properties

  • messages.groovy

Of course Groovy scripts are only enabled if you add a dependency to the griffon-groovy module to your project. The default basename may be changed to some other value, or additional basenames may be specified too; it’s just a matter of configuring a Module override:


  
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5
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7
8
9
10
11
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@ServiceProviderFor(Module.class)
@Named("application")
@DependsOn("core")
public class ApplicationModule extends AbstractModule {
    @Override
    protected void doConfigure() {
        bind(MessageSource.class)
            .withClassifier(named("applicationMessageSource"))
            .toProvider(new MessageSourceProvider("custom_basename"))
            .asSingleton();
    }
}

Both properties files and Groovy scripts are subject to a locale-aware loading mechanism described next. For a Locale set to de_CH_Basel the following resources will be searched for and loaded:

  • messages.properties

  • messages.groovy

  • messages_de.properties

  • messages_de.groovy

  • messages_de_CH.properties

  • messages_de_CH.groovy

  • messages_de_CH_Basel.properties

  • messages_de_CH_Basel.groovy

Properties files and Groovy scripts used for internationalization purposes are usually placed under griffon-app/i18n. The default messages.properties file is placed in this directory upon creating an application using the standard project templates.

11.3. The @MessageSourceAware AST Transformation

Any component may gain the ability to resolve messages through a MessageSource instance. You only need annotate the class with @griffon.transform.MessageSourceAware and it will automatically gain all methods exposed by MessageSource.

This feature is just a shortcut to avoid reaching for the application instance from objects that do not hold a reference to it.

Here’s an example of a custom bean that’s able to resolve messages:


  
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3
4


  
@griffon.transform.MessageSourceAware
class Bean {
    String name
}

This class can be used in the following way:


  
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5
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7
8


  
class SampleService {
    @Inject Bean bean

    String lookupValues(String arg) {
        bean.name = arg
        bean.getMessage('some.message.key', [bean.name])
    }
}

The application’s MessageSource will be injected to annotated beans if no name is specified as an argument to MessageSourceAware. You may define multiple MessageSource bindings as long as you qualify them with a distinct name, such as


  
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14
15
16


  
@ServiceProviderFor(Module.class)
@Named("application")
public class ApplicationModule extends AbstractModule {
    @Override
    protected void doConfigure() {
        bind(MessageSource.class)
            .withClassifier(AnnotationUtils.named("foo"))
            .toProvider(new MessageSourceProvider("foofile"))
            .asSingleton();

        bind(MessageSource.class)
            .withClassifier(AnnotationUtils.named("bar"))
            .toProvider(new MessageSourceProvider("barfile"))
            .asSingleton();
    }
}

Then make use of any of these bindings like so:


  
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3
4


  
@griffon.transform.MessageSourceAware('foo')
class Bean {
    String name
}

12. Resource Management

This chapter describes resource management and injection features available to all applications.

12.1. Locating Classpath Resources

Resources can be loaded form the classpath using the standard mechanism provided by the Java runtime, that is, by asking a ClassLoader instance to load a resource URL or to obtain an InputStream that points to the resource.

But the code can get quite verbose. Take for example the following view code that locates a text file and displays it on a text component:

scrollPane {
    textArea(columns: 40, rows: 20,
        text: this.class.classLoader.getResource('someTextFile.txt').text)
}

In order to reduce visual clutter, and also to provide an abstraction over resource location, applications rely on ResourceHandler, which exposes the following contract:

  • URL getResourceAsURL(String name)

  • InputStream getResourceAsStream(String name)

  • List<URL> getResources(String name)

  • ClassLoader classloader()

Thus, the previous example can be rewritten in this way:

scrollPane {
    textArea(columns: 40, rows: 20,
        text: application.resourceHandler.getResourceAsURL('someTextFile.txt').text)
}

In the future, Griffon may switch to a modularized runtime. This abstraction will shield you from any problems when the underlying mechanism changes, such as picking the correct ClassLoader.

12.2. The @ResourcesAware AST Transformation

Any component may gain the ability to locate resources through a ResourceHandler instance. You need only annotate the class with @griffon.transform.ResourcesAware and it will automatically gain all methods exposed by ResourceHandler.

This feature is just a shortcut to avoid obtaining the application instance by objects which do not hold a reference to it.

Here’s an example of a custom bean which is able to locate resources:


  
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3
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@griffon.transform.ResourcesAware
class Bean {
    String name
}

This class can be used in the following way:


  
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8


  
class SampleService {
    @Inject Bean bean

    InputStream fetchResource(String arg) {
        bean.name = arg
        bean.getResourceAsStream(bean.name)
    }
}

12.3. ResourceResolver

Applications have the ability to resolve internationalizable messages by leveraging the behavior exposed by ResourceResolver. This interface exposes the following methods:

  • Object resolveResource(String key)

  • Object resolveResource(String key, Locale locale)

  • Object resolveResource(String key, Object[] args)

  • Object resolveResource(String key, Object[] args, Locale locale)

  • Object resolveResource(String key, List args)

  • Object resolveResource(String key, List args, Locale locale)

  • Object resolveResource(String key, Map args)

  • Object resolveResource(String key, Map args, Locale locale)

  • Object resolveResorceValue(String key, Locale locale)

The first set throws NoSuchResourceException if a message could not be resolved given the key sent as argument. The following methods take an additional defaultValue parameter which will be used if no configured resource is found. If this optional parameter were to be null, then the key is used as the literal value of the resource; in other words, these methods never throw NoSuchResourceException nor return null unless the passed-in key is null.

  • Object resolveResource(String key, Object defaultValue)

  • Object resolveResource(String key, Locale locale, Object defaultValue)

  • Object resolveResource(String key, Object[] args, Object defaultValue)

  • Object resolveResource(String key, Object[] args, Locale locale, Object defaultValue)

  • Object resolveResource(String key, List args, Object defaultValue)

  • Object resolveResource(String key, List args, Locale locale, Object defaultValue)

  • Object resolveResource(String key, Map args, Object defaultValue)

  • Object resolveResource(String key, Map args, Locale locale, Object defaultValue)

There is also another set of methods which convert the resource value using PropertyEditors:

  • <T> T resolveResourceConverted(String key, Class<T> type)

  • <T> T resolveResourceConverted(String key, Locale locale, Class<T> type)

  • <T> T resolveResourceConverted(String key, Object[] args, Class<T> type)

  • <T> T resolveResourceConverted(String key, Object[] args, Locale locale, Class<T> type)

  • <T> T resolveResourceConverted(String key, List args, Class<T> type)

  • <T> T resolveResourceConverted(String key, List args, Locale locale, Class<T> type)

  • <T> T resolveResourceConverted(String key, Map args, Class<T> type)

  • <T> T resolveResourceConverted(String key, Map args, Locale locale, Class<T> type)

  • <T> T resolveResorceValue(String key, Locale locale, Class<T> type)

with default value support too:

  • <T> T resolveResourceConverted(String key, Object defaultValue, Class<T> type)

  • <T> T resolveResourceConverted(String key, Locale locale, Object defaultValue, Class<T> type)

  • <T> T resolveResourceConverted(String key, Object[] args, Object defaultValue, Class<T> type)

  • <T> T resolveResourceConverted(String key, Object[] args, Locale locale, Object defaultValue, Class<T> type)

  • <T> T resolveResourceConverted(String key, List args, Object defaultValue, Class<T> type)

  • <T> T resolveResourceConverted(String key, List args, Locale locale, Object defaultValue, Class<T> type)

  • <T> T resolveResourceConverted(String key, Map args, Object defaultValue, Class<T> type)

  • <T> T resolveResourceConverted(String key, Map args, Locale locale, Object defaultValue, Class<T> type)

The simplest way to resolve a message is thus

getApplication().getResourceResolver().resolveResource('menu.icon')

The set of methods that take a List as arguments are meant to be used from Groovy code, whereas those that take an Object[] are meant for Java code; this leads to better idiomatic code, as the following examples show:

getApplication().getResourceResolver()
                .resolveResource('groovy.icon.resource', ['small']))
getApplication().getResourceResolver()
                .resolveResource("java.icon.resource", new Object[]{"large"});

Of course you may also use List versions in Java, like this:

getApplication().getResourceResolver()
                .resolveResource("hybrid.icon.resource", Arrays.asList("medium"));

12.3.1. Message Formats

There are three types of resource formats supported by default. Additional formats may be supported if the right plugins are installed. Resources may be configured using either properties files or Groovy scripts; please refer to the configuration section.

Standard Format

The first set of resource formats are those supported by the JDK’s MessageFormat facilities. These formats work with all versions of the resolveResource() method that take a List or an Object[] as arguments. Examples follow. First, the resource definitions stored in a properties file:


  
1


  
menu.icon = /img/icons/menu-{0}.png

Assuming there are three icon files stored at griffon-app/resources/img/icons whose filenames are menu-small.png, menu-medium.png and menu-large.png, a component may resolve any of them with

Object icon = getApplication().getResourceResolver()
                              .resolveResource('menu.icon', ['large'])
Map Format

The following format is non-standard (i.e, not supported by MessageFormat) and can only be resolved by Griffon. This format uses symbols instead of numbers as placeholders for arguments. Thus the previous messages can be rewritten as follows:


  
1


  
menu.icon = /img/icons/menu-{:size}.png

Which may be resolved in this manner:

Object icon = getApplication().getResourceResolver()
                              .resolveResource('menu.icon', [size: 'large'])
Groovy format

Groovy scripts have one advantage over properties files as you can embed custom logic that may conditionally resolve a resource based on environmental values or generate a message on the fly. In order to accomplish this, resources must be defined as closures. The following message uses the value of the current running environment to determine the text of a warning to be displayed on a label:


  
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5
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import java.awt.Rectangle

direct.instance = new Rectangle(10i, 20i, 30i, 40i)
computed.instance = { x, y, w, h ->
    new Rectangle(x, y, w, h)
}

12.3.2. Type Conversion

Note that the return value of resolveResource is marked as Object, but you’ll get a String from the first two formats. You’ll have to rely on property editors in order to transform the value into the correct type. Injected resources are automatically transformed to the expected type.

Here’s how it can be done:

import javax.swing.Icon
import java.beans.PropertyEditor
import griffon.core.editors.PropertyEditorResolver
...
Object iconValue = getApplication().getResourceResolver()
                                   .resolveResource('menu.icon', ['large'])
PropertyEditor propertyEditor = PropertyEditorResolver.findEditor(Icon)
propertyEditor.setAsText(String.valueOf(iconValue))
Icon icon = propertyEditor.getValue()

As an alternative you may call resolveResourceConverted instead.

12.3.3. Reference Keys

There may be times where you would want to have 2 keys reference the same value, as if one key were an alias for the other. ResourceResolver supports the notion of referenced keys for this matter. In order to achieve this, the value of the alias key must define the aliased key with a special format, for example:


  
1
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action.icon = /img/icons/action-{0}.png
hello.icon = @[action.icon]

Resolving those keys results in

assert getApplication()
           .getResourceResolver()
           .resolveResource('action.icon', ['copy']) == '/img/icons/action-copy.png'

assert getApplication()
           .getResourceResolver()
           .resolveResource('hello.icon', ['paste']) == '/img/icons/action-paste.png'

12.4. ResourceResolver Configuration

Resources may be configured in either properties files or Groovy scripts. Groovy scripts have precedence over properties files, should there be two files that match the same basename. The default configured basename is “resources”; thus the application will search for the following resources in the classpath.

  • resources.properties

  • resources.groovy

Of course, Groovy scripts are only enabled if you add a dependency to the griffon-groovy module to your project. The default basename may be changed to some other value, or additional basenames may be specified too; it’s just a matter of configuring a Module override:


  
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2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12


  
@ServiceProviderFor(Module.class)
@Named("application")
@DependsOn("core")
public class ApplicationModule extends AbstractModule {
    @Override
    protected void doConfigure() {
        bind(ResourceResolver.class)
            .withClassifier(named("applicationResourceResolver"))
            .toProvider(new ResourceResolverProvider("custom_basename"))
            .asSingleton();
    }
}

Both properties files and Groovy scripts are subject to a locale-aware loading mechanism described below. For a Locale set to de_CH_Basel, the following resources will be searched for and loaded:

  • resources.properties

  • resources.groovy

  • resources_de.properties

  • resources_de.groovy

  • resources_de_CH.properties

  • resources_de_CH.groovy

  • resources_de_CH_Basel.properties

  • resources_de_CH_Basel.groovy

Properties files and Groovy scripts used for internationalization purposes are usually placed under griffon-app/resources. The default resources.properties file is placed in this directory upon creating an application using the standard project templates.

12.5. The @ResourceResolverAware AST Transformation

Any component may gain the ability to resolve resources through a ResourceResolver instance. You need only annotate the class with @griffon.transform.ResourceResolverAware and it will automatically gain all methods exposed by ResourceResolver.

This feature is just a shortcut to retrieving the application instance by objects which do not hold a reference to it.

Here’s an example of a custom bean that’s able to resolve resources:


  
1
2
3
4


  
@griffon.transform.ResourceResolverAware
class Bean {
    String name
}

This class can be used in the following way:


  
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3
4
5
6
7
8


  
class SampleService {
    @Inject Bean bean

    String lookupValues(String arg) {
        bean.name = arg
        bean.resolveResource('some.resource.key', [bean.name])
    }
}

The application’s ResourceResolver will be injected to annotated beans if no name is specified as an argument to ResourceResolverAware. You may define multiple ResourceResolver bindings as long as you qualify them with a distinct name, such as


  
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3
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7
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9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16


  
@ServiceProviderFor(Module.class)
@Named("application")
public class ApplicationModule extends AbstractModule {
    @Override
    protected void doConfigure() {
        bind(ResourceResolver.class)
            .withClassifier(AnnotationUtils.named("foo"))
            .toProvider(new ResourceResolverProvider("foofile"))
            .asSingleton();

        bind(ResourceResolver.class)
            .withClassifier(AnnotationUtils.named("bar"))
            .toProvider(new ResourceResolverProvider("barfile"))
            .asSingleton();
    }
}

Then make use of any of these bindings, like so:


  
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3
4


  
@griffon.transform.ResourceResolverAware('foo')
class Bean {
    String name
}

12.6. Resource Injection

Resources may be automatically injected into any instance created via the application’s Injector. Injection points must be annotated with @griffon.core.resources.InjectedResource which can be set on properties (Groovy), fields (Java and Groovy) and setter methods (Java and Groovy). @InjectedResource is a perfect companion to models, as the following example shows:

griffon-app/resources/resources.properties

  
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sample.SampleModel.griffonLogo = /griffon-logo-48x48.png
logo = /griffon-logo-{0}x{0}.png
griffon-app/models/sample/SampleModel.groovy

  
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package sample

import griffon.core.resources.InjectedResource
import javax.swing.Icon
import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonModel

@griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonModel)
class SampleModel {
    @InjectedResource Icon griffonLogo
    @InjectedResource(key='logo', args=['16']) Icon smallGriffonLogo
    @InjectedResource(key='logo', args=['64']) Icon largeGriffonLogo
}

@InjectedResource assumes a naming convention in order to determine the resource key to use. These are the rules applied by the default by ResourcesInjector:

  • If a value is specified for the key argument, then use it as is.

  • otherwise, construct a key based in the field name prefixed with the full qualified class name of the field’s owner.

You may also specify a default value if the resource definition is not found; however, be aware that this value must be set as a String, thus guaranteeing a type conversion. An optional format value may be specified as a hint to the PropertyEditor used during value conversion, for example:

griffon-app/models/sample/SampleModel.groovy

  
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package sample

import griffon.core.resources.InjectedResource
import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonModel

@griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonModel)
class SampleModel {
    @InjectedResource(defaultValue='10.04.2013 2:30 PM', format='dd.MM.yyyy h:mm a')
    Date date
}

12.7. Property Editors

Resource injection makes use of the PropertyEditor mechanism provided by the java.beans package. The default ResourcesInjector queries PropertyEditorManager whenever a resource value must be transformed to a target type.

PropertyEditorManager provides methods for registering custom PropertyEditors; it also follows a class naming convention to load PropertyEditors should a custom one not be programmatically registered. Griffon applications will automatically load and register PropertyEditors from the following classpath resource: /META-INF/services/java.beans.PropertyEditor. Each line follows the format

target.type = full.qualified.classname

The following table enumerates the default PropertyEditors loaded by Griffon at startup.

Table 6. Core PropertyEditor mappings
Type Editor Class Format

java.lang.String

griffon.core.editors.StringPropertyEditor

 

java.io.File

griffon.core.editors.FilePropertyEditor

java.net.URL

griffon.core.editors.URLPropertyEditor

java.net.URI

griffon.core.editors.URIPropertyEditor

java.math.BigDecimal

griffon.core.editors.BigDecimalPropertyEditor

'currency', 'percent'

java.math.BigInteger

griffon.core.editors.BigIntegerPropertyEditor

'currency', 'percent'

java.lang.Boolean

griffon.core.editors.BooleanPropertyEditor

'boolean', 'query', 'switch'

java.lang.Byte

griffon.core.editors.BytePropertyEditor

'currency', 'percent'

java.lang.Short

griffon.core.editors.ShortPropertyEditor

'currency', 'percent'

java.lang.Integer

griffon.core.editors.IntegerPropertyEditor

'currency', 'percent'

java.lang.Long

griffon.core.editors.LongPropertyEditor

'currency', 'percent'

java.lang.Float

griffon.core.editors.FloatPropertyEditor

'currency', 'percent'

java.lang.Double

griffon.core.editors.DoublePropertyEditor

'currency', 'percent'

java.util.Calendar

griffon.core.editors.CalendarPropertyEditor

java.util.Date

griffon.core.editors.DatePropertyEditor

java.util.Locale

griffon.core.editors.LocalePropertyEditor

<language>[_<country>[_<variant>]]

Where the following apply:

  • 'currency' and 'percent' are literal values.

  • 'boolean' accepts true and false as values.

  • 'query' accepts yes and no as values.

  • 'switch' accepts on and off as values.

Core UI Toolkit dependencies, such as griffon-swing, griffon-javafx, and griffon-pivot deliver additional PropertyEditors. The following tables summarize these additions:

Table 7. Swing PropertyEditor mappings
Type Editor Class Format

java.awt.Color

 griffon.swing.editors.ColorPropertyEditor

#RGB ; #RGBA ; #RRGGBB; #RRGGBBAA ; Color constant

 java.awt.Dimension

 griffon.swing.editors.DimensionPropertyEditor

width, height

 java.awt.Font

griffon.swing.editors.FontPropertyEditor

family-style-size

 java.awt.GradientPaint

 griffon.swing.editors.GradientPaintPropertyEditor

x1, y1, #RGB, x2, y2, #RGB, CYCLIC

 java.awt.Image

 griffon.swing.editors.ImagePropertyEditor

path/to/image_file

 java.awt.Insets

 griffon.swing.editors.InsetsPropertyEditor

top, left, bottom, right

 java.awt.LinearGradientPaint

 griffon.swing.editors.LinearGradientPaintPropertyEditor

xy, y1, x2, x2, [0.0, 1.0], [#RGB, #RGB], REPEAT

 java.awt.Point

 griffon.swing.editors.PointPropertyEditor

x, y

 java.awt.Polygon

 griffon.swing.editors.PolygonPropertyEditor

x1, y1, x2, y2, …​, xn, yn

 java.awt.RadialGradientPaint

 griffon.swing.editors.RadialGradientPaintPropertyEditor

xy, y1, r, fx, fy, [0.0, 1.0], [#RGB, #RGB], REPEAT

 java.awt.Rectangle

 griffon.swing.editors.RectanglePropertyEditor

x, y, width, height

 java.awt.geom.Point2D

 griffon.swing.editors.Point2DPropertyEditor

x, y

 java.awt.geom.Rectangle2D

 griffon.swing.editors.Rectangle2DPropertyEditor

x, y, width, height

 java.awt.image.BufferedImage

 griffon.swing.editors.BufferedImagePropertyEditor

path/to/image_file

 javax.swing.Icon

griffon.swing.editors.IconPropertyEditor

path/to/image_file

Where the following apply:

  • R, G, B and A represent an hexadecimal number.

  • CYCLIC may be true or false.

  • REPEAT must be one of MultipleGradientPaint.CycleMethod.

  • GradientPaint supports another format: x1, y1 | x2, y2, | #RGB, #RGB | CYCLIC

  • Color supports all color constants defined by griffon.swing.support.Colors.

