The Play Framework is an essential tool for building 'reactive' applications. It is a fully asynchronous web framework that is completely JEE-free. As part of the Typesafe stack, it is a key member of the Scala ecosystem. While not limited to Scala (it does support Java) - it is written in Scala and the majority of the benefits you get in terms of productivity and performance are better realized while using Scala.
In this session we will cover the basics of the Play Framework, version 2.2 (the latest/greatest!). Learn how to start a project from scratch, manage your builds, test your code and get help when you need it. We will build a functioning RESTful application.
Some basic knowledge of Scala is preferred - but if you don't have any - don't worry, you should be able to follow along. I will take time to explain the basics of the language - as well as demonstrate how to learn more about it (using the Scala REPL).
This session will have code on Github (to be published ASAP), and a database on MongoHQ (which is free). I will also demonstrate all code in IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate Edition - so we can poke at things in the debugger. To follow along, you do not need IntelliJ - but you can always use the 30 day trial.
Engineers with functional programmiing or Java experience will probably get the most out of the session, but if you don't have that background don't let it scare you off!