Javalin 2.4 hits the spot for Kotlin and Java developers

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  • November 5, 2018
Technology

More library than framework, Javalin has a fast release cycle. There have already been four version updates since we last checked in to this lightweight web framework in August! So, what do all these updates add up to? Lots of new and interesting features for Java and Kotlin developers.

Let’s dive right in, shall we?

Javalin 2.4

Javalin 2.4 offers developers the chance to use the framework with an application server or servlet container like Tomcat or Weblocic with the EmbeddedJavalin.createServlet(). Javalin uses the same internal method for create.Servlet() as it does for Jetty.

However, developers should keep an eye out if they use this method and also call on EmbeddedJavalin, as Jetty might throw exceptions and errors. Mind your server methods and manually exclude Jetty from your build files for this approach.

As for Jetty itself, 2.4 offers extended support for wrapped and nested Jetty handlers. Additionally, the SessionHandler is now validated before starting the Server and the “Jetty is listening…” message now includes the context path to make things clearer for developers. It’s also possible to add a custom HandlerCollection to the Jetty instance; Javalin is added at the end of the collection.

Also in Javalin 2.4, developers can now easily add WebSocket loggers! By calling app.wsLogger(), the method takes a WsHandler and can be used to log events of all types. The logger runs after the WebSocket handler for the endpoint.

There are also improvements for exception mapping. Developers can add a custom exception handler, overriding the built in handler for HttpResponseException. Additionally, instead of a plaintext String, the default server error for uncaught exceptions uses the InternalServerErrorResponse.

SEE MORE: Javalin 2.0 is here: This lightweight web framework for Kotlin and Java developers just got better

Other Javalin updates

There’s improved support for Java 9+ projects. All of Javalin’s tests run against JDK8, JDK9, JDK10, and JDK11.

App attributes can be registered on the Javalin instances by calling app.attribute(Class, Object). These attributes can be retrieved on the instance by calling app.attribute(Class), or inside Handlers by calling ctx.appAttribute(Class).

Additionally, a new class has arrived – the Validator. While it does sound like a Silver Age comic book hero, it’s actually a class for validating user input. If validation fails, Javalin will throw a BadRequestResponse with a lovely little error message.

Architecture-wise, there are two classes for the Validator:

  • Validator – This is the base class. It has three validation methods: notNullOrEmpty(), matches(), check(). It also has methods for turning itself into a TypedValidator
  • TypedValidator – When the String has been validated, additional type-safe checks can be performed by calling check() on this class.

For more information, check out the Javalin 2.2 release notes.

SEE ALSO: Javalin — a very lightweight web framework for both Kotlin and Java developers

Get Javalin

Want to try out Javalin for yourself? This open source web framework is available on GitHub or here for download. Javalin is a true micro Java REST API library and has no external dependencies other than the embedded web-server, but it has plugins for JSON mapping and template rendering available if necessary.

The post Javalin 2.4 hits the spot for Kotlin and Java developers appeared first on JAXenter.

Source : JAXenter

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