  • All color formats are supported by gradient editors.

The following styles are supported by FontPropertyEditor:

  • BOLD

  • ITALIC

  • BOLDITALIC

  • PLAIN

Table 8. JavaFX PropertyEditor mappings
Type Editor Class Format

 javafx.geometry.Dimension2D

 griffon.javafx.editors.Dimension2DPropertyEditor

width, height

javafx.geometry.Insets

 griffon.javafx.editors.InsetsPropertyEditor

top, left, bottom, right

javafx.geometry.Point2D

griffon.javafx.editors.Point2DPropertyEditor

x, y

javafx.geometry.Rectangle2D

 griffon.javafx.editors.Rectangle2DPropertyEditor

x, y , width, height

javafx.scene.image.Image

 griffon.javafx.editors.ImagePropertyEditor

path/to/image_file

 javafx.scene.paint.Color

 griffon.javafx.editors.ColorPropertyEditor

#RGB ; #RGBA ; #RRGGBB; #RRGGBBAA ; Color constant

 javafx.scene.paint.LinearGradient

 griffon.javafx.editors.LinearGradientPropertyEditor

LinearGradient.parse()

javafx.scene.paint.RadialGradient

 griffon.javafx.editors.RadialGradientPropertyEditor

RadialGradient.parse()

 javafx.scene.paint.Paint

 griffon.javafx.editors.PaintPropertyEditor

Where the following applies:

  • R, G, B and A represent an hexadecimal number.

Table 9. Pivot PropertyEditor mappings
Type Editor Class Format

java.awt.Color

 griffon.pivot.editors.ColorPropertyEditor

#RGB ; #RGBA ; #RRGGBB; #RRGGBBAA ; Color constant

 org.apache.pivot.wtk.Bounds

 griffon.pivot.editors.BoundsPropertyEditor

x, y , width, height

org.apache.pivot.wtk.Dimensions

 griffon.pivot.editors.DimensionsPropertyEditor

width, height

org.apache.pivot.wtk.Insets

 griffon.pivot.editors.InsetsPropertyEditor

top, left, right, bottom

 org.apache.pivot.wtk.Point

griffon.pivot.editors.PointPropertyEditor

x, y

Where the following apply:

  • R, G, B and A represent an hexadecimal number.

  • Color supports all color constants defined by griffon.pivot.support.Colors.

Since Griffon 2.4.0, there’s a core-java8 package that delivers JDK8 specific property editors:

Table 10. JDK8 PropertyEditor mappings
Type Editor Class Format

 java.time.LocalDate

griffon.core.editors.LocalDatePropertyEditor

 java.time.LocalDateTime

 griffon.core.editors.LocalDateTimePropertyEditor

 java.time.LocalTime

 griffon.core.editors.LocalTimePropertyEditor

 java.util.Calendar

 griffon.core.editors.ExtendedCalendarPropertyEditor

 java.util.Date

 griffon.core.editors.ExtendedDatePropertyEditor

These versions of Calendar and Date property editors accept all formats as the previous core editors, while also being able to transform values from the java.time package.

13. Addons

Addons allow plugin authors to perform the following tasks:

Addons are automatically registered as ShutdownHandlers with the application instance. They are also registered as event handlers with the application’s EventRouter.

Addons must be registered with a Module in order to be discovered by the runtime. Here’s a simple example of a custom Addon that prints out the name of an MVCGroup when said group is initialized:


  
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package com.acme;

import griffon.core.mvc.MVCGroup;
import griffon.core.mvc.MVCGroupConfiguration;
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.addon.AbstractGriffonAddon;

import javax.annotation.Nonnull;
import javax.inject.Named;

@Named("inspector")
public class InspectorAddon extends AbstractGriffonAddon {
    public void onInitializeMVCGroup(@Nonnull MVCGroupConfiguration configuration, @Nonnull MVCGroup group) {
        System.out.println("MVC group " + group.getMvcType() + " initialized");
    }
}

And here is how it can be registered with a Module:


  
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package com.acme;

import griffon.core.addon.GriffonAddon;
import griffon.core.injection.Module;
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.injection.AbstractModule;
import org.kordamp.jipsy.ServiceProviderFor;

import javax.inject.Named;

@Named("inspector")
@ServiceProviderFor(Module.class)
public class InspectorModule extends AbstractModule {
    @Override
    protected void doConfigure() {
        bind(GriffonAddon.class)
            .to(InspectorAddon.class)
            .asSingleton();
    }
}

13.1. The AddonManager

The AddonManager is responsible for keeping track of instantiated GriffonAddons. You may use this manager to query which addons have been registered with the application, then conditionally enabling further features if a particular addon is instantiated or not.

The name of a GriffonAddon is used as the key to register it with the AddonManager, in other words, the previous inspector addon can be queried in the following way:

GriffonAddon addon = application.getAddonManager().findAddon("inspector");

14. Testing

The following sections describe the testing support provided by Griffon.

We recommend using either JUnit or Spock for writing tests.

14.1. Unit Testing

Classes under test that do not require dependency injection can be tested without any additional support from Griffon. For those classes that required dependency injection you have the following options:

GuiceBerry

If the project relies on griffon-guice-2.12.0 for injecting dependencies at runtime then you may use GuiceBerry when writing tests. GuiceBerry can resolve Guice modules and perform injection on the test class itself.

Gradle
testCompile 'com.google.guiceberry:guiceberry:3.3.1'
Maven
<dependency>
    <groupId>com.google.guiceberry</groupId>
    <artifactId>guiceberry</artifactId>
    <artifactId>3.3.1</artifactId>
</dependency>
Example

  
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import com.google.guiceberry.GuiceBerryModule;
import com.google.guiceberry.junit4.GuiceBerryRule;
import com.google.inject.AbstractModule;
import com.google.inject.Inject;
import org.junit.Rule;
import org.junit.Test;

import javax.inject.Singleton;

import static org.hamcrest.CoreMatchers.equalTo;
import static org.hamcrest.MatcherAssert.assertThat;

public class MyGuiceBerryTest {
    @Rule
    public final GuiceBerryRule guiceBerry = new GuiceBerryRule(TestModule.class);

    @Inject
    private FooBar classUnderTest;

    @Test
    public void testIt() {
        assertThat(classUnderTest.foobar(), equalTo("foobar"));
    }

    public static final class TestModule extends AbstractModule {
        @Override
        protected void configure() {
            install(new GuiceBerryModule());
            bind(Foo.class).to(DefaultFoo.class).in(Singleton.class);
            bind(Bar.class).to(DefaultBar.class).in(Singleton.class);
            bind(FooBar.class).to(DefaultFooBar.class).in(Singleton.class);
        }
    }

    public static interface FooBar {
        String foobar();
    }

    public static interface Foo {
        String foo();
    }

    public static interface Bar {
        String bar();
    }

    public static class DefaultFooBar implements FooBar {
        private final Foo foo;
        private final Bar bar;

        @Inject
        public DefaultFooBar(Foo foo, Bar bar) {
            this.foo = foo;
            this.bar = bar;
        }

        public String foobar() { return foo.foo() + bar.bar(); }
    }

    public static class DefaultFoo implements Foo {
        public String foo() { return "foo"; }
    }

    public static class DefaultBar implements Bar {
        public String bar() { return "bar"; }
    }
}

You may use GuiceBerry with both JUnit and Spock based tests.

Jukito

Jukito combines the power of JUnit, Google Guice, and Mockito in one single package. The advantage of Jukito over plain GuiceBerry is that injection points that are not defined by a TestModule will be automatically mocked with Mockito.

Gradle
testCompile 'org.jukito:jukito:1.4'
Maven
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.jukito</groupId>
    <artifactId>jukito</artifactId>
    <artifactId>1.4</artifactId>
</dependency>
Example

  
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import org.jukito.JukitoRunner;
import org.jukito.JukitoModule;
import com.google.inject.Inject;
import org.junit.Before;
import org.junit.Test;
import org.junit.runner.RunWith;
import javax.inject.Singleton;

import static org.hamcrest.CoreMatchers.equalTo;
import static org.hamcrest.MatcherAssert.assertThat;
import static org.mockito.Mockito.when;

@RunWith(JukitoRunner.class)
public class MyJukitoTest {
    public static class TestModule extends JukitoModule {
        protected void configureTest() {
            bind(FooBar.class).to(DefaultFooBar.class).in(Singleton.class);
        }
    }

    @Inject
    private FooBar classUnderTest;

    @Before
    public void setupMocks(Foo foo, Bar bar) {
        when(foo.foo()).thenReturn("foo");
        when(bar.bar()).thenReturn("bar");
    }

    @Test
    public void testIt() {
        assertThat(classUnderTest.foobar(), equalTo("foobar"));
    }

    public static interface FooBar {
        String foobar();
    }

    public static interface Foo {
        String foo();
    }

    public static interface Bar {
        String bar();
    }

    public static class DefaultFooBar implements FooBar {
        private final Foo foo;
        private final Bar bar;

        @Inject
        public DefaultFooBar(Foo foo, Bar bar) {
            this.foo = foo;
            this.bar = bar;
        }

        public String foobar() { return foo.foo() + bar.bar(); }
    }
}

Jukito should be used with JUnit alone.

14.1.1. The GriffonUnitRule

While the previous options work perfectly well with non-Griffon artifacts there will be times when you need to setup more test bindings that provide fake or real collaborators. The GriffonUnitRule rule class provides this behavior and more. This class behaves in a similar way as GuiceBerry and Jukito in the sense that it can inject dependencies in the current testcase, but it’ll also bootstrap a GriffonApplication using real modules. You have the choice to override any modules as needed.

GriffonUnitRule must be applied using JUnit’s @Rule annotation.

sample/javafx/java/SampleControllerTest.java

  
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package sample.javafx.java;

import griffon.core.artifact.ArtifactManager;
import griffon.core.test.GriffonUnitRule;
import griffon.core.test.TestFor;
import javafx.embed.swing.JFXPanel;
import org.junit.Rule;
import org.junit.Test;

import javax.inject.Inject;

import static java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit.SECONDS;
import static org.awaitility.Awaitility.await;
import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.notNullValue;
import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;

@TestFor(SampleController.class)
public class SampleControllerTest {
    static {
        System.setProperty("org.slf4j.simpleLogger.defaultLogLevel", "trace");
        // force initialization JavaFX Toolkit
        new JFXPanel();
    }

    @Inject
    private ArtifactManager artifactManager;

    private SampleController controller;

    @Rule
    public final GriffonUnitRule griffon = new GriffonUnitRule();

    @Test
    public void executeSayHelloActionWithNoInput() {
        final SampleModel model = artifactManager.newInstance(SampleModel.class);

        controller.setModel(model);
        controller.invokeAction("sayHello");

        await().atMost(2, SECONDS)
            .until(() -> model.getOutput(), notNullValue());
        assertEquals("Howdy stranger!", model.getOutput());
    }

    @Test
    public void executeSayHelloActionWithInput() {
        final SampleModel model = artifactManager.newInstance(SampleModel.class);
        model.setInput("Griffon");

        controller.setModel(model);
        controller.invokeAction("sayHello");

        await().atMost(2, SECONDS)
            .until(() -> model.getOutput(), notNullValue());
        assertEquals("Hello Griffon", model.getOutput());
    }
}

You can define any of the following arguments to tweak it’s behavior and of the application under test:

startupArgs

An array of literal arguments. Similar to the startup args sent to a real application during launch.
applicationClass

Defines the application class to use. Default value is set to DefaultGriffonApplication which is not tied to an specific UI toolkit.
applicationBootstrapper

Defines the streategies used to locate modules and bootstrap the application. Default value is set to TestApplicationBootstrapper. this bootstrapper enables the module overriding options discusses in the next sections.

This rule can be used with both JUnit and Spock based tests.

The following sections describe all available options for overriding modules in a testcase.

Overriding Module Bindings

The default TestApplicationBootstrapper applies the following strategy to locate suitable modules that should be used during the bootstrap sequence of the application under test:

  1. If the testcase wants to override all modules. If so, consume those modules, no more checks are applied.

  2. If the testcase wants to override some modules. If so, consume those modules and continue with the next check.

  3. If the testcase defines bindings using inner classes. If so, create a Module on the fly with those bindings and continue with the next check.

  4. If the testcase defines individual bindings using annotated fields. If so, create a Module on the fly with those bindings.

In order to override an existing binding you must match the source type and the qualifier (if it exist). Please review the Binding Equivalencies section if you have any doubts regarding the rules.

Override All Modules

There are two ways to define if a testcase wants to override all available modules:

  1. implement the TestModuleAware interface; providing a non-empty value for the modules() method.

  2. annotate a method with @TestModules making sure it returns a non-empty List<Module> instance.

Overriding Some Modules

There are two ways to define if a testcase wants to override some available modules:

  1. implement the TestModuleAware interface; providing a non-empty value for the moduleOverrides() method.

  2. annotate a method with @TestModuleOverrides making sure it returns a non-empty List<Module> instance.

It’s recommended to implement TestingModule instead of Module as the TestApplicationBootstrapper will make sure the former are placed after previous module definitions. This guarantees that test bindings override previous bindings.
Defining Bindings on the TestCase

Bindings defined in this way must use the @BindTo annotation to define the source type. If a qualifier is attached to the type then it will be set on the binding too.

Inner Classes

You may define a concrete type of a javax.inject.Provider. The binding will use prototype scope unless the target inner class is annotated with javax.inject.Singleton. Some examples follow


  
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import griffon.core.test.GriffonUnitRule;
import org.junit.Rule;

import griffon.inject.BindTo;
import javax.inject.Inject;
import javax.inject.Provider;
import javax.inject.Named;
import javax.inject.Singleton;

import griffon.core.event.EventRouter;
import griffon.core.Context;

public class SomeTest {
    @Rule
    public final GriffonUnitRule griffon = new GriffonUnitRule();

    @BindTo(EventRouter.class)
    public static class CustomEventRouter implements EventRouter { ... }     (1)

    @BindTo(Context.class)
    @Named("applicationContext")
    @Singleton
    public static class ContextProvider implements Provider<Context> { ... } (2)

    // tests
}
1 overrides EventRouter in prototype scope.
2 overrides an specific binding matching type and qualifier.
Fields

Field bindings are more flexible that inner class bindings as you can define the instance to be associated with the source type. This instance may be a concrete class that implements the source type, or a Provider. For example, the bindings seen in the previous example can be rewritten as follows:


  
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import griffon.core.test.GriffonUnitRule;
import org.junit.Rule;

import griffon.inject.BindTo;
import javax.inject.Inject;
import javax.inject.Provider;
import javax.inject.Named;
import javax.inject.Singleton;

import griffon.core.event.EventRouter;
import griffon.core.Context;

public class SomeTest {
    @Rule
    public final GriffonUnitRule griffon = new GriffonUnitRule();

    @BindTo(EventRouter.class)
    private CustomEventRouter customEventRouter;                              (1)

    @BindTo(Context.class)
    @Named("applicationContext")
    @Singleton
    private Provider<Context> contextProvider = new Provider<Context> { ... } (2)

    // tests
}
1 overrides EventRouter in prototype scope.
2 overrides an specific binding matching type and qualifier.

14.1.2. The @TestFor Annotation

The @TestFor annotation comes in handy when testing Griffon artifacts, as it will automatically instantiate the given type and set it on a field following a naming convention. The convention is to use the value for getArtifactType() of the corresponding artifact GriffonClass. The folowing table summarizes these values:

Type Field Name

GriffonController

controller

GriffonModel

model

GriffonService

service

GriffonView

view

It’s worth mentioning that this annotation will not instantiate additional MVC members that the current artifact under test may require. This design is on purpose in order to accommodate mocking of additional MVC members.

This annotation can be used with both JUnit and Spock based tests.

14.1.3. Mocking

There are several options for mocking types in test cases. Spock comes with its own solution. If you’re writing tests with JUnit then we recommend you to have a look at Mockito. Both of these mocking options can be paired with GriffonUnitRule in order to supply bindings. You can use any of the techniques discussed in the previous sections to define a binding, perhaps field bindings are the ones that are easier to grasp, as they can be used to define an instance value, in this case, the mock object itself.

Take for example a CalculatorService that requires an instance of a Calculator. We want to test the service in isolation which means we must mock the Calculator. Given that the service is a Griffon artifact we can use both GriffonUnitRule and @TestFor to reduce the amount of setup.


  
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import griffon.core.test.GriffonUnitRule;
import griffon.core.test.TestFor;
import org.junit.Rule;
import org.junit.Test;

import griffon.inject.BindTo;

import static org.mockito.Mockito.anyInt;
import static org.mockito.Mockito.mock;
import static org.mockito.Mockito.when;

import static org.hamcrest.CoreMatchers.equalTo;
import static org.hamcrest.MatcherAssert.assertThat;

@TestFor(SampleService.class)
public class CalculatorServiceTest {
    private CalculatorServiceTest service;                         (1)

    @Rule
    public final GriffonUnitRule griffon = new GriffonUnitRule();

    @Test
    public void addTwoNumbers() {
        // given:
        when(calculator.add(anyInt(), anyInt())).thenReturn(3);    (3)

        // when:
        int result = service.add(1, 2);

        // then
        assertThat(, equalTo(3));
    }

    @BindTo(Calculator.class)
    private Calculator calculator = mock(Calculator.class);        (2)
}
1 matches the type and name of the artifact under test
2 instantiates the mock
3 prepares the mock for stubbing

This technique can be applied for mocking any types except Griffon artifacts. Griffon artifacts must be mocked in a slightly different way due to their relationship with Griffon internals. But don’t worry, is not that different, as a matter of fact we’ve already covered how it can be done when explaining all possible ways to override a binding. In this case we must use the verbose option, which is, defining an explicit Module. Why do we need to do this? Because Griffon artifacts must be initialized as lazily as possible. Using @BindTo is too eager for them. Here’s a working example of a controller that mocks a service while also creating a live instance for its model.


