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A Grails-like Rich Internet Framework

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What is Griffon

Griffon is a Grails like application framework for developing desktop applications in Groovy. Inspired by Grails, Griffon follows the Convention over Configuration paradigm, paired with an intuitive MVC architecture and a command line interface. Griffon also follows the spirit of the Swing Application Framework (JSR 296), it defines a simple yet powerful application life cycle and event publishing mechanism. Another interesting feature comes from the Groovy language itself: automatic property support and property binding (inspired by BeansBinding (JSR 295)), which makes creating observable beans and binding to their properties a snap! As if property binding was not enough Groovy's SwingBuilder also simplifies building multi-threaded applications, say goodbye to the ugly gray rectangle (the bane of Swing apps)!

Grails developers should feel right at home when trying out Griffon. Many of Grails' conventions and commands are shared with Griffon. Granted, Swing is not the same as HTML/GSP but Builders simplify the task of creating the UI.

Seasoned Java developers will also be able to pick up the pace quickly, as the framework relieves you of the burden of maintaining an application structure, allowing you to concentrate on getting the code right.

Where do I start?

  • Download - links to the latest stable release, you can also find previous releases.
  • Installing Griffon - how to setup your environment to build Griffon applications.
  • Quick Start - a simple example to get you started: a minimal Groovy script evaluating console.
  • Mailing Lists - links to our mailing lists.
  • Plugins - list of currently available plugins.
  • Builders - list of officially supported builders.
  • IDE support

Is there any other Information?

  • Road Map
  • Sample Applications - links to officially supported sample applications. These applications receive updates every time a new release is available. Their purpose is to showcase new features as they are added to the framework.

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