Scripting Jython and Groovy using Coyote with NetBeans

If Guillaume’s Groovy interview has got you interested in Groovy, the Coyote project can quickly get you started with Groovy development using NetBeans. The Coyote project goal says “The goal of this project is to develop a set of NetBeans modules to help developers write code in dynamic languages using the NetBeans IDE. Initially, we are targeting the Groovy and Jython languages, but we anticipate a common framework allowing support for more languages”

If you expect Java like support for Groovy and Jython, you will be disappointed as you won’t get any auto completes or wizards to help you out. But you do get file creation, syntax highlighting and you can even execute the script directly from the IDE.

To start scripting with Groovy / Jython using Coyote on NetBeans 5.0, you need to perform the following steps:

1) Download the Coyote NBMs for NetBeans 5.0
2) Extract the contents of the zip file.
3) In NetBeans 5.0, select Tools> Module Manager > Update > Install Manually Downloaded Modules from the Menu. Now select all the NBM files.
4) In the final Install Modules screen, don’t forget to check the Include checkbox against each module. There’s surprisingly no “Select All” option there
5) Set the Groovy Home directory using Tools > Options> Advanced Options> Building > Groovy. You can similarly set the Jython Home if you wish to work with Jython

In the New Project dialog for NetBeans, you will now see a new Category named “Scripting”. You can now create and execute Groovy scripts and even Groovy test cases using the tools provided. “Execute Script” is the first icon in the toolbar displayed.

Groovy Scripting with NetBeans 5.0

Groovy’s support across IDEs is pretty light so far. Hopefully things will pick up once Groovy has a final release.

Related:
>> Jython vs Groovy
>> A Python in Java land
>> Introduction To Groovy @ The IndicThreads Pune Java Meet
>> Groovy bridges the scripting and the enterprise Java worlds
>> Can you tell us where the popular Java IDEs stand as regards Groovy support?