  
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package org.example;

import griffon.core.artifact.ArtifactManager;
import griffon.core.injection.Module;
import griffon.core.test.GriffonUnitRule;
import griffon.core.test.TestFor;
import junitparams.JUnitParamsRunner;
import junitparams.Parameters;
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.injection.AbstractTestingModule;
import org.junit.Rule;
import org.junit.Test;
import org.junit.runner.RunWith;

import javax.annotation.Nonnull;
import javax.inject.Inject;
import java.util.List;

import static java.util.Arrays.asList;
import static org.hamcrest.CoreMatchers.equalTo;
import static org.hamcrest.CoreMatchers.nullValue;
import static org.hamcrest.MatcherAssert.assertThat;
import static org.mockito.Mockito.mock;
import static org.mockito.Mockito.only;
import static org.mockito.Mockito.verify;
import static org.mockito.Mockito.when;

@RunWith(JUnitParamsRunner.class)                                           (1)
@TestFor(SampleController.class)
public class SampleControllerTest {
    private SampleController controller;

    @Rule
    public final GriffonUnitRule griffon = new GriffonUnitRule();

    @Inject private ArtifactManager artifactManager;
    @Inject private SampleService sampleService;                            (2)

    @Test
    @Parameters({",Howdy stranger!",
                 "Test, Hello Test"})
    public void sayHelloAction(String input, String output) {               (3)
        // given:
        SampleModel model = artifactManager.newInstance(SampleModel.class); (4)
        controller.setModel(model);

        // expect:
        assertThat(model.getOutput(), nullValue());

        // expectations
        when(sampleService.sayHello(input)).thenReturn(output);

        // when:
        model.setInput(input);
        controller.sayHello();

        // then:
        assertThat(model.getOutput(), equalTo(output));
        verify(sampleService, only()).sayHello(input);
    }

    @Nonnull
    private List<Module> moduleOverrides() {
        return asList(new AbstractTestingModule() {                         (5)
            @Override
            protected void doConfigure() {
                bind(SampleService.class)
                    .toProvider(() -> mock(SampleService.class))
                    .asSingleton();
            }
        });
    }
}
1 parameterize this test using JUnitParams`
2 injected by GriffonUnitRule
3 parameterized test arguments
4 create a live model instance
5 configure the service mock

14.2. Integration Testing

lorem ipsum

14.2.1. Swing

sample/swing/java/SampleIntegrationTest.java

  
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package sample.swing.java;

import griffon.core.test.GriffonFestRule;
import org.fest.swing.fixture.FrameFixture;
import org.junit.Rule;
import org.junit.Test;

public class SampleIntegrationTest {
    static {
        System.setProperty("org.slf4j.simpleLogger.defaultLogLevel", "trace");
        System.setProperty("griffon.swing.edt.violations.check", "true");
        System.setProperty("griffon.swing.edt.hang.monitor", "true");
    }

    @Rule
    public final GriffonFestRule fest = new GriffonFestRule();

    private FrameFixture window;

    @Test
    public void typeNameAndClickButton() {
        // given:
        window.textBox("inputField").enterText("Griffon");

        // when:
        window.button("sayHelloButton").click();

        // then:
        window.label("outputLabel").requireText("Hello Griffon");
    }

    @Test
    public void doNotTypeNameAndClickButton() {
        // given:
        window.textBox("inputField").enterText("");

        // when:
        window.button("sayHelloButton").click();

        // then:
        window.label("outputLabel").requireText("Howdy stranger!");
    }
}
sample/swing/java/SampleIntegrationSpec.groovy

  
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package sample.swing.java

import griffon.core.test.GriffonFestRule
import org.fest.swing.fixture.FrameFixture
import org.junit.Rule
import spock.lang.Specification

public class SampleIntegrationSpec extends Specification {
    static {
        System.setProperty('org.slf4j.simpleLogger.defaultLogLevel', 'trace')
        System.setProperty('griffon.swing.edt.violations.check', 'true')
        System.setProperty('griffon.swing.edt.hang.monitor', 'true')
    }

    @Rule
    public final GriffonFestRule fest = new GriffonFestRule()

    private FrameFixture window

    void 'Get default message if no input is given'() {
        given:
        window.textBox('inputField').enterText('Griffon')

        when:
        window.button('sayHelloButton').click()

        then:
        window.label('outputLabel').requireText('Hello Griffon')
    }

    void 'Get hello message if input is given'() {
        given:
        window.textBox('inputField').enterText('')

        when:
        window.button('sayHelloButton').click()

        then:
        window.label('outputLabel').requireText('Howdy stranger!')
    }
}

14.2.2. JavaFX

sample/javafx/java/SampleIntegrationTest.java

  
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package sample.javafx.java;

import griffon.javafx.test.GriffonTestFXRule;
import org.junit.Rule;
import org.junit.Test;

import static org.testfx.api.FxAssert.verifyThat;
import static org.testfx.matcher.control.LabeledMatchers.hasText;

public class SampleIntegrationTest {
    static {
        System.setProperty("org.slf4j.simpleLogger.defaultLogLevel", "trace");
    }

    @Rule
    public GriffonTestFXRule testfx = new GriffonTestFXRule("mainWindow");

    @Test
    public void typeNameAndClickButton() {
        // given:
        testfx.clickOn("#input").write("Griffon");

        // when:
        testfx.clickOn("#sayHelloActionTarget");

        // then:
        verifyThat("#output", hasText("Hello Griffon"));
    }

    @Test
    public void doNotTypeNameAndClickButton() {
        // given:
        testfx.clickOn("#input").write("");

        // when:
        testfx.clickOn("#sayHelloActionTarget");

        // then:
        verifyThat("#output", hasText("Howdy stranger!"));
    }
}
sample/javafx/java/SampleIntegrationSpec.groovy

  
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package sample.javafx.java

import griffon.javafx.test.GriffonTestFXRule
import org.junit.Rule
import spock.lang.Specification

import static org.testfx.api.FxAssert.verifyThat
import static org.testfx.matcher.control.LabeledMatchers.hasText

class SampleIntegrationSpec extends Specification {
    static {
        System.setProperty('org.slf4j.simpleLogger.defaultLogLevel', 'trace')
    }

    @Rule
    public GriffonTestFXRule testfx = new GriffonTestFXRule('mainWindow')

    void 'Get default message if no input is given'() {
        given:
        testfx.clickOn('#input').write('')

        when:
        testfx.clickOn('#sayHelloActionTarget')

        then:
        verifyThat('#output', hasText('Howdy stranger!'))
    }

    void 'Get hello message if input is given'() {
        given:
        testfx.clickOn('#input').write('Griffon')

        when:
        testfx.clickOn('#sayHelloActionTarget')

        then:
        verifyThat('#output', hasText('Hello Griffon'))
    }
}

14.2.3. Pivot

sample/pivot/java/SampleIntegrationTest.java

  
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package sample.pivot.java;

import com.google.inject.Inject;
import griffon.core.mvc.MVCGroupManager;
import griffon.pivot.test.GriffonPivotFuncRule;
import org.apache.pivot.wtk.PushButton;
import org.apache.pivot.wtk.TextInput;
import org.junit.Rule;
import org.junit.Test;

import static java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit.SECONDS;
import static org.awaitility.Awaitility.await;
import static org.awaitility.Awaitility.fieldIn;
import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.notNullValue;
import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;

public class SampleIntegrationTest {
    static {
        System.setProperty("org.slf4j.simpleLogger.defaultLogLevel", "trace");
        System.setProperty("griffon.swing.edt.violations.check", "true");
        System.setProperty("griffon.swing.edt.hang.monitor", "true");
    }

    @Rule
    public final GriffonPivotFuncRule pivot = new GriffonPivotFuncRule();

    @Inject
    private MVCGroupManager mvcGroupManager;

    @Test
    public void typeNameAndClickButton() {
        pivot.runInsideUISync(new Runnable() {
            @Override
            public void run() {
                // given:
                pivot.find("inputField", TextInput.class).setText("Griffon");

                // when:
                pivot.find("sayHelloButton", PushButton.class).press();
            }
        });

        SampleModel model = (SampleModel) mvcGroupManager.getModels().get("sample");
        await().atMost(5, SECONDS)
            .until(fieldIn(model)
                .ofType(String.class)
                .andWithName("output"),
                notNullValue());

        // then:
        pivot.runInsideUISync(new Runnable() {
            @Override
            public void run() {
                assertEquals("Hello Griffon", pivot.find("outputField", TextInput.class).getText());
            }
        });
    }

    @Test
    public void doNotTypeNameAndClickButton() {
        pivot.runInsideUISync(new Runnable() {
            @Override
            public void run() {
                // given:
                pivot.find("inputField", TextInput.class).setText("");

                // when:
                pivot.find("sayHelloButton", PushButton.class).press();
            }
        });

        SampleModel model = (SampleModel) mvcGroupManager.getModels().get("sample");
        await().atMost(5, SECONDS)
            .until(fieldIn(model)
                .ofType(String.class)
                .andWithName("output"),
                notNullValue());

        // then:
        pivot.runInsideUISync(new Runnable() {
            @Override
            public void run() {
                assertEquals("Howdy stranger!", pivot.find("outputField", TextInput.class).getText());
            }
        });
    }
}
sample/pivot/java/SampleIntegrationSpec.groovy

  
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package sample.pivot.java

import griffon.pivot.test.GriffonPivotFuncRule
import org.apache.pivot.wtk.PushButton
import org.apache.pivot.wtk.TextInput
import org.junit.Rule
import spock.lang.Specification

import static java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit.SECONDS
import static org.awaitility.Awaitility.await

class SampleIntegrationSpec extends Specification {
    static {
        System.setProperty('org.slf4j.simpleLogger.defaultLogLevel', 'trace')
        System.setProperty('griffon.swing.edt.violations.check', 'true')
        System.setProperty('griffon.swing.edt.hang.monitor', 'true')
    }

    @Rule
    public final GriffonPivotFuncRule pivot = new GriffonPivotFuncRule()

    void 'Get default message if no input is given'() {
        pivot.runInsideUISync {
            // given:
            pivot.find('input', TextInput).text = 'Griffon'

            // when:
            pivot.find('sayHelloButton', PushButton).press()
        }

        await().atMost(5, SECONDS)

        // then:
        pivot.runInsideUISync {
            assert 'Hello Griffon' == pivot.find('output', TextInput).text
        }
    }

    void 'Get hello message if input is given'() {
        pivot.runInsideUISync {
            // given:
            pivot.find('input', TextInput).text = ''

            // when:
            pivot.find('sayHelloButton', PushButton).press()
        }

        await().atMost(5, SECONDS)

        // then:
        pivot.runInsideUISync {
            assert 'Howdy stranger!' == pivot.find('output', TextInput).text
        }
    }
}

14.3. Functional Testing

lorem ipsum

14.3.1. JavaFX

sample/javafx/java/SampleFunctionalTest.java

  
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package sample.javafx.java;

import griffon.javafx.test.FunctionalJavaFXRunner;
import griffon.javafx.test.GriffonTestFXClassRule;
import org.junit.ClassRule;
import org.junit.Test;
import org.junit.runner.RunWith;

import static org.testfx.api.FxAssert.verifyThat;
import static org.testfx.matcher.control.LabeledMatchers.hasText;

@RunWith(FunctionalJavaFXRunner.class)
public class SampleFunctionalTest {
    static {
        System.setProperty("org.slf4j.simpleLogger.defaultLogLevel", "trace");
    }

    @ClassRule
    public static GriffonTestFXClassRule testfx = new GriffonTestFXClassRule("mainWindow");

    @Test
    public void _01_doNotTypeNameAndClickButton() {
        // given:
        testfx.clickOn("#input").write("");

        // when:
        testfx.clickOn("#sayHelloActionTarget");

        // then:
        verifyThat("#output", hasText("Howdy stranger!"));
    }

    @Test
    public void _02_typeNameAndClickButton() {
        // given:
        testfx.clickOn("#input").write("Griffon");

        // when:
        testfx.clickOn("#sayHelloActionTarget");

        // then:
        verifyThat("#output", hasText("Hello Griffon"));
    }
}
sample/javafx/java/SampleFunctionalSpec.groovy

  
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package sample.javafx.java

import griffon.javafx.test.GriffonTestFXClassRule
import spock.lang.Specification
import spock.lang.Stepwise

import static org.testfx.api.FxAssert.verifyThat
import static org.testfx.matcher.control.LabeledMatchers.hasText

@Stepwise
class SampleFunctionalSpec extends Specification {
    static {
        System.setProperty('org.slf4j.simpleLogger.defaultLogLevel', 'trace')
    }

    private static GriffonTestFXClassRule testfx = new GriffonTestFXClassRule('mainWindow')

    void setupSpec() {
        testfx.setup()
    }

    void cleanupSpec() {
        testfx.cleanup()
    }

    void 'Get default message if no input is given'() {
        given:
        testfx.clickOn('#input').write('')

        when:
        testfx.clickOn('#sayHelloActionTarget')

        then:
        verifyThat('#output', hasText('Howdy stranger!'))
    }

    void 'Get hello message if input is given'() {
        given:
        testfx.clickOn('#input').write('Griffon')

        when:
        testfx.clickOn('#sayHelloActionTarget')

        then:
        verifyThat('#output', hasText('Hello Griffon'))
    }
}

15. Build Tools

15.1. SDKMAN

From SDKMAN’s website

SDKMAN is a tool for managing parallel Versions of multiple Software Development Kits on most Unix-based systems. It provides a convenient command line interface for installing, switching, removing and listing Candidates.

SDKMAN can be used to install and keep up to date other build tools that make your life easier when developing Griffon projects. These tools are lazybones and gradle. Installing SDKMAN itself is as easy as typing the following on a command prompt:

$ curl -s http://get.sdkman.io | bash

Next, install the latest versions of lazybones and gradle by invoking

$ sdk install lazybones
$ sdk install gradle

SDKMAN works on POSIX compliant environments, even on Windows if Cygwin is installed. We recommend you to install Babun shell as it enables many more features than plain Cygwin.

15.2. Lazybones

Lazybones allows you to create a new project structure for any framework or library for which the tool has a template.

15.2.1. Configuration

All standard Griffon templates are published to https://bintray.com/griffon/griffon-lazybones-templates. You must configure this repository with Lazybones settings file. Edit $USER_HOME/.lazybones/config.groovy and paste the following content:

$USER_HOME/.lazybones/config.groovy

  
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bintrayRepositories = [
    "griffon/griffon-lazybones-templates",
    "pledbrook/lazybones-templates"
]

Invoking the lazybones list command should result in all currently available Griffon project templates to be displayed in the output.

15.2.2. Templates

The following templates are available at the standard template repository:

griffon-swing-java

A template that initializes an application with Swing and Java.
griffon-swing-groovy

A template that initializes an application with Swing and Groovy.
griffon-javafx-java

A template that initializes an application with JavaFX and Java.
griffon-javafx-kotlin

A template that initializes an application with JavaFX and Kotlin.
griffon-javafx-groovy

A template that initializes an application with JavaFX and Groovy.
griffon-pivot-java

A template that initializes an application with Pivot and Java.
griffon-pivot-groovy

A template that initializes an application with Pivot and Groovy.
griffon-lanterna-java

A template that initializes an application with Lanterna and Java.
griffon-lanterna-groovy

A template that initializes tan application with Lanterna and Groovy.
griffon-plugin

A template that initializes a Griffon plugin project.

All application project templates include a subtemplate named artifact that provides the following artifact templates:

model

A standard Model artifact.
view

A toolkit specific View artifact.
controller

A standard Controller artifact.
service

A standard Service artifact.
test

A standard unit Test artifact.
mvcgroup

Initializes Model, View, Controller, Test and IntegrationTest artifacts for a single MVC group.

The swing, javafx and pivot artifact templates provided additional artifact templates:

integrationTest

A standard integration Test artifact.
functionalTest

A standard functional Test artifact.

You can invoke any of these templates in the following ways:

$ lazybones generate artifact::controller

This command creates a new Controller artifact. You’ll be asked for a package and a class name.

$ lazybones generate artifact::mvcgroup::com.acme::group

This command creates an MVC Group whose package is com.acme and class name is group. There will be 5 new artifacts in total.

15.3. Gradle

Gradle is the preferred build tool for a Griffon project. The Lazybones templates create a default build.gradle file that contains the minimum configuration to build, test and package a Griffon application or plugin.

15.3.1. The "griffon" Plugin

The Griffon plugin adds default dependencies and conventional configuration to a Griffon project. This configuration follows the standard Griffon project layout.

Usage

To use the Griffon plugin, include the following in your build script:

build.gradle
buildscript {
    repositories {
        jcenter()
    }

    dependencies {
        classpath 'org.codehaus.griffon:gradle-griffon-plugin:2.12.0'
    }
}

apply plugin: 'org.codehaus.griffon.griffon'

This plugin performs the following configurations when applied to a project:

  • Registers jcenter() , http://dl.bintray.com/griffon/griffon-plugins and mavenLocal() as default repositories.

  • Applies the following plugins: idea, java, application.

  • Creates additional compile-time only configurations: compileOnly, testCompileOnly.

  • Resolves plugin dependencies using the griffon configuration.

  • Adjusts javadoc/groovydoc/idea/eclipse classpaths given the new configurations.

  • Configures standard source directories with main and test source sets.

  • Adjusts how main and test resource processing is performed.

The following dependencies are also added by default:

  • on compile

    • org.codehaus.griffon:griffon-core:2.12.0

  • on compileOnly

    • org.codehaus.griffon:griffon-core-compile:2.12.0

  • on testCompile

    • org.codehaus.griffon:griffon-core-test:2.12.0

  • on testCompileOnly

    • org.codehaus.griffon:griffon-core-compile:2.12.0

If the toolkit conventional property is defined (plugins may opt to skip it), then the following dependencies are added:

  • on compile

    • org.codehaus.griffon:griffon-<toolkit>:2.12.0

If the groovy plugin is applied, then the following dependencies are also added:

  • on compile

    • org.codehaus.griffon:griffon-groovy:2.12.0

  • on compile

    • org.codehaus.griffon:griffon-<toolkit>-groovy:2.12.0

  • on compileOnly

    • org.codehaus.griffon:griffon-groovy-compile:2.12.0

  • on testCompileOnly

    • org.codehaus.griffon:griffon-groovy-compile:2.12.0

The griffon configuration can be used to resolve dependencies using BOM files. The griffon-scaffolding-plugin comprises the following modules:

  • griffon-scaffolding - the core of the plugin, UI toolkit agnostic.

  • griffon-scaffolding-swing - Swing specific additions.

  • griffon-scaffolding-javafx-groovy - Groovy enhancements via BuilderCustomizer.

  • griffon-scaffolding-javafx - JavaFX specific additions.

  • griffon-scaffolding-javafx-groovy - Groovy enhancements via BuilderCustomizer.

  • griffon-scaffolding-groovy-compile - AST transformations.

As you can see, this is quite a large set. You can manually define any of these dependencies in the build file, but given the many combinations it may be a bit hard to determine which dependencies should be added and which shouldn’t. The griffon configuration can make this decision for you; you just have to use it in the following way:

build.gradle
dependencies {
    griffon 'org.codehaus.griffon.plugins:griffon-scaffolding-plugin:0.0.0-SNAPSHOT'
}

This will add all required dependencies to your build by taking into account the project’s choice of UI toolkit and whether the groovy plugin has been applied or not. This behavior can be configured and/or disabled by using the conventional properties described in the next section.

Convention properties

The Griffon plugin adds some properties to the project, which you can use to configure its behaviour.

Table 11. Griffon plugin - properties
Property name Type Default value Description

disableDependencyResolution

boolean

 false

Disable automatic inclusion of dependencies defined with the griffon configuration.

includeDefaultRepositories

boolean

 true

Force inclusion of default repositories (jcenter and griffon-plugins).

includeGroovyDependencies

boolean

 -

Force inclusion of Groovy dependencies defined with the griffon configuration.

toolkit

String

 _

The UI toolkit to use. May be left unset. Valid values are swing, javafx, pivot, lanterna.

version

String

 2.12.0

The Griffon version to use for Griffon core dependencies.

applicationIconName

String

griffon.icns

The name of the application icon to display on OSX’s dock. Icon file must reside inside src/media.

The includeGroovyDependencies property has 3 states: unset, false and true. Groovy dependencies will be added automatically to the project only if the value of includeGroovyDependencies is unset (default) and the groovy plugin has been applied to the project or if the value of includeGroovyDependencies is set to true. When the value of includeGroovyDependencies is set to false then Groovy dependencies will not be added, even if the groovy plugin has been applied. This is useful for Java projects that use Spock for testing, as you need the groovy plugin in order to compile Spock specifications but you wouldn’t want Groovy dependencies to be pulled in for compilation.

15.3.2. The "griffon-build" Plugin

The Griffon Build plugin enables useful tasks required for plugin authors, such as generation of a plugin BOM file and more.

Usage

To use the Griffon Build plugin, include the following in your build script:

build.gradle
buildscript {
    repositories {
        jcenter()
    }

    dependencies {
        classpath 'org.codehaus.griffon:gradle-griffon-build-plugin:2.12.0'
    }
}

apply plugin: 'org.codehaus.griffon.griffon-build'
Tasks

The Griffon Build plugin adds a number of tasks to your project, as shown below.

Table 12. Griffon Build plugin - tasks
Task name Depends on Type Description

GenerateBomTask

-

 GenerateBomTask

Generates a BOM file that includes all subprojects.

15.3.3. Dependencies

Whether you’re using the griffon plugin or not, it’s very important that you take special note of the dependencies ending with -compile. As an application developer, these dependencies belong to either compileOnly or testCompileOnly configurations, as these dependencies contain functionality that should not be exposed at runtime, such as compile-time metadata generation via Jipsy, Gipsy and other AST transformations.

The only reason for a -compile dependency to appear on a compile or testCompile configuration is for testing out new compile-time metadata generators. This task is usually performed in plugin projects.

15.4. Maven

Application projects can also be built using Maven. The Lazybones templates create a default pom.xml file that contains the minimum configuration to build, test and package a Griffon application. The bulk of the conventions are performed by the application-master-pom.pom.

