Book Image

Introduction to JVM Languages

Book Image

Introduction to JVM Languages

Overview of this book

Anyone who knows software development knows about the Java Virtual Machine. The Java Virtual Machine is responsible for interpreting Java byte code and translating it into actions. In the beginning, Java was the only programming language used for the JVM. But increasing complexity of the language and the remarkable performance of the JVM created an opening for a new generation of programming languages. If you want to build a strong foundation with the Java Virtual Machine and get started with popular modern programming languages, then this book is for you. The book will begin with a general introduction of the JVM and its features, which are common to the JVM languages, helping you get abreast with its concepts. It will then dive into explaining languages such as Java, Scala, Clojure, Kotlin, and Groovy and will show how to work with each language, their features, use cases, and pros and cons. By writing example projects in those languages and focusing on each language’s strong points, it will help you find the programming language that is most appropriate for your particular needs. By the end of the book, you will have written multiple programs that run on the Java Virtual Machine and know about the differences between the various languages.
Table of Contents (15 chapters)

Leiningen's build tool


Leiningen is the de facto build tool used for Clojure development. The project's tagline speaks for itself:

For automating Clojure projects without setting your hair on fire.

The Counterclockwise plugin bundles Leiningen as part of its installation, but the bundled version is out of date at the time of writing this book. We, therefore, recommend you to install the latest version manually. We'll show how to configure Counterclockwise so that it can use your Leiningen installation.

Refer to the Leiningen website at http://leiningen.org for more information.

Installing Leiningen

Leiningen's installation procedure is straightforward. In the project's main website, find the Install section. Here you can download an install script for Linux and macOS and a version for Windows. Place this script in a directory. Follow these steps to run the script:

  1. In the Command Prompt (Windows) or Terminal (macOS/Linux), change the active directory to the subdirectory where you stored the script...