1. Configuring Applications Using Application Composer
  2. Groovy Scripting

Groovy Scripting

Groovy is a standard, dynamic scripting language for the Java platform for which Application composer provides deep support. This topic provides an overview of where you can use Groovy in your application and gives some samples of one or more lines of Groovy code.

For more information on Groovy scripting, see the Groovy Scripting Reference guide.

Note: Read "Supported Classes and Methods for Use in Groovy Scripts", which documents the only classes and methods you may use in your Groovy scripts. Using any other class or method will raise a security violation error when you migrate your code to later maintenance releases. Therefore, it is strongly suggested that the Groovy code you write uses only the classes and methods shown there to avoid the time-consuming task of having to rewrite your code in the future.

Groovy Scripting Terminology Explained

Throughout the document the term script is used to describe one or more lines of Groovy code that the Oracle ADF framework executes at run time. Often a very-short script is all that is required.

For example, to validate that a Commission Percentage field's value does not exceed 40%, you might use a one-line script like:

return CommissionPercentage < 0.40

In fact, this one-liner can be conveniently shortened by dropping the return keyword since the return keyword is always implied on the last line of a script:

CommissionPercentage < 0.40

For slightly more complicated logic, your script might require some conditional handling. For example, suppose the maximum commission percentage is 40% if the salesperson's job grade is less than or equal to 3, but 60% if the job grade is higher. Your script would grow a little to look like this: 

if (JobGrade <= 3) {
  return CommissionPercentage < 0.40
}
else {
  return CommissionPercentage < 0.60
}

Scripts that you write for other purposes like complex validation rules or reusable functions may span multiple pages, depending on your needs.

When a context requiring a Groovy script will typically use a short (often, one-line) script, that fact is emphasized by calling it an expression. Technically the terms script and expression are interchangeable. Anywhere you can provide a one-line expression is also a valid context for providing a multi-line script if the need arises. Whether you provide a short expression or a multi-line script, the syntax and features at your disposal are the same. You need only pay attention that your code returns a value of the appropriate type for the context in which you use it.

The Groovy Scripting: Examples topic includes all the return types. This topic highlights the expected return type for each script example.

Using Groovy Scripts in Your Application

There are a number of different contexts where you will use Groovy scripts as you modify existing objects or create new custom ones.

You will write shorter scripts to provide an expression to:

  • Calculate a custom formula field's value

  • Calculate a custom field's default value

  • Make a custom field conditionally updatable, or

  • Make a custom field conditionally required

  • Define the condition for executing an object workflow

You will generally write somewhat longer scripts to define:

  • A field-level validation rule

  • An object-level validation rule

  • A trigger to complement default processing

  • Utility code in a global function, or

  • Reusable behavior in an object function

If you anticipate calling the same code from multiple different contexts, any of your scripts can call the reusable code you write in either global functions or object functions. As their name implies, global functions can be called from scripts in any object or from other global functions. Object functions can be called by any scripts in the same object, or even triggered by a button in the user interface.

After exploring the Groovy basic techniques needed to understand the examples documented in the Groovy Scripting Reference guide, see "Groovy Scripting: Examples" for a concrete example of each of these usages. Also see "Groovy Tips and Techniques" in the Groovy Scripting Reference guide for getting the most out of Groovy in your application.

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