15.4.1. Plugins

The application-master-pom configures the following plugins:

Table 13. application-master-pom - plugins
Group ArtifactId Version

org.codehaus.mojo

appassembler-maven-plugin

2.0.0

org.codehaus.mojo

build-helper-maven-plugin

3.0.0

org.eluder.coveralls

coveralls-maven-plugin

4.3.0

org.codehaus.mojo

exec-maven-plugin

1.6.0

org.codehaus.mojo

findbugs-maven-plugin

3.0.4

pl.project13.maven

git-commit-id-plugin

2.2.2

org.codehaus.gmavenplus

gmavenplus-plugin

1.5

org.jacoco

jacoco-maven-plugin

0.7.9

com.zenjava

javafx-maven-plugin

8.8.3

org.codehaus.mojo

jdepend-maven-plugin

2.0

org.apache.maven.plugins

maven-antrun-plugin

1.8

org.apache.maven.plugins

maven-assembly-plugin

3.0.0

org.apache.maven.plugins

maven-changes-plugin

2.12.1

org.apache.maven.plugins

maven-checkstyle-plugin

2.17

org.apache.maven.plugins

maven-compiler-plugin

3.6.1

org.apache.maven.plugins

maven-dependency-plugin

3.0.1

org.apache.maven.plugins

maven-javadoc-plugin

2.10.4

org.apache.maven.plugins

maven-jxr-plugin

2.5

org.bsc.maven

maven-processor-plugin

3.3.1

org.apache.maven.plugins

maven-project-info-reports-plugin

2.9

org.apache.maven.plugins

maven-release-plugin

2.5.3

org.apache.maven.plugins

maven-shade-plugin

3.0.0

org.apache.maven.plugins

maven-site-plugin

3.6

org.apache.maven.plugins

maven-surefire-plugin

2.20

org.apache.maven.plugins

maven-surefire-report-plugin

2.20

org.codehaus.mojo

versions-maven-plugin

2.4

Of which the following are applied by default:


  
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<plugins>
    <plugin>
        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
        <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
    </plugin>
    <plugin>
        <groupId>org.codehaus.mojo</groupId>
        <artifactId>build-helper-maven-plugin</artifactId>
    </plugin>
    <plugin>
        <groupId>org.bsc.maven</groupId>
        <artifactId>maven-processor-plugin</artifactId>
    </plugin>
    <plugin>
        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
        <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
    </plugin>
    <plugin>
        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
        <artifactId>maven-antrun-plugin</artifactId>
    </plugin>
    <plugin>
        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
        <artifactId>maven-site-plugin</artifactId>
    </plugin>
    <plugin>
        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
        <artifactId>maven-checkstyle-plugin</artifactId>
    </plugin>
    <plugin>
        <groupId>org.codehaus.mojo</groupId>
        <artifactId>findbugs-maven-plugin</artifactId>
    </plugin>
    <plugin>
        <groupId>org.codehaus.mojo</groupId>
        <artifactId>versions-maven-plugin</artifactId>
    </plugin>
    <plugin>
        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
        <artifactId>maven-release-plugin</artifactId>
    </plugin>
    <plugin>
        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
        <artifactId>maven-dependency-plugin</artifactId>
    </plugin>
    <plugin>
        <groupId>org.jacoco</groupId>
        <artifactId>jacoco-maven-plugin</artifactId>
    </plugin>
    <plugin>
        <groupId>pl.project13.maven</groupId>
        <artifactId>git-commit-id-plugin</artifactId>
    </plugin>
</plugins>

15.4.2. Dependencies

All Griffon core dependencies have been added using a <dependencyManagement> block as follows:


  
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<dependencyManagement>
    <dependencies>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.codehaus.griffon</groupId>
            <artifactId>griffon-core</artifactId>
            <version>${griffon.version}</version>
            <scope>compile</scope>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.codehaus.griffon</groupId>
            <artifactId>griffon-core-java8</artifactId>
            <version>${griffon.version}</version>
            <scope>compile</scope>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.codehaus.griffon</groupId>
            <artifactId>griffon-core-compile</artifactId>
            <version>${griffon.version}</version>
            <scope>provided</scope>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.codehaus.griffon</groupId>
            <artifactId>griffon-core-test</artifactId>
            <version>${griffon.version}</version>
            <scope>test</scope>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.codehaus.griffon</groupId>
            <artifactId>griffon-groovy</artifactId>
            <version>${griffon.version}</version>
            <scope>compile</scope>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.codehaus.griffon</groupId>
            <artifactId>griffon-groovy-compile</artifactId>
            <version>${griffon.version}</version>
            <scope>provided</scope>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.codehaus.griffon</groupId>
            <artifactId>griffon-swing</artifactId>
            <version>${griffon.version}</version>
            <scope>compile</scope>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.codehaus.griffon</groupId>
            <artifactId>griffon-swing-groovy</artifactId>
            <version>${griffon.version}</version>
            <scope>compile</scope>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.codehaus.griffon</groupId>
            <artifactId>griffon-fest-test</artifactId>
            <version>${griffon.version}</version>
            <scope>test</scope>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.codehaus.griffon</groupId>
            <artifactId>griffon-javafx</artifactId>
            <version>${griffon.version}</version>
            <scope>compile</scope>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.codehaus.griffon</groupId>
            <artifactId>griffon-javafx-groovy</artifactId>
            <version>${griffon.version}</version>
            <scope>compile</scope>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.codehaus.griffon</groupId>
            <artifactId>griffon-javafx-test</artifactId>
            <version>${griffon.version}</version>
            <scope>test</scope>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.codehaus.griffon</groupId>
            <artifactId>griffon-lanterna</artifactId>
            <version>${griffon.version}</version>
            <scope>compile</scope>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.codehaus.griffon</groupId>
            <artifactId>griffon-lanterna-groovy</artifactId>
            <version>${griffon.version}</version>
            <scope>compile</scope>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.codehaus.griffon</groupId>
            <artifactId>griffon-pivot</artifactId>
            <version>${griffon.version}</version>
            <scope>compile</scope>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.codehaus.griffon</groupId>
            <artifactId>griffon-pivot-groovy</artifactId>
            <version>${griffon.version}</version>
            <scope>compile</scope>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.codehaus.griffon</groupId>
            <artifactId>griffon-pivot-test</artifactId>
            <version>${griffon.version}</version>
            <scope>test</scope>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.codehaus.griffon</groupId>
            <artifactId>griffon-guice</artifactId>
            <version>${griffon.version}</version>
            <scope>runtime</scope>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.codehaus.groovy</groupId>
            <artifactId>groovy-all</artifactId>
            <version>${groovy.version}</version>
            <scope>test</scope>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.spockframework</groupId>
            <artifactId>spock-core</artifactId>
            <version>${spock.version}</version>
            <scope>test</scope>
        </dependency>
    </dependencies>
</dependencyManagement>

It’s very important that you take special note of the dependencies ending with -compile. As an application developer, these dependencies belong to the provided scope, since these dependencies contain functionality that should not be exposed at runtime, such as compile-time metadata generation via Jipsy, Gipsy and other AST transformations.

You must exclude these dependencies from the maven-surefire-plugin. The following is the default configuration provided by the master pom:


  
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<plugin>
    <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
    <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
    <version>${plugin.surefire.version}</version>
    <inherited>true</inherited>
    <configuration>
        <includes>
            <include>**/*Test.*</include>
            <include>**/*Spec.*</include>
        </includes>
        <classpathDependencyExcludes>
            <classpathDependencyExclude>
                org.codehaus.griffon:griffon-core-compile
            </classpathDependencyExclude>
            <classpathDependencyExclude>
                org.codehaus.griffon:griffon-groovy-compile
            </classpathDependencyExclude>
        </classpathDependencyExcludes>
    </configuration>
</plugin>

15.4.3. Profiles

The master pom enables a few profiles to take care of special tasks.

Run

This profile compiles and runs the application. Enable it with maven -Prun.


  
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<profile>
    <id>run</id>
    <build>
        <defaultGoal>process-classes</defaultGoal>
        <plugins>
            <plugin>
                <groupId>org.codehaus.mojo</groupId>
                <artifactId>exec-maven-plugin</artifactId>
                <version>${plugin.exec.version}</version>
                <inherited>true</inherited>
                <configuration>
                    <mainClass>${application.main.class}</mainClass>
                    <systemProperties>
                        <systemProperty>
                            <key>griffon.env</key>
                            <value>dev</value>
                        </systemProperty>
                    </systemProperties>
                </configuration>
                <executions>
                    <execution>
                        <id>run-app</id>
                        <phase>process-classes</phase>
                        <goals>
                            <goal>java</goal>
                        </goals>
                    </execution>
                </executions>
            </plugin>
        </plugins>
    </build>
</profile>
Binary

This profile packages the application using the maven-appassembler-plugin. Enable it with maven -Pbinary.


  
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<profile>
    <id>binary</id>
    <build>
        <defaultGoal>package</defaultGoal>
        <plugins>
            <plugin>
                <groupId>org.codehaus.mojo</groupId>
                <artifactId>appassembler-maven-plugin</artifactId>
                <version>${plugin.appassembler.version}</version>
                <configuration>
                    <assembleDirectory>${project.build.directory}/binary</assembleDirectory>
                    <repositoryLayout>flat</repositoryLayout>
                    <repositoryName>lib</repositoryName>
                    <extraJvmArguments>-Dgriffon.env=prod</extraJvmArguments>
                    <programs>
                        <program>
                            <mainClass>${application.main.class}</mainClass>
                            <id>${project.artifactId}</id>
                        </program>
                    </programs>
                </configuration>
                <executions>
                    <execution>
                        <id>make-distribution</id>
                        <phase>package</phase>
                        <goals>
                            <goal>assemble</goal>
                        </goals>
                    </execution>
                </executions>
            </plugin>
        </plugins>
    </build>
</profile>
Distribution

This profile packages the application using the maven-assembly-plugin. Enable it with maven -Pdistribution. You must execute the binary profile before running the distribution profile. You CANNOT combine both profiles.


  
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<profile>
    <id>distribution</id>
    <build>
        <defaultGoal>package</defaultGoal>
        <plugins>
            <plugin>
                <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                <artifactId>maven-assembly-plugin</artifactId>
                <version>${plugin.assembly.version}</version>
                <configuration>
                    <descriptors>
                        <descriptor>maven/assembly-descriptor.xml</descriptor>
                    </descriptors>
                    <outputDirectory>${project.build.directory}/distributions</outputDirectory>
                    <workDirectory>${project.build.directory}/assembly/work</workDirectory>
                </configuration>
                <executions>
                    <execution>
                        <id>make-distribution</id>
                        <phase>package</phase>
                        <goals>
                            <goal>single</goal>
                        </goals>
                    </execution>
                </executions>
            </plugin>
        </plugins>
    </build>
</profile>
Izpack

This profile creates a universal installer using IzPack. Enable it with maven -Pizpack. You must execute the distribution profile before running the izpack profile. You CANNOT combine both profiles.


  
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<profile>
    <id>izpack</id>
    <dependencies>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.codehaus.izpack</groupId>
            <artifactId>izpack-standalone-compiler</artifactId>
            <version>${izpack-standalone.version}</version>
            <optional>true</optional>
            <scope>provided</scope>
        </dependency>
    </dependencies>
    <build>
        <defaultGoal>process-sources</defaultGoal>
        <plugins>
            <plugin>
                <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                <artifactId>maven-antrun-plugin</artifactId>
                <version>${plugin.antrun.version}</version>
                <executions>
                    <execution>
                        <id>process-sources</id>
                        <phase>process-sources</phase>
                        <goals>
                            <goal>run</goal>
                        </goals>
                        <configuration>
                            <target>
                                <ant antfile="maven/prepare-izpack.xml"/>
                            </target>
                        </configuration>
                    </execution>
                </executions>
            </plugin>
        </plugins>
    </build>
</profile>
Shade

This profile creates a single JAR by combining the application’s classes and its dependencies. Enable it with maven -Pshade.


  
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<profile>
    <id>shade</id>
    <build>
        <defaultGoal>package</defaultGoal>
        <plugins>
            <plugin>
                <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                <artifactId>maven-shade-plugin</artifactId>
                <version>${plugin.shade.version}</version>
                <inherited>true</inherited>
                <configuration>
                    <transformers>
                        <transformer
                            implementation="org.apache.maven.plugins.shade.resource.ManifestResourceTransformer">
                            <manifestEntries>
                                <Main-Class>${application.main.class}</Main-Class>
                            </manifestEntries>
                        </transformer>
                        <transformer implementation="org.kordamp.shade.resources.ServicesResourceTransformer"/>
                        <transformer implementation="org.kordamp.shade.resources.ServicesResourceTransformer">
                            <path>META-INF/griffon</path>
                        </transformer>
                        <transformer implementation="org.kordamp.shade.resources.ServicesResourceTransformer">
                            <path>META-INF/types</path>
                        </transformer>
                        <transformer implementation="org.kordamp.shade.resources.PropertiesFileTransformer">
                            <paths>
                                <path>META-INF/editors/java.beans.PropertyEditor</path>
                            </paths>
                        </transformer>
                    </transformers>
                </configuration>
                <executions>
                    <execution>
                        <phase>package</phase>
                        <goals>
                            <goal>shade</goal>
                        </goals>
                    </execution>
                </executions>
                <dependencies>
                    <dependency>
                        <groupId>org.kordamp.shade</groupId>
                        <artifactId>maven-shade-ext-transformers</artifactId>
                        <version>${plugin.shade_ext_transformers.version}</version>
                    </dependency>
                </dependencies>
            </plugin>
        </plugins>
    </build>
</profile>

15.5. IntelliJ IDEA

There is no need to install a plugin in IntelliJ Idea in order to develop Griffon applications, as every Griffon project is a valid Gradle/Maven project.

You must also have Annotation Processing enabled in order for compile time annotations such as @ArtifactProviderFor to be picked up automatically. Open up Preferences and navigate to Build, Execution Deployment > Compiler > Annotation Processors

There is special support for code suggestions when dealing with Groovy artifacts or Groovy classes annotated with a special set of annotations. This support is delivered using the GDSL feature found in IntelliJ. The following table summarizes the enhancements delivered by this feature:

Table 14. Artifacts
Path Type

griffon-app/controllers/**/*Controller.groovy

griffon.core.artifact.GriffonController

griffon-app/models/**/*Model.groovy

griffon.core.artifact.GriffonModel

griffon-app/services/**/*Service.groovy

griffon.core.artifact.GriffonService

griffon-app/views/**/*View.groovy

griffon.core.artifact.GriffonView
Table 15. Annotations
Annotation Type

@griffon.transform.EventPublisher

griffon.core.event.EventPublisher

@griffon.transform.MVCAware

griffon.core.mvc.MVCHandler

@griffon.transform.ThreadingAware

griffon.core.threading.ThreadingHandler

@griffon.transform.ResourcesAware

griffon.core.resources.ResourceHandler

@griffon.transform.MessageSourceAware

 griffon.core.i18n.MessageSource

@griffon.transform.ResourceResolverAware

 griffon.core.resources.ResourceResolver

@griffon.transform.Observable

 griffon.core.Observable

@griffon.transform.Vetoable

griffon.core.Vetoable
IntelliJ Community Edition has a plugin for developing Griffon 1.x applications. This plugin is not needed for Griffon 2.x.

15.6. Eclipse

There is no need to install a plugin in Eclipse in order to develop Griffon applications, as every Griffon project is a valid Gradle/Maven project.

You must install the Gradle Buildship and Groovy plugins from the marketplace.

There is special support for code suggestions when dealing with Groovy artifacts or Groovy classes annotated with a special set of annotations. This support is delivered using the DSLD feature found in Eclipse if the Groovy Eclipse plugin is installed. The following table summarizes the enhancements delivered by this feature:

Table 16. Artifacts
Path Type

griffon-app/controllers/**/*Controller.groovy

griffon.core.artifact.GriffonController

griffon-app/models/**/*Model.groovy

griffon.core.artifact.GriffonModel

griffon-app/services/**/*Service.groovy

griffon.core.artifact.GriffonService

griffon-app/views/**/*View.groovy

griffon.core.artifact.GriffonView
Table 17. Annotations
Annotation Type

@griffon.transform.EventPublisher

griffon.core.event.EventPublisher

@griffon.transform.MVCAware

griffon.core.mvc.MVCHandler

@griffon.transform.ThreadingAware

griffon.core.threading.ThreadingHandler

@griffon.transform.ResourcesAware

griffon.core.resources.ResourceHandler

@griffon.transform.MessageSourceAware

 griffon.core.i18n.MessageSource

@griffon.transform.ResourceResolverAware

 griffon.core.resources.ResourceResolver

@griffon.transform.Observable

 griffon.core.Observable

@griffon.transform.Vetoable

griffon.core.Vetoable

Finally, Annotation Processing must be manually enabled. You must do this on a per project basis. Search for Annotation Processing in the project’s properties and tick the checkbox to activate this option.

You must also define every single JAR file that provides APT processors. The most basic ones are jipsy and griffon-core-compile. These JARs are found in your build tools' cache and/or local repository.

As a rule, all griffon-*-compile JARs provide APT processors and AST transformations.

16. Contributing

Griffon is an open source project with an active community, and we rely heavily on that community to help make Griffon better. As such, there are various ways in which people can contribute to Griffon. One of these is by writing plugins and making them publicly available. In this chapter, we’ll look at some of the other options.

16.1. Issues

Griffon uses Github Issues to track issues in the core framework, its documentation and its website. If you’ve found a bug or wish to see a particular feature added, this is the place to start. You’ll need to create a (free) Github account in order to either submit an issue or comment on an existing one.

When submitting issues, please provide as much information as possible; and in the case of bugs, make sure you explain which versions of Griffon and various plugins you are using. Also, an issue is much more likely to be dealt with if you attach a reproducible sample application.

16.1.1. Reviewing issues

There may be a few old issues, some of which may no longer be valid. The core team can’t track down these alone, so a very simple contribution that you can make is to verify one or two issues occasionally.

Which issues need verification? Just pick an open issue and check whether it’s still relevant.

Once you’ve verified an issue, simply edit it by adding a "Last Reviewed" comment. If you think the issue can be closed, then also add a "Flagged" comment and a short explanation why.

16.2. Build

If you’re interested in contributing fixes and features to the core framework, you will have to learn how to get hold of the project’s source, build it, and test it with your own applications. Before you start, make sure you have:

  • A JDK (1.7 or above)

  • A git client

Once you have all the prerequisite packages installed, the next step is to download the Griffon source code, which is hosted at GitHub in several repositories owned by the griffon GitHub user. This is a simple case of cloning the repository you’re interested in. For example, to get the core framework run:

$ git clone https://github.com/griffon/griffon.git

This will create a griffon directory in your current working directory containing all the project source files. The next step is to get a Griffon installation from the source.

16.2.1. Running the test suite

All you have to do to run the full suite of tests is:

$ ./gradlew test

These will take a while, so consider running individual tests using the command line. For example, to run the test case @MappingDslTests@ simply execute the following command:

$ ./gradlew -Dtest.single=EnvironmentTests :griffon-core:test

Note that you need to specify the sub-project that the test case resides in, because the top-level "test" target won’t work…​.

16.2.2. Developing in IntelliJ IDEA

You need to run the following gradle task:

$ ./gradlew idea

Then open the project file which is generated in IDEA. Simple!

16.3. Patches

If you want to submit patches to the project, you simply need to fork the repository on GitHub rather than clone it directly. Then you will commit your changes to your fork and send a pull request for a core team member to review.

16.3.1. Forking and Pull Requests

One of the benefits of GitHub is the way that you can easily contribute to a project by forking the repository and sending pull requests with your changes.

What follows are some guidelines to help ensure that your pull requests are speedily dealt with and provide the information we need. They will also make your life easier!

Create a local branch for your changes

Your life will be greatly simplified if you create a local branch to make your changes on. For example, as soon as you fork a repository and clone the fork locally, execute

$ git checkout -b mine

This will create a new local branch called mine based off the master branch. Of course, you can name the branch whatever you like - you don’t have to use mine.

Create an Issue for non-trivial changes

For any non-trivial changes, raise an issue if one doesn’t already exist. That helps us keep track of what changes go into each new version of Griffon.

Include Issue ID in commit messages

This may not seem particularly important, but having an issue ID in a commit message means that we can find out at a later date why a change was made. Include the ID in any and all commits that relate to that issue. If a commit isn’t related to an issue, then there’s no need to include an issue ID.

Make sure your fork is up to date

Since the core developers must merge your commits into the main repository, it makes life much easier if your fork on GitHub is up to date before you send a pull request.

Let’s say you have the main repository set up as a remote called upstream and you want to submit a pull request. Also, all your changes are currently on the local mine branch but not on master. The first step involves pulling any changes from the main repository that have been added since you last fetched and merged:

$ git checkout master
$ git pull upstream

This should complete without any problems or conflicts. Next, rebase your local branch against the now up-to-date master:

$ git checkout mine
$ git rebase master

What this does is rearrange the commits such that all of your changes come after the most recent one in master. Think adding some cards to the top of a deck rather than shuffling them into the pack.

You’ll now be able to do a clean merge from your local branch to master:

$ git checkout master
$ git merge mine

Finally, you must push your changes to your remote repository on GitHub, otherwise the core developers won’t be able to pick them up:

$ git push

You’re now ready to send the pull request from the GitHub user interface.

