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Vaadin Framework VS Grails

Compare Vaadin Framework VS Grails and see what are their differences

Vaadin Framework logo Vaadin Framework

Vaadin is a web application framework for Rich Internet Applications (RIA).

Grails logo Grails

An Open Source, full stack, web application framework for the JVM
  • Vaadin Framework Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-24
  • Grails Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-17

Vaadin Framework features and specs

  • Rich Set of Components
    Vaadin provides a wide array of UI components that are ready to use. These components are well-designed and can help speed up the development process by reducing the need for custom UI coding.
  • Java-centric Development
    Vaadin allows developers to write the entire application, including the UI, in Java. This is advantageous for Java developers who prefer to work within a single language ecosystem.
  • Strong Type Safety
    Because Vaadin applications are written in Java, they benefit from the strong type-checking and compile-time error checking, reducing the likelihood of runtime errors.
  • Seamless Integration with Java Ecosystem
    Vaadin integrates well with other Java frameworks and libraries such as Spring, making it a good choice for enterprise applications that already leverage these technologies.
  • Server-Side Architecture
    The server-side execution model of Vaadin means that the business logic and UI management are handled on the server, which can simplify the development of complex UIs.
  • Built-in Support for Progressive Web Apps (PWAs)
    With Vaadin, creating PWAs is straightforward and requires minimal setup, making it easier to build responsive and offline-capable web applications.

Possible disadvantages of Vaadin Framework

  • Heavy Server Load
    Because Vaadin handles UI rendering on the server side, it can generate a significant amount of load on the server, especially for applications with a large number of concurrent users.
  • Latency Issues
    The server-side architecture can lead to latency issues, particularly in applications where a snappy, highly responsive user experience is critical.
  • Limited Client-Side Flexibility
    Developers who require extensive customization on the client-side might find Vaadin limiting, as it abstracts much of the client-side code.
  • Learning Curve
    Though Vaadin simplifies many aspects of web development, it has its own set of abstractions and conventions, which can require a learning curve for new developers.
  • Resource Intensive
    Applications built with Vaadin can be resource-intensive in terms of memory and CPU, potentially leading to higher operational costs.
  • Dependency on Vaadin Ecosystem
    Vaadin tries to provide an end-to-end solution, and heavy reliance on this ecosystem might make it difficult to integrate with other front-end frameworks or libraries without significant effort.

Grails features and specs

  • Rapid Development
    Grails promotes rapid development through its convention-over-configuration approach and powerful features, like scaffolding and GORM (Grails Object Relational Mapping), which speed up the coding process significantly.
  • Groovy Language Integration
    Being built on Groovy, a dynamic language for the Java platform, Grails provides the flexibility and expressiveness of Groovy while maintaining compatibility with Java libraries and tools.
  • Spring Boot Foundation
    Grails is built on top of Spring Boot, leveraging its robust dependency injection, security, and configuration management capabilities, which ensures the stability and scalability of applications.
  • Plugin Ecosystem
    Grails offers a rich ecosystem of plugins for extending the framework. This allows developers to easily integrate various functionalities without reinventing the wheel.
  • Convention-over-Configuration
    The framework emphasizes conventions for many aspects of the development process, reducing the need for extensive configuration and allowing developers to focus more on business logic.
  • Strong Community and Documentation
    Grails has a strong community and extensive documentation, which make it easier for developers to find solutions to problems, share knowledge, and get support.

Possible disadvantages of Grails

  • Learning Curve
    Despite its many conveniences, Grails has a steep learning curve, particularly for developers not familiar with Groovy or the underlying Spring framework.
  • Performance Overheads
    The abstraction layers and dynamic aspects of Groovy may introduce performance overheads, making Grails applications potentially slower than those built with more streamlined frameworks.
  • Limited Flexibility
    While Grails' conventions can be beneficial, they can also limit flexibility, forcing developers into certain patterns and practices even when they may not be ideal for all scenarios.
  • Less Popularity
    Compared to other frameworks like Spring Boot alone or Hibernate, Grails has a smaller market share, leading to fewer job opportunities and a smaller pool of resources.
  • Complex Debugging
    The dynamic nature of Groovy can sometimes make debugging more complex and challenging, especially for those accustomed to statically-typed languages like Java.
  • Dependency Management Issues
    Managing dependencies in Grails can occasionally be problematic, particularly when dealing with transitive dependencies or conflicts between plugins.

Vaadin Framework videos

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Grails videos

BUYING MY SNEAKER GRAILS ON STOCKX!

