The Apache Jakarta Project Announces Bean Scripting Framework V 2.4.0 to Easily Add Scriptability to Java-Based Applications

Apache Jakarta, a top-level Project of The Apache Software Foundation (ASF), is pleased to announce the first official release of Apache Jakarta BSF v 2.4.0, a scripting framework for Java.

BSF v 2.4.0 allows Java programmers to invoke non-Java programs with as few as two lines of code written in any of the BSF-supported languages, including BeanShell, BML, Groovy, JavaScript (Rhino), JudoScript, NetRexx, ooRexx, PROLOG (JLog), Python, Perl, Rexx, Ruby (JRuby), Tcl (Jacl), and XSLT (Xalan).

By using BSF v 2.4.0, any Java application can be easily turned into a Java script host (JSH), that allows scripts in different programming languages to share data (Java objects) with each other. This allows developers to instrument a mix of BSF scripts implemented with the programming language that best fits the solution of the problem aspect at hand.

Seeing the potential in BSF, various ASF projects such as Apache Ant, Apache Jakarta Taglib BSF 1.1, and Apache Xalan implemented the technology prior to its official release. This was primarily due to its ability to ease the programming task of writing code, such as deploying scripts for special processing in the context of a build; deploying programs/scripts in any of the BSF supported programming languages embedded in JSPs; and allowing to implement extensions to the XSL transformations implemented in any of the BSF- supported programming languages.

Java becoming able to exploit (scripting) programming languages

* BSF allows Java to run programs written in non-Java languages. (BSF can

be used starting from Java 1.3).

* Allows Java applications to use interpreted languages to execute

programs that may be created at runtime, that are stored and edited in

an external file store.

* Allows non-Java applications to use Java to employ scripting languages

(e.g. the ooRexx support for OpenOffice is realized with BSF).

Scripting languages becoming able to exploit Java and applications with

Java interfaces

* Scripting languages can use the Java runtime environment (JRE) as a

huge external function/class library that is available on practically

all platforms ("ported" already by virtue of the JVM).

* Using Java interfaces to applications (even non-Java applications like

OpenOffice) allows any of the BSF programming language to

drive/automate/script them.

The BSF v 2.4.0 distribution also comes with samples demonstrating key features of the framework.

About the Apache Bean Scripting Framework Subproject

A subproject of Apache Jakarta, the Bean Scripting Framework (BSF) is a set of Java classes which provides scripting language support within Java applications, and access to Java objects and methods from scripting languages. BSF allows one to write JSPs in languages other than Java while providing access to the Java class library. In addition, BSF permits any Java application to be implemented in part (or dynamically extended) by a language that is embedded within it. This is achieved by providing an API that permits calling scripting language engines from within Java, as well as an object registry that exposes Java objects to these scripting language engines. For more information visit http://jakarta.apache.org/bsf/

About the Apache Software Foundation

The Apache Software Foundation provides organizational, legal, and financial support for a broad range of Open Source software projects. The Foundation provides an established framework for intellectual property and financial contributions that simultaneously limits contributors' potential legal exposure. Through a collaborative and meritocratic development process, Apache projects deliver enterprise-grade, freely available software products that attract large communities of users. The pragmatic Apache License makes it easy for all users, commercial and individual, to deploy Apache products. For more information, please see http://www.apache.org/

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