Say what your pull request is for

A pull request can contain any number of commits and it may be related to any number of issues. In the pull request message, please specify the IDs of all issues that the request relates to. Also give a brief description of the work you have done, such as: "I refactored the resources injector and added support for custom number editors (GRIFFON-xxxx)".

Appendix A: Migrating from Griffon 1.x

Griffon 2.x has tried to remain as similar as possible to Griffon 1.x in terms of concepts and APIs; however, some changes were introduced which require your attention when migrating an application from Griffon 1.x.

A.1. Build Configuration

There is no longer a specific Griffon buildtime tool nor configuration settings. You must pick a build tool (we recommend Gradle) and use that tool’s configuration to match your needs. The simplest way to get started is to select an appropriate Lazybones template to create an empty project, and then copy the files you need.

Build time plugins and scripts are now within the realm of a particular build tool.

A.1.1. Dependencies

Dependencies used to be configured inside griffon-app/conf/BuildConfig.groovy. Now that the file is gone, you must configure dependencies using the native support of the build tool you choose. Of particular note is that all griffon dependencies are now standard JAR archives available from Maven compatible repositories, so they should work no matter which dependency resolution you pick.

A.2. Runtime Configuration

A.2.1. Application and Config Scripts

The files Application.groovy and Config.groovy have been merged into a single file: Config.groovy. The log4j DSL is no longer used, so please move your logging settings to src/resources/log4j.properties; you can also use the XML variant if you want. Griffon 2.x does not force Log4j on you either; you’re free to pick a suitable Slf4j binding of your choice.

A.2.2. Builder Script

The Builder.groovy is no longer required. Its functions are now handled by BuilderCustomizer classes bound in a Module. You must add griffon-groovy-2.12.0.jar as a compile dependency in order to use BuilderCustomizers. Here’s an example for adding a Miglayout customization:

src/main/java/griffon/builder/swing/MiglayoutSwingBuilderCustomizer.java

  
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package griffon.builder.swing;

import griffon.inject.DependsOn;
import groovy.swing.factory.LayoutFactory;
import net.miginfocom.swing.MigLayout;
import groovy.util.Factory;
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.groovy.view.AbstractBuilderCustomizer;

import javax.inject.Named;
import java.util.LinkedHashMap;
import java.util.Map;

@DependsOn({"swing"})
@Named("miglayout-swing")
public class MiglayoutSwingBuilderCustomizer extends AbstractBuilderCustomizer {
    public MiglayoutSwingBuilderCustomizer() {
        Map<String, Factory> factories = new LinkedHashMap<>();
        factories.put("migLayout", new LayoutFactory(MigLayout.class));
        setFactories(factories);
    }
}
src/main/java/org/codehaus/griffon/runtime/miglayout/MiglayoutSwingGroovyModule.java

  
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package org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.miglayout;

import griffon.builder.swing.MiglayoutSwingBuilderCustomizer;
import griffon.core.injection.Module;
import griffon.inject.DependsOn;
import griffon.util.BuilderCustomizer;
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.injection.AbstractModule;
import org.kordamp.jipsy.ServiceProviderFor;

import javax.inject.Named;

@DependsOn("swing-groovy")
@Named("miglayout-swing-groovy")
@ServiceProviderFor(Module.class)
public class MiglayoutSwingGroovyModule extends AbstractModule {
    @Override
    protected void doConfigure() {
        // tag::bindings[]
        bind(BuilderCustomizer.class)
            .to(MiglayoutSwingBuilderCustomizer.class)
            .asSingleton();
        // end::bindings[]
    }
}

A.2.3. Events Script

The Events script usually placed in griffon-app/conf should be moved to the main source directory (src/main/java or src/main/groovy depending on your preferences). The following snippet shows a skeleton implementation:

src/main/groovy/com/acme/ApplicationEventHandler.groovy

  
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package com.acme

import griffon.core.event.EventHandler

class ApplicationEventHandler implements EventHandler {
    // event handlers as public methods
}

You must add event handlers as public methods following the conventions explained in the consuming events section. Don’t forget to register this class using a module. The default ApplicationModule class provided by all basic project templates is a good start.

src/main/groovy/com/acme/ApplicationModule.groovy

  
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package com.acme

import griffon.core.event.EventHandler
import griffon.core.injection.Module
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.injection.AbstractModule
import org.kordamp.jipsy.ServiceProviderFor

@ServiceProviderFor(Module)
class ApplicationModule extends AbstractModule {
    @Override
    protected void doConfigure() {
        bind(EventHandler)
            .to(ApplicationEventHandler)
            .asSingleton()
    }
}

A.3. Artifacts

All artifacts must be annotated with @ArtifactProviderFor without exception. Failure to follow this rule will make Griffon miss the artifact during bootstrap. The value for this annotation must be the basic interface that defines the artifact’s type, for example:

griffon-app/models/sample/SampleModel.groovy

  
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package sample

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonModel
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonModel)
class SampleModel {
    ...
}

Additionally, the app property has been renamed to application.

A.3.1. Controllers

Closure properties as actions are no longer supported. All actions must be defined as public methods.

A.3.2. Views

View scripts have been upgraded to classes. You can use the following skeleton View class as an starting point:

griffon-app/views/sample/SampleView.groovy

  
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package sample

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonView
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor
import griffon.inject.MVCMember
import javax.annotation.Nonnull

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonView)
class SampleView {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull def builder
    @MVCMember @Nonnull def model

    void initUI() {
        builder.with {
            (1)
        }
    }
}
1 UI components

Next, place the contents of your old View script inside 1.

A.4. Lifecycle Scripts

These scripts must also be migrated to full classes. Here’s the basic skeleton code for any lifecycle handler:

griffon-app/lifecycle/Initialize.groovy

  
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import griffon.core.GriffonApplication
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.AbstractLifecycleHandler

import javax.annotation.Nonnull
import javax.inject.Inject

class Initialize extends AbstractLifecycleHandler {
    @Inject
    Initialize(@Nonnull GriffonApplication application) {
        super(application)
    }

    @Override
    void execute() {
        // do the work
    }
}

A.5. Renamed Methods

The following tables describe methods that have been renamed in Griffon 2.x:

Table 18. Threading Methods
Griffon 1.x Griffon 2.x

edt

runInsideUISync

doLater

runInsideUIAsync

doOutside

runOutsideUI

execInsideUISync

runInsideUISync

execInsideUIAsync

runInsideUIAsync

execOutsideUI

runOutsideUI
Table 19. Event Publishing Methods
Griffon 1.x Griffon 2.x

publish

publishEvent

publishAsync

publishEventAsync

publishOutsideUI

publishEventOutsideUI

event

publishEvent

eventAsync

publishEventAsync

eventOutsideUI

publishEventOutsideUI

A.6. Tests

Griffon 2.x no longer segregates tests between unit and functional. You must use your build tool’s native support for both types (this is quite simple with Gradle). Move all unit tests under src/test/java or src/test/groovy depending on your choice of main language. The base GriffonUnitTestCase class no longer exists. Use any testing framework you’re comfortable with to write unit tests (Junit4, Spock, etc). Use the following template if you need to write artifact tests:

src/test/sample/SampleControllerTest.groovy

  
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package sample

import griffon.core.test.GriffonUnitRule
import griffon.core.test.TestFor
import org.junit.Rule
import org.junit.Test

import static org.awaitility.Awaitility.await
import static java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit.SECONDS

@TestFor(SampleController)
class SampleControllerTest {
    private SampleController controller

    @Rule
    public final GriffonUnitRule griffon = new GriffonUnitRule()

    @Test
    void testControllerAction() {
        // given:
        // setup collaborators

        // when:
        // stimulus
        controller.invokeAction('nameOfTheAction')

        // then:
        // use Awaitility to successfully wait for async processing to finish
        await().atMost(2, SECONDS)
        assert someCondition
    }
}

Appendix B: Module Bindings

The following sections display all bindings per module. Use this information to successfully override a binding on your own modules or to troubleshoot a module binding if the wrong type has been applied by the Griffon runtime.

B.1. Core

Module name: core

bind(ApplicationClassLoader.class)
    .to(DefaultApplicationClassLoader.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(Metadata.class)
    .toProvider(MetadataProvider.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(RunMode.class)
    .toProvider(RunModeProvider.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(Environment.class)
    .toProvider(EnvironmentProvider.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(ContextFactory.class)
    .to(DefaultContextFactory.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(Instantiator.class)
    .to(DefaultInstantiator.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(PropertiesReader.class)
    .toProvider(PropertiesReader.Provider.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(ResourceBundleReader.class)
    .toProvider(ResourceBundleReader.Provider.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(Context.class)
    .withClassifier(named("applicationContext"))
    .toProvider(DefaultContextProvider.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(ApplicationConfigurer.class)
    .to(DefaultApplicationConfigurer.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(ResourceHandler.class)
    .to(DefaultResourceHandler.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(ResourceBundleLoader.class)
    .to(ClassResourceBundleLoader.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(ResourceBundleLoader.class)
    .to(PropertiesResourceBundleLoader.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(ResourceBundleLoader.class)
    .to(XmlResourceBundleLoader.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(CompositeResourceBundleBuilder.class)
    .to(DefaultCompositeResourceBundleBuilder.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(ResourceBundle.class)
    .withClassifier(named("applicationResourceBundle"))
    .toProvider(new ResourceBundleProvider("Config"))
    .asSingleton();

bind(ConfigurationManager.class)
    .to(DefaultConfigurationManager.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(ConfigurationDecoratorFactory.class)
    .to(DefaultConfigurationDecoratorFactory.class);

bind(Configuration.class)
    .toProvider(ResourceBundleConfigurationProvider.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(ExecutorServiceManager.class)
    .to(DefaultExecutorServiceManager.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(EventRouter.class)
    .withClassifier(named("applicationEventRouter"))
    .to(DefaultEventRouter.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(EventRouter.class)
    .to(DefaultEventRouter.class);

bind(ResourceResolverDecoratorFactory.class)
    .to(DefaultResourceResolverDecoratorFactory.class);

bind(MessageSourceDecoratorFactory.class)
    .to(DefaultMessageSourceDecoratorFactory.class);

bind(ResourceResolver.class)
    .withClassifier(named("applicationResourceResolver"))
    .toProvider(new ResourceResolverProvider("resources"))
    .asSingleton();

bind(MessageSource.class)
    .withClassifier(named("applicationMessageSource"))
    .toProvider(new MessageSourceProvider("messages"))
    .asSingleton();

bind(ResourceInjector.class)
    .withClassifier(named("applicationResourceInjector"))
    .to(DefaultApplicationResourceInjector.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(ExecutorService.class)
    .withClassifier(named("defaultExecutorService"))
    .toProvider(DefaultExecutorServiceProvider.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(UIThreadManager.class)
    .to(DefaultUIThreadManager.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(MVCGroupConfigurationFactory.class)
    .to(DefaultMVCGroupConfigurationFactory.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(MVCGroupFactory.class)
    .to(DefaultMVCGroupFactory.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(MVCGroupManager.class)
    .to(DefaultMVCGroupManager.class)
    .asSingleton();

for (Lifecycle lifecycle : Lifecycle.values()) {
    bind(LifecycleHandler.class)
        .withClassifier(named(lifecycle.getName()))
        .toProvider(new LifecycleHandlerProvider(lifecycle.getName()))
        .asSingleton();
}

bind(WindowManager.class)
    .to(NoopWindowManager.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(ActionManager.class)
    .to(DefaultActionManager.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(ActionFactory.class)
    .to(DefaultActionFactory.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(ActionMetadataFactory.class)
    .to(DefaultActionMetadataFactory.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(ArtifactManager.class)
    .to(DefaultArtifactManager.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(ArtifactHandler.class)
    .to(ModelArtifactHandler.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(ArtifactHandler.class)
    .to(ViewArtifactHandler.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(ArtifactHandler.class)
    .to(ControllerArtifactHandler.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(ArtifactHandler.class)
    .to(ServiceArtifactHandler.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(PlatformHandler.class)
    .toProvider(PlatformHandlerProvider.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(AddonManager.class)
    .to(DefaultAddonManager.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(EventHandler.class)
    .to(DefaultEventHandler.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(ExceptionHandler.class)
    .toProvider(GriffonExceptionHandlerProvider.class)
    .asSingleton();

B.2. Groovy

Module name: groovy

bind(ConfigReader.class)
    .toProvider(ConfigReader.Provider.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(ResourceBundleLoader.class)
    .to(GroovyScriptResourceBundleLoader.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(GriffonAddon.class)
    .to(GroovyAddon.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(EventRouter.class)
    .withClassifier(named("applicationEventRouter"))
    .to(GroovyAwareDefaultEventRouter.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(EventRouter.class)
    .to(GroovyAwareDefaultEventRouter.class);

bind(MVCGroupFactory.class)
    .to(GroovyAwareMVCGroupFactory.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(MVCGroupManager.class)
    .to(GroovyAwareMVCGroupManager.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(BuilderCustomizer.class)
    .to(CoreBuilderCustomizer.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(ResourceResolverDecoratorFactory.class)
    .to(GroovyAwareResourceResolverDecoratorFactory.class);

bind(MessageSourceDecoratorFactory.class)
    .to(GroovyAwareMessageSourceDecoratorFactory.class);

B.3. Swing

Module name: swing

bind(SwingWindowDisplayHandler.class)
    .withClassifier(named("defaultWindowDisplayHandler"))
    .to(DefaultSwingWindowDisplayHandler.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(SwingWindowDisplayHandler.class)
    .withClassifier(named("windowDisplayHandler"))
    .to(ConfigurableSwingWindowDisplayHandler.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(WindowManager.class)
    .to(DefaultSwingWindowManager.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(UIThreadManager.class)
    .to(SwingUIThreadManager.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(ActionManager.class)
    .to(SwingActionManager.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(ActionFactory.class)
    .to(SwingActionFactory.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(GriffonAddon.class)
    .to(SwingAddon.class)
    .asSingleton();

B.4. Swing Builder

Module name: swing-groovy

Depends on: swing

bind(BuilderCustomizer.class)
    .to(SwingBuilderCustomizer.class)
    .asSingleton();
bind(SwingWindowDisplayHandler.class)
    .withClassifier(named("windowDisplayHandler"))
    .to(GroovyAwareConfigurableSwingWindowDisplayHandler.class)
    .asSingleton();

B.5. JavaFX

Module name: javafx

bind(JavaFXWindowDisplayHandler.class)
    .withClassifier(named("defaultWindowDisplayHandler"))
    .to(DefaultJavaFXWindowDisplayHandler.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(JavaFXWindowDisplayHandler.class)
    .withClassifier(named("windowDisplayHandler"))
    .to(ConfigurableJavaFXWindowDisplayHandler.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(WindowManager.class)
    .to(DefaultJavaFXWindowManager.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(UIThreadManager.class)
    .to(JavaFXUIThreadManager.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(ActionManager.class)
    .to(JavaFXActionManager.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(ActionFactory.class)
    .to(JavaFXActionFactory.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(ActionMatcher.class)
    .toInstance(ActionMatcher.DEFAULT);

B.6. JavaFX Builder

Module name: javafx-groovy

Depends on: javafx

bind(BuilderCustomizer.class)
    .to(JavafxBuilderCustomizer.class)
    .asSingleton();
bind(JavaFXWindowDisplayHandler.class)
    .withClassifier(named("windowDisplayHandler"))
    .to(GroovyAwareConfigurableJavaFXWindowDisplayHandler.class)
    .asSingleton();

B.7. Lanterna

Module name: lanterna

bind(GUIScreen.class)
    .toProvider(GUIScreenProvider.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(LanternaWindowDisplayHandler.class)
    .withClassifier(named("defaultWindowDisplayHandler"))
    .to(DefaultLanternaWindowDisplayHandler.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(LanternaWindowDisplayHandler.class)
    .withClassifier(named("windowDisplayHandler"))
    .to(ConfigurableLanternaWindowDisplayHandler.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(WindowManager.class)
    .to(DefaultLanternaWindowManager.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(UIThreadManager.class)
    .to(LanternaUIThreadManager.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(ActionManager.class)
    .to(LanternaActionManager.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(ActionFactory.class)
    .to(LanternaActionFactory.class)
    .asSingleton();

B.8. Lanterna Builder

Module name: lanterna-groovy

Depends on: lanterna

bind(BuilderCustomizer.class)
    .to(LanternaBuilderCustomizer.class)
    .asSingleton();
bind(LanternaWindowDisplayHandler.class)
    .withClassifier(named("windowDisplayHandler"))
    .to(GroovyAwareConfigurableLanternaWindowDisplayHandler.class)
    .asSingleton();

B.9. Pivot

Module name: pivot

bind(PivotWindowDisplayHandler.class)
    .withClassifier(named("defaultWindowDisplayHandler"))
    .to(DefaultPivotWindowDisplayHandler.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(PivotWindowDisplayHandler.class)
    .withClassifier(named("windowDisplayHandler"))
    .to(ConfigurablePivotWindowDisplayHandler.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(WindowManager.class)
    .to(DefaultPivotWindowManager.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(UIThreadManager.class)
    .to(PivotUIThreadManager.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(ActionManager.class)
    .to(PivotActionManager.class)
    .asSingleton();

bind(ActionFactory.class)
    .to(PivotActionFactory.class)
    .asSingleton();

B.10. Pivot Builder

Module name: pivot-groovy

Depends on: pivot

bind(BuilderCustomizer.class)
    .to(PivotBuilderCustomizer.class)
    .asSingleton();
bind(PivotWindowDisplayHandler.class)
    .withClassifier(named("windowDisplayHandler"))
    .to(GroovyAwareConfigurablePivotWindowDisplayHandler.class)
    .asSingleton();

Appendix C: AST Transformations

The following list summarizes all AST transformations available to Groovy-based projects when the griffon-groovy-compile-2.12.0.jar dependency is added to a project:

Appendix D: System Properties

The following list summarizes all System properties that the Griffon runtime may use

Property   Chapter

griffon.env

Overview - Metadata - Application Environment

griffon.exception.output

Overview - Exception Handler

griffon.full.stacktrace

Overview - Exception Handler

griffon.sanitized.stacktraces

Overview - Exception Handler

Appendix E: Sample Applications

This appendix showcases the same application implemented with different languages and different UI toolkits. The application presents a very simple form where a user is asked for his or her name. Once a button is clicked a reply will appear within the same window. In order to achieve this, Models hold 2 observable properties: the first to keep track of the input, the second to do the same for the output. Views are only concerned with values coming from the model and as such never interact directly with Controllers. Controllers in turn only interact with Models and a Service used to transform the input value into the output value. The single controller action observes the rules for invoking computations outside of the UI thread and updating UI components inside the UI thread.

These are some screenshots of each of the applications we’ll cover next.

Swing
Figure 1. Swing Sample
JavaFX
Figure 2. JavaFX Sample
Lanterna
Figure 3. Lanterna Sample
Pivot
Figure 4. Pivot Sample

The goal of these applications is to showcase the similarities and differences of each of them given their implementation language and UI toolkit.

E.1. Swing

Let’s begin with Swing, as it’s probably the most well known Java UI toolkit. First we’ll show the Java version of an artifact, then we’ll show its Groovy counterpart.

E.1.1. Model

Instances of GriffonModel implement the Observable interface which means they know how to handle observable properties out of the box. We only need to be concerned about triggering a java.beans.PropertyChangeEvent when a property changes value.

sample-swing-java/griffon-app/models/sample/swing/java/SampleModel.java

  
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package sample.swing.java;

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonModel;
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor;
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.artifact.AbstractGriffonModel;

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonModel.class)
public class SampleModel extends AbstractGriffonModel {
    private String input;                                                (1)
    private String output;                                               (1)

    public String getInput() {                                           (2)
        return input;
    }

    public void setInput(String input) {
        firePropertyChange("input", this.input, this.input = input);     (3)
    }

    public String getOutput() {                                          (2)
        return output;
    }

    public void setOutput(String output) {
        firePropertyChange("output", this.output, this.output = output); (3)
    }
}
1 Define a private field for the property
2 Property accessor
3 Property mutator must fire a PropertyChangeEvent

The code is quite straightforward; there’s nothing much to see here other than making sure to follow the rules for creating observable properties. The Groovy version sports a short hand thanks to the usage of the @Observable AST transformation.

One key difference between the Java and the Groovy version is that the Groovy Model does not extend a particular class. This is due to Griffon being aware of its own conventions and applying the appropriate byte code manipulation (via AST transformations). The compiled Model class does implement the GriffonModel interface as required by the framework. This type of byte code manipulation is expected to work for every Groovy based artifact.