More videos:

  • Review - TOP 5 SNEAKER GRAILS
  • Review - Top 5 Grails with Superpower Review | Berkfamily54comics

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Vaadin Framework and Grails)
Developer Tools
37 37%
63% 63
Web Frameworks
33 33%
67% 67
JavaScript Tools
52 52%
48% 48
Python Web Framework
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Vaadin Framework and Grails

Vaadin Framework Reviews

17 Popular Java Frameworks for 2023: Pros, cons, and more
Vaadin 10+ approaches web app development in a new way: it gives developers direct access to the DOM (Document Object Model) from the Java Virtual Machine. With the new release, the Vaadin team split the previously monolithic framework into two parts. It has a lightweight Java framework called Vaadin Flow that handles routing and server-client communication and a set of UI...
Source: raygun.com
10 Best Java Frameworks You Should Know
After the Vaadin framework, the next leading framework currently being used in the IT industry is Blade.

Grails Reviews

17 Popular Java Frameworks for 2023: Pros, cons, and more
Although you have to write your code in Groovy, Grails works well with other Java-related technologies such as the Java Development Kit, Jakarta EE containers, Hibernate, and Spring. Under the hood, Grails is built on top of Spring Boot to make use of its productivity-friendly features like dependency injection. With Grails, you can achieve the same results with much less...
Source: raygun.com
10 Best Java Frameworks You Should Know
Grails is a web application framework developed using Apache Groovy Language. It is a Framework that follows the coding by convention method which provides a Standalone environment. Also, it supports instance development with no configuration required.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Vaadin Framework should be more popular than Grails. It has been mentiond 39 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Vaadin Framework mentions (39)

  • Year After Switching from Java to Go: Our Experiences
    But Javas has so many of these web frameworks?! * Spring (https://spring.io/) * Spring Boot (https://spring.io/projects/spring-boot) * Helidon (https://helidon.io/) * Micronaut (https://micronaut.io/) * Quarkus (https://quarkus.io/) * JHipster (https://www.jhipster.tech/) * Vaadin (https://vaadin.com/) That's just to mention the bigger ones, there's lots of mini frameworks like Javalin (https://javalin.io/) and... - Source: Hacker News / 2 months ago
  • Top 10 Java Frameworks Every Dev Need to Know
    Overview: Vaadin is a Java framework that focuses on building modern, single-page web applications (SPAs) with a rich user interface. It allows developers to write frontend logic in Java, which is unusual compared to other JavaScript-based SPA frameworks. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • Vaadin, the battery-included server-side AJAX framework
    I've written a lot about Vaadin. I was so enthusiastic that I wrote the first book about it (besides the Book of Vaadin), its updated edition for Vaadin 7, and a companion website. Still, I'm amazed that so many people in the JVM world never heard of it. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • A short history of AJAX and SSR
    We must recognize the benefits that client-side rendering offers, but perhaps the pendulum has swung too far. Is it possible to have the best of both worlds? In some corners of the industry, cooler heads have prevailed, and the term SSR has been coined to describe a return to what we've been doing for ages—albeit with some modern enhancements. The idea is to leverage AJAX, JavaScript, and browser improvements... - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • The Adventures of Blink #24: Javascript? Ain't Nobody Got Time Fo Dat
    When I first encountered Vaadin, it really intrigued me. It's always bothered me that for a Java programmer to make an app based in the browser, they had to learn HTML and Javascript to actually finish the project. Why the heck couldn't we just do it all in a single language? Why all this front-end voodoo? - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
View more

Grails mentions (6)

  • Mastering Node.js
    Trails is a modern web application framework. It builds on the pedigree of Rails and Grails to accelerate development by adhering to a straightforward, convention-based, API-driven design philosophy. - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
  • RIFE2 web framework under development
    And frameworks like Grails build conventions and helpers on top of Spring. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Web app in Java with Template Engine
    I don't have any direct experience and am only suggesting it because you mentioned RoR...But Grails (https://grails.org/) is basically the JVM version of RoR (Groovy on Rails -> Grails). Source: over 2 years ago
  • Libraries other than Spring Boot for creating web APIs
    Grails - Spring under the hood. Much less boilerplate. Opinionated, which helps keep things consistent. Uses Spring-Security plugin for authentication. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • "get-it-done" MVC web framework like Django in Java?
    Also, Grails, which a Rails like framework build on Groovy, a JVM scripting language. Source: over 3 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Vaadin Framework and Grails, you can also consider the following products

Spring Framework - The Spring Framework provides a comprehensive programming and configuration model for modern Java-based enterprise applications - on any kind of deployment platform.

Ruby on Rails - Ruby on Rails is an open source full-stack web application framework for the Ruby programming...

Eclipse RAP - Java Web Frameworks

Django - The Web framework for perfectionists with deadlines

OpenXava - OpenXava is a Web Java Framework for Rapid Development of Enterprise Applications.

Meteor - Meteor is a set of new technologies for building top-quality web apps in a fraction of the time.