New User

[Ewan Makepeace <ew...@yahoo.com>]

RE: How to link to non Velocity pages?Hi Everyone,

I just downloaded the last nightly build and subscribed to this list.

I have written a web application generator that builds semi complete web
apps with persistent beans and JSP based screens, which I am using in my
current project. However the generator uses a relatively crude template
parser that forces me to put a lot of the java and JSP syntax in the java
code (and we all know how ugly that can get!). As soon as my current project
is stable I plan to use the generator to generate the next iteration of
itself (the code it generates is a lot nicer than the code it is built with
if you know what I mean!)

I toyed with the idea of using JSP as the template engine - since the next
version will run under Tomcat that would be OK for the Java code, but you
cannot easily generate JSP using JSP - the tags get mixed up! Then I cam
across Velocity and it looked just about ideal - a simple clean syntax,
support for loops and if-then and direct hooks to Java.

So a couple of simple questions for you all before I get too deep into
Velocity:
1)    Is Velocity a good match for this type of project?
2)    I havn't seen much change on the web site since I first saw it 6
months ago - is there a stable release in sight?
3)    I have also noticed Turbine (which seems to be similar to my own
project) - is it worth investigating?

rgds
Ewan Makepeace

Re: New User

["Geir Magnusson Jr." <ge...@optonline.net>]

> Ewan Makepeace wrote:
> 
> Hi Everyone,
> 
> I just downloaded the last nightly build and subscribed to this list.

Excellent!

> I have written a web application generator that builds semi complete
> web apps with persistent beans and JSP based screens, which I am using
> in my current project. However the generator uses a relatively crude
> template parser that forces me to put a lot of the java and JSP syntax
> in the java code (and we all know how ugly that can get!). As soon as
> my current project is stable I plan to use the generator to generate
> the next iteration of itself (the code it generates is a lot nicer
> than the code it is built with if you know what I mean!)
> 
> I toyed with the idea of using JSP as the template engine - since the
> next version will run under Tomcat that would be OK for the Java code,
> but you cannot easily generate JSP using JSP - the tags get mixed up!
> Then I cam across Velocity and it looked just about ideal - a simple
> clean syntax, support for loops and if-then and direct hooks to Java.

Punt the JSP and use Velocity!  What did you expect on a velocity list
?  :) 

> So a couple of simple questions for you all before I get too deep into
> Velocity:
> 1)    Is Velocity a good match for this type of project?

Yes, I think so.  People are using Velocity for both Java code and SQL
generation. (Take a look at Torque, another Jakarta project, currently
kept 'under the wing' of the Turbine project.)  And Vel is a mighty fine
template engine for generating screens (take a look at Turbine too...)

> 2)    I havn't seen much change on the web site since I first saw it 6
> months ago - is there a stable release in sight?

Definitely.  We tend to spend more time on the code than the website
(which is the right thing to do unless you are a product-less dot com
and need to show action some way).  Actually, the site has progressed in
the documentation area.  There isn't much else to the Vel site...  We
fired all the marketing people, so we are stuck with the current logo 
:)

Velocity is very, very stable, and generally feature complete.  Look at
the dev and user mail list (http://www.mail-archive.com) to see what we
talk about.  I consult and am using it for two commercial clients, with
great success so far.  The template language is nice and easy to work
with, and things generally work as you expect.

> 3)    I have also noticed Turbine (which seems to be similar to my own
> project) - is it worth investigating?

Definitely.  It sounds exactly like what you need, is very feature-rich,
is under active development, and uses Velocity.

geir
  

> rgds
> Ewan Makepeace

-- 
Geir Magnusson Jr.                               geirm@optonline.com
Velocity : it's not just a good idea. It should be the law.
http://jakarta.apache.org/velocity