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package sample.swing.groovy

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonModel
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor
import griffon.transform.Observable

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonModel)
class SampleModel {
    @Observable String input                                             (1)
    @Observable String output                                            (1)
}
1 Observable property

Properties become observable by simply annotating them with @Observable. The Groovy compiler will generate the required boilerplate code, which just so happens to be functionally equivalent to what we showed in the Java version.

E.1.2. Controller

Controllers provide actions that are used to fill up the application’s interaction. They usually manipulate values coming from Views via Model properties. Controllers may rely on additional components, such as Services, to do they work. This is exactly our case, as there’s a SampleService instance injected into our controllers.

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package sample.swing.java;

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonController;
import griffon.core.controller.ControllerAction;
import griffon.inject.MVCMember;
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor;
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.artifact.AbstractGriffonController;

import javax.annotation.Nonnull;
import javax.inject.Inject;

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonController.class)
public class SampleController extends AbstractGriffonController {
    private SampleModel model;                                          (1)

    @Inject
    private SampleService sampleService;                                (2)

    @MVCMember
    public void setModel(@Nonnull SampleModel model) {
        this.model = model;
    }

    @ControllerAction
    public void sayHello() {                                            (3)
        final String result = sampleService.sayHello(model.getInput());
        runInsideUIAsync(new Runnable() {                               (4)
            @Override
            public void run() {
                model.setOutput(result);
            }
        });
    }
}
1 MVC member injected by MVCGroupManager
2 Injected by JSR 330
3 Automatically run off the UI thread
4 Get back inside the UI thread

Of particular note is the fact that actions are always executed outside of the UI thread unless otherwise configured with an @Threading annotation. Once we have computed the right output, we must inform the View of the new value. This is done by updating the model inside the UI thread 4.

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package sample.swing.groovy

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonController
import griffon.core.controller.ControllerAction
import griffon.inject.MVCMember
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor

import javax.annotation.Nonnull
import javax.inject.Inject

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonController)
class SampleController {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull
    SampleModel model                                                      (1)

    @Inject
    private SampleService sampleService                                    (2)

    @ControllerAction
    void sayHello() {                                                      (3)
        String result = sampleService.sayHello(model.input)
        model.output = result                                              (4)
    }
}
1 MVC member injected by MVCGroupManager
2 Injected by JSR 330
3 Automatically run off the UI thread
4 Get back inside the UI thread

The Groovy version of the Controller is much terser, of course. However, there’s a nice feature available to Groovy Swing: Model properties bound to UI components are always updated inside the UI thread.

E.1.3. Service

Services are tasked to work with raw data and I/O; they should never interact with Views and Models directly, though you may have additional components injected to them. The following service shows another facility provide by the GriffonApplication interface: MessageSource, capable of resolving i18n-able resources.

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package sample.swing.java;

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonService;
import griffon.core.i18n.MessageSource;
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor;
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.artifact.AbstractGriffonService;

import static griffon.util.GriffonNameUtils.isBlank;
import static java.util.Arrays.asList;

@javax.inject.Singleton
@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonService.class)
public class SampleService extends AbstractGriffonService {
    public String sayHello(String input) {
        MessageSource messageSource = getApplication().getMessageSource();
        if (isBlank(input)) {
            return messageSource.getMessage("greeting.default");
        } else {
            return messageSource.getMessage("greeting.parameterized", asList(input));
        }
    }
}
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package sample.swing.groovy

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonService
import griffon.core.i18n.MessageSource
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor

import static griffon.util.GriffonNameUtils.isBlank

@javax.inject.Singleton
@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonService)
class SampleService {
    String sayHello(String input) {
        MessageSource ms = application.messageSource
        isBlank(input) ? ms.getMessage('greeting.default') : ms.getMessage('greeting.parameterized', [input])
    }
}

E.1.4. View

We come to the final piece of the puzzle: the View. Components are arranged in a one column vertical grid:

sample-swing-java/griffon-app/views/sample/swing/java/SampleView.java

  
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package sample.swing.java;

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonView;
import griffon.inject.MVCMember;
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor;
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.swing.artifact.AbstractSwingGriffonView;

import javax.annotation.Nonnull;
import javax.swing.Action;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JTextField;
import javax.swing.event.DocumentEvent;
import javax.swing.event.DocumentListener;
import java.awt.GridLayout;
import java.awt.Image;
import java.awt.Toolkit;
import java.beans.PropertyChangeEvent;
import java.beans.PropertyChangeListener;
import java.util.Collections;

import static java.util.Arrays.asList;
import static javax.swing.WindowConstants.DO_NOTHING_ON_CLOSE;

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonView.class)
public class SampleView extends AbstractSwingGriffonView {
    private SampleController controller;                                         (1)
    private SampleModel model;                                                   (1)

    @MVCMember
    public void setController(@Nonnull SampleController controller) {
        this.controller = controller;
    }

    @MVCMember
    public void setModel(@Nonnull SampleModel model) {
        this.model = model;
    }

    @Override
    public void initUI() {
        JFrame window = (JFrame) getApplication()
            .createApplicationContainer(Collections.<String, Object>emptyMap());
        window.setName("mainWindow");
        window.setTitle(getApplication().getConfiguration().getAsString("application.title"));
        window.setSize(320, 120);
        window.setDefaultCloseOperation(DO_NOTHING_ON_CLOSE);
        window.setIconImage(getImage("/griffon-icon-48x48.png"));
        window.setIconImages(asList(
            getImage("/griffon-icon-48x48.png"),
            getImage("/griffon-icon-32x32.png"),
            getImage("/griffon-icon-16x16.png")
        ));
        getApplication().getWindowManager().attach("mainWindow", window);        (2)

        window.getContentPane().setLayout(new GridLayout(4, 1));
        window.getContentPane().add(
            new JLabel(getApplication().getMessageSource().getMessage("name.label"))
        );
        final JTextField nameField = new JTextField();
        nameField.setName("inputField");
        nameField.getDocument().addDocumentListener(new DocumentListener() {     (3)
            @Override
            public void insertUpdate(DocumentEvent e) {
                model.setInput(nameField.getText());
            }

            @Override
            public void removeUpdate(DocumentEvent e) {
                model.setInput(nameField.getText());
            }

            @Override
            public void changedUpdate(DocumentEvent e) {
                model.setInput(nameField.getText());
            }
        });
        window.getContentPane().add(nameField);

        Action action = toolkitActionFor(controller, "sayHello");                (4)
        final JButton button = new JButton(action);
        button.setName("sayHelloButton");
        window.getContentPane().add(button);

        final JLabel outputLabel = new JLabel();
        outputLabel.setName("outputLabel");
        model.addPropertyChangeListener("output", new PropertyChangeListener() { (3)
            @Override
            public void propertyChange(PropertyChangeEvent evt) {
                outputLabel.setText(String.valueOf(evt.getNewValue()));
            }
        });
        window.getContentPane().add(outputLabel);
    }

    private Image getImage(String path) {
        return Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().getImage(SampleView.class.getResource(path));
    }
}
1 MVC member injected by MVCGroupManager
2 Attach window to WindowManager
3 Apply component-to-model binding
4 Hook in controller action by name

Here we can appreciate at 3 how Model properties are bound to View components, and also how controller actions can be transformed into toolkit actions that may be applied to buttons 4 for example.

sample-swing-groovy/griffon-app/views/sample/swing/groovy/SampleView.groovy

  
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package sample.swing.groovy

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonView
import griffon.inject.MVCMember
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor

import javax.annotation.Nonnull

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonView)
class SampleView {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull
    FactoryBuilderSupport builder                                                              (1)
    @MVCMember @Nonnull
    SampleModel model                                                                          (1)

    void initUI() {
        builder.with {
            application(title: application.configuration['application.title'],                 (2)
                id: 'mainWindow', size: [320, 160],
                iconImage: imageIcon('/griffon-icon-48x48.png').image,
                iconImages: [imageIcon('/griffon-icon-48x48.png').image,
                    imageIcon('/griffon-icon-32x32.png').image,
                    imageIcon('/griffon-icon-16x16.png').image]) {
                gridLayout(rows: 4, cols: 1)
                label(application.messageSource.getMessage('name.label'))
                textField(id: 'inputField', text: bind(target: model, 'input'))                 (3)
                button(sayHelloAction, id: 'sayHelloButton')                                    (4)
                label(id: 'outputLabel', text: bind { model.output })                           (3)
            }
        }
    }
}
1 MVC member injected by MVCGroupManager
2 Create window and attach it to WindowManager
3 Apply component-to-model binding
4 Hook in controller action by name

The Groovy version is again much terser thanks to the SwingBuilder DSL. Notice how easy it is to bind 3 model properties using the bind node. The controller action is also transformed into a UI toolkit specific action; however, this time it’s easier to grab: by convention all controller actions are exposed as variables to the corresponding builder.

E.1.5. Resources

The last file we’ll touch is the one that holds the i18n-able content. Griffon supports several formats. Here we’re showing the standard one as found in many Java projects.

sample-swing-java/griffon-app/i18n/messages.properties

  
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name.label = Please enter your name
greeting.default = Howdy stranger!
greeting.parameterized = Hello {0}

E.1.6. Statistics

The following statistics show the number of lines per artifact required by both applications:

Java
+---------------------------------+-------+-------+
| Name                            | Files |   LOC |
+---------------------------------+-------+-------+
| Configuration                   |     1 |    24 |
| Controllers                     |     1 |    28 |
| Groovy Integration Test Sources |     1 |    31 |
| Java Integration Test Sources   |     1 |    27 |
| Java Sources                    |     3 |    52 |
| Java Test Sources               |     1 |    48 |
| Lifecycle                       |     1 |    30 |
| Models                          |     1 |    21 |
| Properties                      |     3 |     5 |
| Services                        |     1 |    19 |
| Views                           |     1 |    87 |
+---------------------------------+-------+-------+
| Totals                          |    15 |   372 |
+---------------------------------+-------+-------+
Groovy
+---------------------------------+-------+-------+
| Name                            | Files |   LOC |
+---------------------------------+-------+-------+
| Configuration                   |     1 |    13 |
| Controllers                     |     1 |    19 |
| Groovy Integration Test Sources |     2 |    58 |
| Groovy Sources                  |     3 |    51 |
| Groovy Test Sources             |     1 |    47 |
| Lifecycle                       |     1 |    17 |
| Models                          |     1 |     9 |
| Properties                      |     3 |     5 |
| Services                        |     1 |    13 |
| Views                           |     1 |    28 |
+---------------------------------+-------+-------+
| Totals                          |    15 |   260 |
+---------------------------------+-------+-------+

E.2. JavaFX

JavaFX is a next generation UI toolkit and will eventually replace Swing, so it’s a good idea to get started with it now. Among the several features found in JavaFX you’ll find

  • observable properties

  • component styling with CSS

  • FXML: a declarative format for defining UIs

  • and more!

E.2.1. Model

sample-javafx-java/griffon-app/models/sample/javafx/java/SampleModel.java

  
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package sample.javafx.java;

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonModel;
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor;
import javafx.beans.property.SimpleStringProperty;
import javafx.beans.property.StringProperty;
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.artifact.AbstractGriffonModel;

import javax.annotation.Nonnull;

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonModel.class)
public class SampleModel extends AbstractGriffonModel {
    private StringProperty input;                                       (1)
    private StringProperty output;                                      (1)

    @Nonnull
    public final StringProperty inputProperty() {                       (2)
        if (input == null) {
            input = new SimpleStringProperty(this, "input");
        }
        return input;
    }

    public void setInput(String input) {                                (3)
        inputProperty().set(input);
    }

    public String getInput() {                                          (3)
        return input == null ? null : inputProperty().get();
    }

    @Nonnull
    public final StringProperty outputProperty() {                      (2)
        if (output == null) {
            output = new SimpleStringProperty(this, "output");
        }
        return output;
    }

    public void setOutput(String output) {                              (3)
        outputProperty().set(output);
    }

    public String getOutput() {                                         (3)
        return output == null ? null : outputProperty().get();
    }
}
1 Define a private field for the property
2 Property accessor
3 Pass-thru values to Property

The Model makes use of JavaFX’s observable properties. These properties are roughly equivalent in behavior to the ones we saw back in the Swing example; however, they provide much more behavior than that; values may be cached automatically, for example, avoiding needless updating of bindings.

sample-javafx-groovy/griffon-app/models/sample/javafx/groovy/SampleModel.groovy

  
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package sample.javafx.groovy

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonModel
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor
import griffon.transform.FXObservable

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonModel)
class SampleModel {
    @FXObservable String input                                           (1)
    @FXObservable String output                                          (1)
}
1 Observable property

As with @Observable we find that Groovy-based JavaFX models can use another AST transformation named @FXObservable. This transformation generates equivalent byte code to the Java based Model we saw earlier.

E.2.2. Controller

Have a look at the controller for this application. See if you can spot the differences from its Swing counterpart.

sample-javafx-java/griffon-app/controllers/sample/javafx/java/SampleController.java

  
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package sample.javafx.java;

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonController;
import griffon.core.controller.ControllerAction;
import griffon.inject.MVCMember;
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor;
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.artifact.AbstractGriffonController;

import javax.annotation.Nonnull;
import javax.inject.Inject;

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonController.class)
public class SampleController extends AbstractGriffonController {
    private SampleModel model;                                          (1)

    @Inject
    private SampleService sampleService;                                (2)

    @MVCMember
    public void setModel(@Nonnull SampleModel model) {
        this.model = model;
    }

    @ControllerAction
    public void sayHello() {                                            (3)
        final String result = sampleService.sayHello(model.getInput());
        runInsideUIAsync(() -> model.setOutput(result));                (4)
    }
}
1 MVC member injected by MVCGroupManager
2 Injected by JSR 330
3 Automatically run off the UI thread
4 Get back inside the UI thread

Did you spot any differences? No? That’s because the two controllers are 100% identical. How can this be? This is the power of separating concerns between MVC members. Because the Controller only talks to the View via the Model, and the Model exposes an identical contract for its properties; we didn’t have to change the Controller at all.

sample-javafx-groovy/griffon-app/controllers/sample/javafx/groovy/SampleController.groovy

  
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package sample.javafx.groovy

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonController
import griffon.core.controller.ControllerAction
import griffon.inject.MVCMember
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor

import javax.annotation.Nonnull
import javax.inject.Inject

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonController)
class SampleController {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull
    SampleModel model                                                      (1)

    @Inject
    private SampleService sampleService                                    (2)

    @ControllerAction
    void sayHello() {                                                      (3)
        String result = sampleService.sayHello(model.input)
        runInsideUIAsync { model.output = result }                         (4)
    }
}
1 MVC member injected by MVCGroupManager
2 Injected by JSR 330
3 Automatically run off the UI thread
4 Get back inside the UI thread

As opposed to its Swing counterpart, here we have to add an explicit threading block when updating model properties. This is because the bind node for JavaFX components is not aware of the same rules as the bind node for Swing components. Nevertheless, the code remains short and to the point.

E.2.3. Service

Given that the service operates with raw data and has no ties to the toolkit in use, we’d expect no changes from the Swing example.

sample-javafx-java/griffon-app/services/sample/javafx/java/SampleService.java

  
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package sample.javafx.java;

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonService;
import griffon.core.i18n.MessageSource;
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor;
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.artifact.AbstractGriffonService;

import static griffon.util.GriffonNameUtils.isBlank;
import static java.util.Arrays.asList;

@javax.inject.Singleton
@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonService.class)
public class SampleService extends AbstractGriffonService {
    public String sayHello(String input) {
        MessageSource messageSource = getApplication().getMessageSource();
        if (isBlank(input)) {
            return messageSource.getMessage("greeting.default");
        } else {
            return messageSource.getMessage("greeting.parameterized", asList(input));
        }
    }
}
sample-javafx-groovy/griffon-app/services/sample/javafx/groovy/SampleService.groovy

  
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package sample.javafx.groovy

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonService
import griffon.core.i18n.MessageSource
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor

import static griffon.util.GriffonNameUtils.isBlank

@javax.inject.Singleton
@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonService)
class SampleService {
    String sayHello(String input) {
        MessageSource ms = application.messageSource
        isBlank(input) ? ms.getMessage('greeting.default') : ms.getMessage('greeting.parameterized', [input])
    }
}

E.2.4. View

Views are the artifacts that are most impacted by the choice of UI toolkit. You may remember we mentioned FXML as one of the strong features delivered by JavaFX, so we chose to implement the Java-based View by reading an fxml file by convention.

sample-javafx-java/griffon-app/views/sample/javafx/java/SampleView.java

  
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package sample.javafx.java;

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonView;
import griffon.inject.MVCMember;
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor;
import javafx.fxml.FXML;
import javafx.scene.Group;
import javafx.scene.Node;
import javafx.scene.Scene;
import javafx.scene.control.Label;
import javafx.scene.control.TextField;
import javafx.scene.paint.Color;
import javafx.stage.Stage;
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.javafx.artifact.AbstractJavaFXGriffonView;

import javax.annotation.Nonnull;
import java.util.Collections;

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonView.class)
public class SampleView extends AbstractJavaFXGriffonView {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull
    private SampleController controller;                                  (1)
    @MVCMember @Nonnull
    private SampleModel model;                                            (1)

    @FXML
    private TextField input;                                              (2)
    @FXML
    private Label output;                                                 (2)

    @Override
    public void initUI() {
        Stage stage = (Stage) getApplication()
            .createApplicationContainer(Collections.<String, Object>emptyMap());
        stage.setTitle(getApplication().getConfiguration().getAsString("application.title"));
        stage.setWidth(400);
        stage.setHeight(120);
        stage.setScene(init());
        getApplication().getWindowManager().attach("mainWindow", stage);  (3)
    }

    // build the UI
    private Scene init() {
        Scene scene = new Scene(new Group());
        scene.setFill(Color.WHITE);

        Node node = loadFromFXML();
        model.inputProperty().bindBidirectional(input.textProperty());
        model.outputProperty().bindBidirectional(output.textProperty());
        ((Group) scene.getRoot()).getChildren().addAll(node);
        connectActions(node, controller);                                 (4)

        return scene;
    }
}
1 MVC member injected by MVCGroupManager
2 Create window and attach it to WindowManager
3 Injected by FXMLLoader
4 Hook actions by convention

FXMLLoader can inject components to an instance as long as that instance exposes fields annotated with @FXML; fields names must match component ids 2 as defined in the fxml file, which is shown next:

sample-javafx-java/griffon-app/resources/sample/javafx/java/sample.fxml

  
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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!--

    Copyright 2008-2017 the original author or authors.

    Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
    you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
    You may obtain a copy of the License at

        http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0

    Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
    distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
    WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
    See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
    limitations under the License.

-->
<?import javafx.scene.control.Button?>
<?import javafx.scene.control.Label?>
<?import javafx.scene.control.TextField?>
<?import javafx.scene.layout.AnchorPane?>
<AnchorPane id="AnchorPane" maxHeight="-Infinity" maxWidth="-Infinity"
            minHeight="-Infinity" minWidth="-Infinity"
            prefHeight="80.0" prefWidth="384.0"
            xmlns:fx="http://javafx.com/fxml"
            fx:controller="sample.javafx.java.SampleView">
    <children>
        <Label layoutX="14.0" layoutY="14.0" text="Please enter your name:"/>
        <TextField fx:id="input" layoutX="172.0" layoutY="11.0"
                   prefWidth="200.0"/>
        <Button layoutX="172.0" layoutY="45.0"
                mnemonicParsing="false"
                prefWidth="200.0"
                text="Say hello!"
                fx:id="sayHelloActionTarget" />                         (1)
        <Label layoutX="14.0" layoutY="80.0" prefWidth="360.0" fx:id="output"/>
    </children>
</AnchorPane>
1 Naming convention for automatic action binding

Please pay special attention to the fx:id given to the button. Griffon applies a naming convention to match controller actions to JavaFX components that can handle said actions. Let’s review what we have here:

  • SampleController exposes an action named sayHello

  • the button has an fx:id value of sayHelloActionTarget

Given this we infer that the fx:id value must be of the form <actionName>ActionTarget. The naming convention is one of two steps; you must also connect the controller using a helper method 4 as shown in the View.

sample-javafx-groovy/griffon-app/views/sample/javafx/groovy/SampleView.groovy

  
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package sample.javafx.groovy

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonView
import griffon.inject.MVCMember
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor

import javax.annotation.Nonnull

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonView)
class SampleView {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull
    FactoryBuilderSupport builder                                                              (1)
    @MVCMember @Nonnull
    SampleModel model                                                                          (1)

    void initUI() {
        builder.application(title: application.configuration['application.title'],
            name: 'mainWindow', sizeToScene: true, centerOnScreen: true) {                     (2)
            scene(fill: WHITE, width: 400, height: 120) {
                anchorPane {
                    label(leftAnchor: 14, topAnchor: 11,
                          text: application.messageSource.getMessage('name.label'))
                    textField(leftAnchor: 172, topAnchor: 11, prefWidth: 200, id: 'input',
                              text: bind(model.inputProperty()))                               (3)
                    button(leftAnchor: 172, topAnchor: 45, prefWidth: 200,
                           id: 'sayHelloActionTarget', sayHelloAction)                         (4)
                    label(leftAnchor: 14, topAnchor: 80, prefWidth: 200, id: 'output',
                        text: bind(model.outputProperty()))                                    (3)
                }
            }
        }
    }
}
1 MVC member injected by MVCGroupManager
2 Create window and attach it to WindowManager
3 Apply component-to-model binding
4 Hook actions by convention

The Groovy version of the View uses the GroovyFX DSL instead of FXML. You’ll find that this DSL is very similar to SwingBuilder.

