In this section, we will guide you through the process of setting up your development environment for Groovy programming. By the end of this section, you will have Groovy installed on your system and be ready to write and execute Groovy scripts.

Before we begin, ensure you have the following:

• A computer with an internet connection.
• Basic knowledge of using the command line or terminal.

Groovy runs on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), so you need to have Java installed on your system. Follow these steps to install Java:

1. Download Java Development Kit (JDK):

   • Visit the Oracle JDK download page.
   • Download the latest version of the JDK suitable for your system (Windows x64 Installer).

2. Install JDK:

   • Run the downloaded installer and follow the on-screen instructions.
   • During installation, note the installation directory (e.g., C:\Program Files\Java\jdk-<version>).

3. Set JAVA_HOME Environment Variable:

   • Open the Start Menu, search for "Environment Variables," and select "Edit the system environment variables."
   • In the System Properties window, click on "Environment Variables."
   • Under "System variables," click "New" and add:
     • Variable name: JAVA_HOME
     • Variable value: C:\Program Files\Java\jdk-<version>
   • Click "OK" to save.

4. Update PATH Variable:

   • In the Environment Variables window, find the Path variable under "System variables" and click "Edit."
   • Add a new entry: %JAVA_HOME%\bin
   • Click "OK" to save.

1. Install Homebrew (if not already installed):

   • Open Terminal and run:

     /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
     

2. Install JDK:

   • In Terminal, run:

     brew install openjdk
     

3. Set JAVA_HOME Environment Variable:

   • Add the following line to your ~/.zshrc or ~/.bash_profile file:

     export JAVA_HOME=$(/usr/libexec/java_home)
     

   • Reload the profile:

     source ~/.zshrc  # or source ~/.bash_profile
     

1. Install JDK:

   • Open Terminal and run:

     sudo apt update
     sudo apt install openjdk-11-jdk
     

2. Set JAVA_HOME Environment Variable:

   • Add the following lines to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.profile file:

     export JAVA_HOME=/usr/lib/jvm/java-11-openjdk-amd64
     export PATH=$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH
     

   • Reload the profile:

     source ~/.bashrc  # or source ~/.profile
     

With Java installed, you can now install Groovy.

1. Download Groovy:

   • Visit the Groovy download page.
   • Download the Windows Installer.

2. Install Groovy:

   • Run the downloaded installer and follow the on-screen instructions.
   • During installation, note the installation directory (e.g., C:\Program Files\Groovy).

3. Set GROOVY_HOME Environment Variable:

   • Open the Start Menu, search for "Environment Variables," and select "Edit the system environment variables."
   • In the System Properties window, click on "Environment Variables."
   • Under "System variables," click "New" and add:
     • Variable name: GROOVY_HOME
     • Variable value: C:\Program Files\Groovy
   • Click "OK" to save.

4. Update PATH Variable:

   • In the Environment Variables window, find the Path variable under "System variables" and click "Edit."
   • Add a new entry: %GROOVY_HOME%\bin
   • Click "OK" to save.

1. Install Groovy using Homebrew:
   • Open Terminal and run:

     brew install groovy
     

1. Install Groovy:
   • Open Terminal and run:

     sudo apt update
     sudo apt install groovy
     

To verify that Groovy is installed correctly, open a terminal or command prompt and run the following commands:

You should see output similar to:

While you can write Groovy scripts in any text editor, using an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) can significantly enhance your productivity. Here are some popular IDEs that support Groovy:

1. Download and Install IntelliJ IDEA:

   • Visit the IntelliJ IDEA download page.
   • Download the Community or Ultimate edition and follow the installation instructions.

2. Configure Groovy SDK:

   • Open IntelliJ IDEA and create a new project.
   • Go to File > Project Structure > SDKs.
   • Click the + button and select Groovy SDK.
   • Navigate to the Groovy installation directory and select it.

1. Download and Install Eclipse:

   • Visit the Eclipse download page.
   • Download the installer and follow the installation instructions.

2. Install Groovy Plugin:

   • Open Eclipse and go to Help > Eclipse Marketplace.
   • Search for "Groovy" and install the Groovy Development Tools (GDT) plugin.

Congratulations! You have successfully set up your environment for Groovy programming. You now have Java and Groovy installed on your system and an IDE configured for Groovy development. In the next section, we will dive into the basics of Groovy and write our first Groovy script.