How does Java technology relate to dynamic languages and functional programming?

Many aspiring Java developers have a wealth of experience in other languages. And even veteran Java developers appreciate that the Java programming language isn't the ideal language for every development need. Fortunately, the JVM's support for multiple languages lets the Java platform take advantage of the agility and features of modern dynamic scripting languages and functional languages for prototyping or building certain types of applications.
Learn more about it:

• The Groovy scripting language puts the features and libraries Java developers are most familiar with in an agile development framework that doesn't require compilation, eases syntactical constructs, and lets its scripts be used inside normal Java applications. Get a comprehensive look at what Groovy can do in the Practically Groovy column series.


• The Java scripting API, new in Java SE 6 and backward-compatible to Java SE 5, provides a simple way to invoke dozens of scripting languages using a small set of interfaces and concrete classes. It also lets you read and invoke external scripts at run time, enabling you to change a running application's behavior. Read more about it in the two-part article "Invoke dynamic languages dynamically."


• Are you a fan of functional programming? The busy Java developer's guide to Scala column series introduces Scala, a programming language that combines functional and object-oriented techniques for the JVM.


• Support for alternative languages has been a JVM feature for quite a while. Check out the alt.lang.jre column series to learn about using implementations of Rexx, Ruby, JavaScript, Python, and other languages on the Java platform.