E.2.5. Resources

Finally, the resources for this application are identical to the Swing version.

sample-javafx-java/griffon-app/i18n/messages.properties

  
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name.label = Please enter your name
greeting.default = Howdy stranger!
greeting.parameterized = Hello {0}

E.2.6. Statistics

The following statistics show the number of lines per artifact required by both applications:

Java
+---------------------------------+-------+-------+
| Name                            | Files |   LOC |
+---------------------------------+-------+-------+
| Configuration                   |     1 |    24 |
| Controllers                     |     1 |    23 |
| FXML Sources                    |     1 |    22 |
| Groovy Functional Test Sources  |     1 |    35 |
| Groovy Integration Test Sources |     1 |    29 |
| Groovy Test Sources             |     1 |    46 |
| Java Functional Test Sources    |     1 |    28 |
| Java Integration Test Sources   |     1 |    25 |
| Java Sources                    |     2 |    24 |
| Java Test Sources               |     1 |    43 |
| Models                          |     1 |    38 |
| Properties                      |     3 |     5 |
| Services                        |     1 |    19 |
| Views                           |     1 |    46 |
+---------------------------------+-------+-------+
| Totals                          |    17 |   407 |
+---------------------------------+-------+-------+
Groovy
+---------------------------------+-------+-------+
| Name                            | Files |   LOC |
+---------------------------------+-------+-------+
| Configuration                   |     1 |    13 |
| Controllers                     |     1 |    19 |
| Groovy Functional Test Sources  |     2 |    63 |
| Groovy Integration Test Sources |     2 |    54 |
| Groovy Sources                  |     2 |    23 |
| Groovy Test Sources             |     2 |    88 |
| Models                          |     1 |     9 |
| Properties                      |     3 |     5 |
| Services                        |     1 |    13 |
| Views                           |     1 |    29 |
+---------------------------------+-------+-------+
| Totals                          |    16 |   316 |
+---------------------------------+-------+-------+

E.3. Lanterna

Lanterna is a Java library allowing you to write easy semi-graphical user interfaces in a text-only environment, very much like the C library curses, but with more functionality. Lanterna supports xterm-compatible terminals and terminal emulators such as konsole, gnome-terminal, putty, xterm and many more. One of the main benefits of lanterna is that it’s not dependent on any native library, but runs 100% in pure Java.

E.3.1. Model

Even though Lanterna UI components do not expose observable properties in any way, it’s a good thing to use observable properties in the Model, and so the following Model is identical to the Swing version.

sample-lanterna-java/griffon-app/models/sample/lanterna/java/SampleModel.java

  
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package sample.lanterna.java;

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonModel;
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor;
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.artifact.AbstractGriffonModel;

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonModel.class)
public class SampleModel extends AbstractGriffonModel {
    private String input;                                                (1)
    private String output;                                               (1)

    public String getInput() {                                           (2)
        return input;
    }

    public void setInput(String input) {
        firePropertyChange("input", this.input, this.input = input);     (3)
    }

    public String getOutput() {                                          (2)
        return output;
    }

    public void setOutput(String output) {
        firePropertyChange("output", this.output, this.output = output); (3)
    }
}
1 Define a private field for the property
2 Property accessor
3 Property mutator must fire a PropertyChangeEvent

For reasons we’ll see in the Groovy View and Controller, we decided to skip a Model for the Groovy version. This also demonstrates that even though an MVC group is the smallest building block, you can still configure how it’s assembled. Have a look at the application’s configuration to find out how:

sample-lanterna-groovy/griffon-app/conf/sample/lanterna/groovy/Config.groovy

  
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package sample.lanterna.groovy

application {
    title = 'Lanterna + Groovy'
    startupGroups = ['sample']
    autoShutdown = true
}
mvcGroups {
    // MVC Group for "sample"
    'sample' {
        view       = 'sample.lanterna.groovy.SampleView'
        controller = 'sample.lanterna.groovy.SampleController'
    }
}

E.3.2. Controller

We find that for the Java version, the Controller is identical to the Swing and JavaFX versions. For the Groovy one we notice that both input and output view components are accessed directly. We know we’ve said in the past that a Controller should never do this, but because Lanterna exposes no bind mechanism, the Groovy binding implementation would look as verbose as the Java version; we decided to take a shortcut for demonstration purposes.

sample-lanterna-java/griffon-app/controllers/sample/lanterna/java/SampleController.java

  
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package sample.lanterna.java;

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonController;
import griffon.core.controller.ControllerAction;
import griffon.inject.MVCMember;
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor;
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.artifact.AbstractGriffonController;

import javax.annotation.Nonnull;
import javax.inject.Inject;

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonController.class)
public class SampleController extends AbstractGriffonController {
    private SampleModel model;                                          (1)

    @Inject
    private SampleService sampleService;                                (2)

    @MVCMember
    public void setModel(@Nonnull SampleModel model) {
        this.model = model;
    }

    @ControllerAction
    public void sayHello() {                                            (3)
        final String result = sampleService.sayHello(model.getInput());
        runInsideUIAsync(new Runnable() {                               (4)
            @Override
            public void run() {
                model.setOutput(result);
            }
        });
    }
}
1 MVC member injected by MVCGroupManager
2 Injected by JSR 330
3 Automatically run off the UI thread
4 Get back inside the UI thread
sample-lanterna-groovy/griffon-app/controllers/sample/lanterna/groovy/SampleController.groovy

  
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package sample.lanterna.groovy

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonController
import griffon.core.controller.ControllerAction
import griffon.inject.MVCMember
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor

import javax.annotation.Nonnull
import javax.inject.Inject

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonController)
class SampleController {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull
    FactoryBuilderSupport builder                                          (1)

    @Inject
    private SampleService sampleService                                    (2)

    @ControllerAction
    void sayHello() {                                                      (3)
        String result = sampleService.sayHello(builder.input.text)
        runInsideUIAsync {                                                 (4)
            builder.output.text = result
        }
    }
}
1 MVC member injected by MVCGroupManager
2 Injected by JSR 330
3 Automatically run off the UI thread
4 Get back inside the UI thread

E.3.3. Service

Again, services should not be affected by the choice of UI tookit, so the following Service definitions are identical to the previous ones we saw earlier.

sample-lanterna-java/griffon-app/services/sample/lanterna/java/SampleService.java

  
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package sample.lanterna.java;

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonService;
import griffon.core.i18n.MessageSource;
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor;
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.artifact.AbstractGriffonService;

import static griffon.util.GriffonNameUtils.isBlank;
import static java.util.Arrays.asList;

@javax.inject.Singleton
@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonService.class)
public class SampleService extends AbstractGriffonService {
    public String sayHello(String input) {
        MessageSource messageSource = getApplication().getMessageSource();
        if (isBlank(input)) {
            return messageSource.getMessage("greeting.default");
        } else {
            return messageSource.getMessage("greeting.parameterized", asList(input));
        }
    }
}
sample-lanterna-groovy/griffon-app/services/sample/lanterna/groovy/SampleService.groovy

  
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package sample.lanterna.groovy

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonService
import griffon.core.i18n.MessageSource
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor

import static griffon.util.GriffonNameUtils.isBlank

@javax.inject.Singleton
@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonService)
class SampleService {
    String sayHello(String input) {
        MessageSource ms = application.messageSource
        isBlank(input) ? ms.getMessage('greeting.default') : ms.getMessage('greeting.parameterized', [input])
    }
}

E.3.4. View

We’d expect the View to follow the same pattern we’ve seen in the previous examples; that is, create two components that will be bound to model properties and a button that’s connected to a Controller action. Here we see that the Java version is rather verbose due to the fact that Lanterna has no observable UI components. This is the reason we must explicitly set the value of the input component in the input Model property as soon as the button is clicked.

sample-lanterna-java/griffon-app/views/sample/lanterna/java/SampleView.java

  
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package sample.lanterna.java;

import com.googlecode.lanterna.gui.Window;
import com.googlecode.lanterna.gui.component.Label;
import com.googlecode.lanterna.gui.component.Panel;
import com.googlecode.lanterna.gui.component.TextBox;
import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonView;
import griffon.inject.MVCMember;
import griffon.lanterna.support.LanternaAction;
import griffon.lanterna.widgets.MutableButton;
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor;
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.lanterna.artifact.AbstractLanternaGriffonView;

import javax.annotation.Nonnull;
import java.beans.PropertyChangeEvent;
import java.beans.PropertyChangeListener;
import java.util.Collections;

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonView.class)
public class SampleView extends AbstractLanternaGriffonView {
    private SampleController controller;                                         (1)
    private SampleModel model;                                                   (1)

    @MVCMember
    public void setController(@Nonnull SampleController controller) {
        this.controller = controller;
    }

    @MVCMember
    public void setModel(@Nonnull SampleModel model) {
        this.model = model;
    }

    @Override
    public void initUI() {
        Window window = (Window) getApplication()
            .createApplicationContainer(Collections.<String, Object>emptyMap());
        getApplication().getWindowManager().attach("mainWindow", window);        (2)
        Panel panel = new Panel(Panel.Orientation.VERTICAL);

        panel.addComponent(new Label(getApplication().getMessageSource().getMessage("name.label")));

        final TextBox input = new TextBox();
        panel.addComponent(input);

        LanternaAction sayHelloAction = toolkitActionFor(controller, "sayHello");
        final Runnable runnable = sayHelloAction.getRunnable();
        sayHelloAction.setRunnable(new Runnable() {                              (3)
            @Override
            public void run() {
                model.setInput(input.getText());
                runnable.run();
            }
        });
        panel.addComponent(new MutableButton(sayHelloAction));                   (4)

        final Label output = new Label();
        panel.addComponent(output);
        model.addPropertyChangeListener("output", new PropertyChangeListener() { (3)
            @Override
            public void propertyChange(PropertyChangeEvent evt) {
                output.setText(String.valueOf(evt.getNewValue()));
            }
        });

        window.addComponent(panel);
    }
}
1 MVC member injected by MVCGroupManager
2 Create window and attach it to WindowManager
3 Apply component-to-model binding
4 Hook actions by convention

Fortunately, we can rely on the observable output Model property to write back the value to the output component as soon as said property is updated.

sample-lanterna-groovy/griffon-app/views/sample/lanterna/groovy/SampleView.groovy

  
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package sample.lanterna.groovy

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonView
import griffon.inject.MVCMember
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor

import javax.annotation.Nonnull

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonView)
class SampleView {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull
    FactoryBuilderSupport builder                                                              (1)

    void initUI() {
        builder.with {
            application(id: 'mainWindow') {                                                    (2)
                verticalLayout()
                label(application.messageSource.getMessage('name.label'))
                textBox(id: 'input')
                button(sayHelloAction)                                                         (3)
                label(id: 'output')
            }
        }
    }
}
1 MVC member injected by MVCGroupManager
2 Create window and attach it to WindowManager
3 Hook actions by convention

Here we can see there’s no binding code in the View; for this reason, the Controller has to access UI components directly.

E.3.5. Resources

The resources file is identical to the ones found in the other applications. There are in fact no changes brought about by the choice of UI toolkit.

sample-lanterna-java/griffon-app/i18n/messages.properties

  
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name.label = Please enter your name
greeting.default = Howdy stranger!
greeting.parameterized = Hello {0}

E.3.6. Statistics

The following statistics show the number of lines per artifact required by both applications:

Java
+------------------------+-------+-------+
| Name                   | Files |   LOC |
+------------------------+-------+-------+
| Configuration          |     1 |    24 |
| Controllers            |     1 |    28 |
| Java Sources           |     2 |    24 |
| Java Test Sources      |     1 |    55 |
| Models                 |     1 |    21 |
| Properties             |     3 |     5 |
| Services               |     1 |    19 |
| Views                  |     1 |    57 |
+------------------------+-------+-------+
| Totals                 |    11 |   233 |
+------------------------+-------+-------+
Groovy
+------------------------+-------+-------+
| Name                   | Files |   LOC |
+------------------------+-------+-------+
| Configuration          |     1 |    12 |
| Controllers            |     1 |    21 |
| Groovy Sources         |     2 |    23 |
| Groovy Test Sources    |     1 |    54 |
| Properties             |     3 |     5 |
| Services               |     1 |    13 |
| Views                  |     1 |    21 |
+------------------------+-------+-------+
| Totals                 |    10 |   149 |
+------------------------+-------+-------+

E.4. Pivot

Apache Pivot is an open-source platform for building installable Internet applications (IIAs). It combines the enhanced productivity and usability features of a modern user interface toolkit with the robustness of the Java platform.

We decided to implement this application in the same fashion as the Lanterna application for the same reason: Pivot UI components are not observable. You’ll notice that the Java Model is identical, and there’s no Groovy Model.

E.4.1. Model

sample-pivot-java/griffon-app/models/sample/pivot/java/SampleModel.java

  
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package sample.pivot.java;

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonModel;
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor;
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.artifact.AbstractGriffonModel;

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonModel.class)
public class SampleModel extends AbstractGriffonModel {
    private String input;                                                (1)
    private String output;                                               (1)

    public String getInput() {                                           (2)
        return input;
    }

    public void setInput(String input) {
        firePropertyChange("input", this.input, this.input = input);     (3)
    }

    public String getOutput() {                                          (2)
        return output;
    }

    public void setOutput(String output) {
        firePropertyChange("output", this.output, this.output = output); (3)
    }
}
1 Define a private field for the property
2 Property accessor
3 Property mutator must fire a PropertyChangeEvent

E.4.2. Controller

The Pivot Controllers follow the same rules as the Lanterna ones, and as such you’ll see there are no differences between one another.

sample-pivot-java/griffon-app/controllers/sample/pivot/java/SampleController.java

  
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package sample.pivot.java;

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonController;
import griffon.core.controller.ControllerAction;
import griffon.inject.MVCMember;
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor;
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.artifact.AbstractGriffonController;

import javax.annotation.Nonnull;
import javax.inject.Inject;

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonController.class)
public class SampleController extends AbstractGriffonController {
    private SampleModel model;                                          (1)

    @Inject
    private SampleService sampleService;                                (2)

    @MVCMember
    public void setModel(@Nonnull SampleModel model) {
        this.model = model;
    }

    @ControllerAction
    public void sayHello() {                                            (3)
        final String result = sampleService.sayHello(model.getInput());
        runInsideUIAsync(new Runnable() {                               (4)
            @Override
            public void run() {
                model.setOutput(result);
            }
        });
    }
}
1 MVC member injected by MVCGroupManager
2 Injected by JSR 330
3 Automatically run off the UI thread
4 Get back inside the UI thread
sample-pivot-groovy/griffon-app/controllers/sample/pivot/groovy/SampleController.groovy

  
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package sample.pivot.groovy

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonController
import griffon.core.controller.ControllerAction
import griffon.inject.MVCMember
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor

import javax.annotation.Nonnull
import javax.inject.Inject

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonController)
class SampleController {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull
    FactoryBuilderSupport builder                                          (1)

    @Inject
    private SampleService sampleService                                    (2)

    @ControllerAction
    void sayHello() {                                                      (3)
        String result = sampleService.sayHello(builder.input.text)
        runInsideUIAsync {                                                 (4)
            builder.output.text = result
        }
    }
}
1 MVC member injected by MVCGroupManager
2 Injected by JSR 330
3 Automatically run off the UI thread
4 Get back inside the UI thread

E.4.3. Service

Services remain constant again; no surprise, right?

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package sample.pivot.java;

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonService;
import griffon.core.i18n.MessageSource;
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor;
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.core.artifact.AbstractGriffonService;

import static griffon.util.GriffonNameUtils.isBlank;
import static java.util.Arrays.asList;

@javax.inject.Singleton
@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonService.class)
public class SampleService extends AbstractGriffonService {
    public String sayHello(String input) {
        MessageSource messageSource = getApplication().getMessageSource();
        if (isBlank(input)) {
            return messageSource.getMessage("greeting.default");
        } else {
            return messageSource.getMessage("greeting.parameterized", asList(input));
        }
    }
}
sample-pivot-groovy/griffon-app/services/sample/pivot/groovy/SampleService.groovy

  
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package sample.pivot.groovy

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonService
import griffon.core.i18n.MessageSource
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor

import static griffon.util.GriffonNameUtils.isBlank

@javax.inject.Singleton
@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonService)
class SampleService {
    String sayHello(String input) {
        MessageSource ms = application.messageSource
        isBlank(input) ? ms.getMessage('greeting.default') : ms.getMessage('greeting.parameterized', [input])
    }
}

E.4.4. View

If you squint, you’ll see that the View is almost identical to the Swing and Lanterna Views. Besides using toolkit specific components, we notice that both input and output Model properties have to be explicitly bound using the native support exposed by the toolkit.

sample-pivot-java/griffon-app/views/sample/pivot/java/SampleView.java

  
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package sample.pivot.java;

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonView;
import griffon.inject.MVCMember;
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor;
import griffon.pivot.support.PivotAction;
import griffon.pivot.support.adapters.TextInputContentAdapter;
import org.apache.pivot.serialization.SerializationException;
import org.apache.pivot.wtk.BoxPane;
import org.apache.pivot.wtk.Button;
import org.apache.pivot.wtk.Label;
import org.apache.pivot.wtk.Orientation;
import org.apache.pivot.wtk.PushButton;
import org.apache.pivot.wtk.TextInput;
import org.apache.pivot.wtk.Window;
import org.codehaus.griffon.runtime.pivot.artifact.AbstractPivotGriffonView;

import javax.annotation.Nonnull;
import java.beans.PropertyChangeEvent;
import java.beans.PropertyChangeListener;
import java.util.Collections;

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonView.class)
public class SampleView extends AbstractPivotGriffonView {
    private SampleController controller;                                         (1)
    private SampleModel model;                                                   (1)

    @MVCMember
    public void setController(@Nonnull SampleController controller) {
        this.controller = controller;
    }

    @MVCMember
    public void setModel(@Nonnull SampleModel model) {
        this.model = model;
    }

    @Override
    public void initUI() {
        Window window = (Window) getApplication()
            .createApplicationContainer(Collections.<String, Object>emptyMap());
        window.setTitle(getApplication().getConfiguration().getAsString("application.title"));
        window.setMaximized(true);
        getApplication().getWindowManager().attach("mainWindow", window);        (2)

        BoxPane vbox = new BoxPane(Orientation.VERTICAL);
        try {
            vbox.setStyles("{horizontalAlignment:'center', verticalAlignment:'center'}");
        } catch (SerializationException e) {
            // ignore
        }

        vbox.add(new Label(getApplication().getMessageSource().getMessage("name.label")));

        TextInput input = new TextInput();
        input.setName("inputField");
        input.getTextInputContentListeners().add(new TextInputContentAdapter() {  (3)
            @Override
            public void textChanged(TextInput arg0) {
                model.setInput(arg0.getText());
            }
        });
        vbox.add(input);

        PivotAction sayHelloAction = toolkitActionFor(controller, "sayHello");
        final Button button = new PushButton(sayHelloAction.getName());
        button.setName("sayHelloButton");
        button.setAction(sayHelloAction);                                        (4)
        vbox.add(button);

        final TextInput output = new TextInput();
        output.setName("outputField");
        output.setEditable(false);
        model.addPropertyChangeListener("output", new PropertyChangeListener() { (3)
            @Override
            public void propertyChange(PropertyChangeEvent evt) {
                output.setText(String.valueOf(evt.getNewValue()));
            }
        });
        vbox.add(output);

        window.setContent(vbox);
    }
}
1 MVC member injected by MVCGroupManager
2 Create window and attach it to WindowManager
3 Apply component-to-model binding
4 Hook actions by convention
sample-pivot-groovy/griffon-app/views/sample/pivot/groovy/SampleView.groovy

  
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package sample.pivot.groovy

import griffon.core.artifact.GriffonView
import griffon.inject.MVCMember
import griffon.metadata.ArtifactProviderFor

import javax.annotation.Nonnull

@ArtifactProviderFor(GriffonView)
class SampleView {
    @MVCMember @Nonnull
    FactoryBuilderSupport builder                                                              (1)

    void initUI() {
        builder.with {
            application(title: application.configuration['application.title'],
                        id: 'mainWindow', maximized: true) {                                   (2)
                vbox(styles: "{horizontalAlignment:'center', verticalAlignment:'center'}") {
                    label(application.messageSource.getMessage('name.label'))
                    textInput(id: 'input')
                    button(id: 'sayHelloButton', sayHelloAction)                               (3)
                    textInput(id: 'output', editable: false)
                }
            }
        }
    }
}
1 MVC member injected by MVCGroupManager
2 Create window and attach it to WindowManager
3 Hook actions by convention

E.4.5. Resources

Here is the resource file, again unchanged:

sample-pivot-java/griffon-app/i18n/messages.properties

  
1
2
3


  
name.label = Please enter your name
greeting.default = Howdy stranger!
greeting.parameterized = Hello {0}

E.4.6. Statistics

The following statistics show the number of lines per artifact required by both applications:

Java
+---------------------------------+-------+-------+
| Name                            | Files |   LOC |
+---------------------------------+-------+-------+
| Configuration                   |     1 |    24 |
| Controllers                     |     1 |    28 |
| Groovy Integration Test Sources |     1 |    37 |
| Java Integration Test Sources   |     1 |    68 |
| Java Sources                    |     2 |    24 |
| Java Test Sources               |     1 |    48 |
| Models                          |     1 |    21 |
| Properties                      |     3 |     5 |
| Services                        |     1 |    19 |
| Views                           |     1 |    71 |
+---------------------------------+-------+-------+
| Totals                          |    13 |   345 |
+---------------------------------+-------+-------+
Groovy
+---------------------------------+-------+-------+
| Name                            | Files |   LOC |
+---------------------------------+-------+-------+
| Configuration                   |     1 |    12 |
| Controllers                     |     1 |    21 |
| Groovy Integration Test Sources |     2 |    76 |
| Groovy Sources                  |     2 |    23 |
| Groovy Test Sources             |     1 |    48 |
| Properties                      |     3 |     5 |
| Services                        |     1 |    13 |
| Views                           |     1 |    23 |
+---------------------------------+-------+-------+
| Totals                          |    12 |   221 |
+---------------------------------+-------+-------+

Appendix F: Builder Nodes

The following tables summarizes all builder nodes supplied by the default UI Toolkit dependencies:

F.1. Swing

F.2. JavaFX

Table 20. griffon/builder/javafx/JavaFXBuilderCustomizer

 Node

Type

accordion

javafx.scene.control.Accordion

action

griffon.javafx.support.JavaFXAction

affine

anchorPane

javafx.scene.layout.AnchorPane

application

javafx.scene.Stage

arc

javafx.scene.shape.Arc

arcTo

javafx.scene.shape.ArcTo

areaChart

javafx.builders.AreaChartBuilder

barChart

javafx.builders.BarChartBuilder

blend

javafx.scene.effect.Blend

bloom

javafx.scene.effect.Bloom

borderPane

javafx.scene.layout.BorderPane

bottom

groovyx.javafx.factory.BorderPanePosition

bottomInput

boxBlur

javafx.scene.effect.BoxBlur

bubbleChart

javafx.builders.BubbleChartBuilder

bumpInput

button

javafx.scene.control.Button

categoryAxis

javafx.scene.chart.CategoryAxis

center

groovyx.javafx.factory.BorderPanePosition

checkBox

javafx.scene.control.CheckBox

checkMenuItem

javafx.scene.control.MenuBar

choiceBox

javafx.scene.control.ChoiceBox

circle

javafx.scene.shape.Circle

clip

closePath

javafx.scene.shape.ClosePath

colorAdjust

javafx.scene.effect.ColorAdjust

colorInput

javafx.scene.effect.ColorInput

column

groovyx.javafx.factory.GridRowColumn

constraint

groovyx.javafx.factory.GridConstraint

container

javafx.scene.Parent

content

groovyx.javafx.factory.Titled

contentInput

contextMenu

javafx.scene.control.ContextMenu

cubicCurve

javafx.scene.shape.CubicCurve

cubicCurveTo

javafx.scene.shape.CubicCurveTo

customMenuItem

javafx.scene.control.MenuBar

displacementMap

javafx.scene.effect.DisplacementMap

distant

javafx.scene.effect.Light.Distant

dividerPosition

javafx.scene.control.DividerPosition

dropShadow

javafx.scene.effect.DropShadow

effect

javafx.scene.effect.Effect

ellipse

javafx.scene.shape.Ellipse

fadeTransition

javafx.animation.FadeTransition

fileChooser

javafx.stage.FileChooser

fill

javafx.scene.paint.Paint

fillTransition

javafx.animation.FadeTransition

filter

javafx.stage.FilterChooser.ExtensionFilter

flowPane

javafx.scene.layout.FlowPane

fxml

javafx.scene.Node

gaussianBlur

javafx.scene.effect.GaussianBlur

glow

javafx.scene.effect.Glow

graphic

groovyx.javafx.factory.Graphic

gridPane

javafx.scene.layout.GridPane

group

javafx.scene.Group

hLineTo

javafx.scene.shape.HLineTo

hbox

javafx.scene.layout.HBox

htmlEditor

javafx.scene.web.HTMLEditor

hyperlink

javafx.scene.control.Hyperlink

image

javafx.scene.image.Image

imageInput

javafx.scene.effect.ImageInput

imageView

javafx.scene.image.ImageView

innerShadow

javafx.scene.effect.InnerShadow

label

javafx.scene.control.Label

left

groovyx.javafx.factory.BorderPanePosition

lighting

javafx.scene.effect.Lighting

line

javafx.scene.shape.Line

lineChart

javafx.builders.LineChartBuilder

lineTo

javafx.scene.shape.LineTo

linearGradient

javafx.builders.LinearGradientBuilder

listView

javafx.scene.control.ListView

mediaPlayer

javafx.scene.media.MediaPlayer

mediaView

javafx.scene.media.MediaView

menu

javafx.scene.control.MenuBar

menuBar

javafx.scene.control.MenuBar

menuButton

javafx.scene.control.MenuBar

menuItem

javafx.scene.control.MenuBar

metaComponent

<any GroovyFX builder node>

motionBlur

javafx.scene.effect.MotionBlur

moveTo

javafx.scene.shape.MoveTo

node

javafx.scene.Node

nodes

java.util.List

noparent

java.util.List

numberAxis

javafx.scene.chart.NumberAxis

onAction

javafx.event.EventHandler

onBranchCollapse

groovyx.javafx.ClosureEventHandler

onBranchExpand

groovyx.javafx.ClosureEventHandler

onChildrenModification

groovyx.javafx.ClosureEventHandler

onDragDetected

javafx.event.EventHandler

onDragDone

javafx.event.EventHandler

onDragDropped

javafx.event.EventHandler

onDragEntered

javafx.event.EventHandler

onDragExited

javafx.event.EventHandler

onDragOver

javafx.event.EventHandler

onEditCancel

groovyx.javafx.ClosureEventHandler

onEditCommit

groovyx.javafx.ClosureEventHandler

onEditStart

groovyx.javafx.ClosureEventHandler

onGraphicChanged

groovyx.javafx.ClosureEventHandler

onMouseClicked

javafx.event.EventHandler

onMouseDragged

javafx.event.EventHandler

onMouseEntered

javafx.event.EventHandler

onMouseExited

javafx.event.EventHandler

onMousePressed

javafx.event.EventHandler

onMouseReleased

javafx.event.EventHandler

onMouseWheelMoved

javafx.event.EventHandler

onTreeItemCountChange

groovyx.javafx.ClosureEventHandler

onTreeNotification

groovyx.javafx.ClosureEventHandler

onValueChanged

groovyx.javafx.ClosureEventHandler

pane

javafx.scene.layout.Pane

parallelTransition

javafx.animation.ParallelTransition

path

javafx.scene.shape.Path

pathTransition

javafx.animation.PathTransition

pauseTransition

javafx.animation.PauseTransition

perspectiveTransform

javafx.scene.effect.PerspectiveTransform

pieChart

javafx.scene.chart.PieChart

point

javafx.scene.effect.Light.Point

polygon

javafx.scene.shape.Polygon

polyline

javafx.scene.shape.Polyline

popup

javafx.stage.Popup

progressBar

javafx.scene.control.ProgressBar

progressIndicator

javafx.scene.control.ProgressIndicator

quadCurve

javafx.scene.shape.QuadCurve

quadCurveTo

javafx.scene.shape.QuadCurveTo

radialGradient

javafx.builders.RadialGradientBuilder

radioButton

javafx.scene.control.RadioButton

radioMenuItem

javafx.scene.control.MenuBar

rectangle

javafx.scene.shape.Rectangle

reflection

javafx.scene.effect.Reflection

right

groovyx.javafx.factory.BorderPanePosition

rotate

rotateTransition

javafx.animation.RotateTransition

row

groovyx.javafx.factory.GridRowColumn

scale

scaleTransition

javafx.animation.ScaleTransition

scatterChart

javafx.builders.ScatterChartBuilder

scene

javafx.scene.Scene

scrollBar

javafx.scene.control.ScrollBar

scrollPane

javafx.scene.control.ScrollPane

separator

javafx.scene.control.Separator

separatorMenuItem

javafx.scene.control.MenuBar

sepiaTone

javafx.scene.effect.SepiaTone

sequentialTransition

javafx.animation.SequentialTransition

series

javafx.scene.chart.XYChart.Series

shadow

javafx.scene.effect.Shadow

shear

slider

javafx.scene.control.Slider

splitMenuButton

javafx.scene.control.MenuBar

splitPane

javafx.scene.control.SplitPane

spot

javafx.scene.effect.Light.Spot

stackPane

javafx.scene.layout.StackPane

stage

javafx.scene.Stage

stop

javafx.scene.paint.Stop

stroke

javafx.scene.paint.Paint

strokeTransition

javafx.animation.StrokeTransition

stylesheets

java.util.List

svgPath

javafx.scene.shape.SVGPath

tab

javafx.scene.control.Tab

tabPane

javafx.scene.control.TabPane

tableColumn

javafx.scene.control.TableColumn

tableRow

javafx.scene.control.TableRow

tableView

javafx.scene.control.TableView

text

javafx.scene.text.Text

textArea

javafx.scene.control.TextArea

textField

javafx.scene.control.TextField

tilePane

javafx.scene.layout.TilePane

title

groovyx.javafx.factory.Titled

titledPane

javafx.scene.control.TitledPane

toggleButton

javafx.scene.control.ToggleButton

toolBar

javafx.scene.control.ToolBar

tooltip

javafx.scene.control.Tooltip

top

groovyx.javafx.factory.BorderPanePosition

topInput

transition

javafx.animation.Transition

translate

translateTransition

javafx.animation.TranslateTransition

treeItem

javafx.scene.control.TreeItem

treeView

javafx.scene.control.TreeView

vLineTo

javafx.scene.shape.VLineTo

vbox

javafx.scene.layout.VBox

webEngine

javafx.scene.web.WebEngine

webView

javafx.scene.web.WebView

F.3. Lanterna

Table 21. griffon/builder/lanterna/LanternaBuilderCustomizer
Node Type

action

griffon.lanterna.support.LanternaAction

actionListBox

com.googlecode.lanterna.gui.component.ActionListBox

actions

java.util.ArrayList

application

com.googlecode.lanterna.gui.Window

bean

java.lang.Object

borderLayout

com.googlecode.lanterna.gui.layout.BorderLayout

button

griffon.lanterna.widgets.MutableButton

checkBox

com.googlecode.lanterna.gui.component.CheckBox

container

com.googlecode.lanterna.gui.Component

emptySpace

com.googlecode.lanterna.gui.component.EmptySpace

hbox

com.googlecode.lanterna.gui.component.Panel

horisontalLayout

com.googlecode.lanterna.gui.layout.HorisontalLayout

horizontalLayout

com.googlecode.lanterna.gui.layout.HorisontalLayout

label

com.googlecode.lanterna.gui.component.Label

list

java.util.ArrayList

panel

com.googlecode.lanterna.gui.component.Panel

passwordBox

com.googlecode.lanterna.gui.component.PasswordBox

progressBar

com.googlecode.lanterna.gui.component.ProgressBar

table

com.googlecode.lanterna.gui.component.Table

textArea

com.googlecode.lanterna.gui.component.TextArea

textBox

com.googlecode.lanterna.gui.component.TextBox

vbox

com.googlecode.lanterna.gui.component.Panel

verticalLayout

com.googlecode.lanterna.gui.layout.VerticalLayout

widget

com.googlecode.lanterna.gui.Component

F.4. Pivot

Table 22. griffon/builder/pivot/PivotBuilderCustomizer
Node Type

accordion

org.apache.pivot.wtk.Accordion

action

griffon.pivot.imlp.DefaultAction

actions

java.util.ArrayList

activityIndicator

org.apache.pivot.wtk.ActivityIndicator

application

org.apache.pivot.wtk.Window

baselineDecorator

org.apache.pivot.wtk.effects.BaselineDecorator

bean

java.lang.Object

blurDecorator

org.apache.pivot.wtk.effects.BlurDecorator

border

org.apache.pivot.wtk.Border

bounds

org.apache.pivot.wtk.Bounds

box

org.apache.pivot.wtk.BoxPane

boxPane

org.apache.pivot.wtk.BoxPane

button

org.apache.pivot.wtk.PushButton

buttonData

org.apache.pivot.wtk.content.ButtonData

buttonDataRenderer

org.apache.pivot.wtk.content.ButtonDataRenderer

buttonGroup

org.apache.pivot.wtk.ButtonGroup

bxml

org.apache.pivot.wtk.Component

calendar

org.apache.pivot.wtk.Calendar

calendarButton

org.apache.pivot.wtk.CalendarButton

calendarButtonDataRenderer

org.apache.pivot.wtk.content.CalendarButtonDataRenderer

calendarDateSpinnerData

org.apache.pivot.wtk.content.CalendarDateSpinnerData

cardPane

org.apache.pivot.wtk.CardPane

checkbox

org.apache.pivot.wtk.Checkbox

clipDecorator

org.apache.pivot.wtk.effects.ClipDecorator

colorChooser

org.apache.pivot.wtk.ColorChooser

colorChooserButton

org.apache.pivot.wtk.ColorChooserButton

container

org.apache.pivot.wtk.Container

dialog

org.apache.pivot.wtk.Dialog

dimensions

org.apache.pivot.wtk.Dimensions

dropShadowDecorator

org.apache.pivot.wtk.effects.DropShadowDecorator

easingCircular

org.apache.pivot.wtk.effects.Circular

easingCubic

org.apache.pivot.wtk.effects.Cubic

easingExponential

org.apache.pivot.wtk.effects.Exponential

easingLinear

org.apache.pivot.wtk.effects.Linear

easingQuadratic

org.apache.pivot.wtk.effects.Quadratic

easingQuartic

org.apache.pivot.wtk.effects.Quartic

easingQuintic

org.apache.pivot.wtk.effects.Quintic

easingSine

org.apache.pivot.wtk.effects.Sine

expander

org.apache.pivot.wtk.Expander

fadeDecorator

org.apache.pivot.wtk.effects.FadeDecorator

fileBrowser

org.apache.pivot.wtk.FileBrowser

fileBrowserSheet

org.apache.pivot.wtk.FileBrowserSheet

flowPane

org.apache.pivot.wtk.FlowPane

form

org.apache.pivot.wtk.Form

formFlag

org.apache.pivot.wtk.From.Flag

formSection

org.apache.pivot.wtk.Form.Section

frame

org.apache.pivot.wtk.Frame

grayscaleDecorator

org.apache.pivot.wtk.effects.GrayscaleDecorator

gridFiller

org.apache.pivot.wtk.GridPane.Filler

gridPane

org.apache.pivot.wtk.GridPane

gridRow

org.apache.pivot.wtk.GridPane.Row

hbox

org.apache.pivot.wtk.BoxPane

imageView

org.apache.pivot.wtk.ImageView

insets

org.apache.pivot.wtk.Insets

label

org.apache.pivot.wtk.Label

linkButton

org.apache.pivot.wtk.LinkButton

linkButtonDataRenderer

org.apache.pivot.wtk.content.LinkButtonDataRenderer

listButton

org.apache.pivot.wtk.ListButton

listButtonColorItemRenderer

org.apache.pivot.wtk.content.ListButtonColorItemRenderer

listButtonDataRenderer

org.apache.pivot.wtk.content.ListButtonDataRenderer

listView

org.apache.pivot.wtk.ListView

menu

org.apache.pivot.wtk.Menu

menuBar

org.apache.pivot.wtk.MenuBar

menuBarItem

org.apache.pivot.wtk.MenuBar.Item

menuBarItemDataRenderer

org.apache.pivot.wtk.content.MenuBarItemDataRenderer

menuButton

org.apache.pivot.wtk.MenuButton

menuButtonDataRenderer

org.apache.pivot.wtk.content.MenuButtonDataRenderer

menuItem

org.apache.pivot.wtk.Menu.Item

menuItemDataRenderer

org.apache.pivot.wtk.content.MenuItemDataRenderer

menuPopup

org.apache.pivot.wtk.MenuPopup

meter

org.apache.pivot.wtk.Meter

noparent

java.util.ArrayList

numericSpinnerData

org.apache.pivot.wtk.content.NumericSpinnerData

overlayDecorator

org.apache.pivot.wtk.effects.OverlayDecorator

palette

org.apache.pivot.wtk.Palette

panel

org.apache.pivot.wtk.Panel

panorama

org.apache.pivot.wtk.Panorama

picture

org.apache.pivot.wtk.media.Picture

point

org.apache.pivot.wtk.Point

pushButton

org.apache.pivot.wtk.PushButton

radioButton

org.apache.pivot.wtk.RadioButton

reflectionDecorator

org.apache.pivot.wtk.effects.ReflectionDecorator

rollup

org.apache.pivot.wtk.Rollup

rotationDecorator

org.apache.pivot.wtk.effects.RotationDecorator

saturationDecorator

org.apache.pivot.wtk.effects.SaturationDecorator

scaleDecorator

org.apache.pivot.wtk.effects.ScaleDecorator

scrollBar

org.apache.pivot.wtk.ScrollBar

scrollBarScope

org.apache.pivot.wtk.ScrollBar.Scope

scrollPane

org.apache.pivot.wtk.ScrollPane

separator

org.apache.pivot.wtk.Separator

shadeDecorator

org.apache.pivot.wtk.effects.ShadeDecorator

sheet

org.apache.pivot.wtk.Sheet

slider

org.apache.pivot.wtk.Slider

span

org.apache.pivot.wtk.Span

spinner

org.apache.pivot.wtk.Spiner

splitPane

org.apache.pivot.wtk.SplitPane

stackPane

org.apache.pivot.wtk.StackPane

tabPane

org.apache.pivot.wtk.TabPane

tablePane

org.apache.pivot.wtk.TablePane

tablePaneColumn

org.apache.pivot.wtk.TablePane.Column

tablePaneFiller

org.apache.pivot.wtk.TablePane.Filler

tablePaneRow

org.apache.pivot.wtk.TablePane.Row

tagDecorator

org.apache.pivot.wtk.effects.TagDecorator

textArea

org.apache.pivot.wtk.TextArea

textInput

org.apache.pivot.wtk.TextInput

tooltip

org.apache.pivot.wtk.Tooltip

translationDecorator

org.apache.pivot.wtk.effects.TranslationDecorator

vbox

org.apache.pivot.wtk.BoxPane

watermarkDecorator

org.apache.pivot.wtk.effects.WatermarkDecorator

widget

org.apache.pivot.wtk.Component

window

org.apache.pivot.wtk.Window