Lift web framework is one of the most popular parts of Scala ecosystem. Thanks to many innovative features and its use in projects such as foursquare or snapsort, this web framework popularity is skyrocketing. Moreover, for many developers, this web framework is the main reason to study Scala programming language.

1. Petr Hošek@petrh CZJUG, December 2010

2. Why do we need another web framework?

3. „Foursquare switched over to Scala & Lift last year and we‘ve been thrilled with the results. The ease of developing complex interactive AJAX web pages enabled very rapid port from our previous platform.“ Harry Heymann,

4. „Lift is the kind of web framework that enables you as a developer to concentrate on the big picture. Strong, expressive typing and higher-level features like the built-in Comet support allow you to focus on innovating instead of the plumbing. “ David LaPalomento,

5. „Lift is the only new framework in the last four years to offer fresh and innovative approaches to web development. It‘s not just some incremental improvement of the status quo, it redefines the state-of-the-art. If you are a web developer, you should learn Lift. “ Michael Galpin,

6. „The fact that Lift-based applications run unchanged on the SAP's NetWeaver CE Java application server makes this an intriguing approach for enterprise applications in the SAP world.“ Darren Hague,

7. Overall View

8. Expressive elegant web framework Combines best of other frameworks

10. Powered by language Modern object-functional JVM language

11. View First Approach

12. View-Driven Development Similar to MVC but not exactly the same

13. No business code allowed in the view Usually represents „seep“ of business logic

14. Designer friendly markup content Views are well-formed XHTML/HTML5

15. View-Driven Development Similar to MVC but not exactly the same No business code allowed in the view Usually represents „seep“ of business logic Designer friendly markup content Views are well-formed XHTML/HTML5

16. vs Model-View-Controller View-Driven-Development

17. Snippets

18. Snippet provides rendering logic Called arbitrarily times on multiple pages

19. Snippet is Scala class or object Functions transforming sequence of XML nodes

20. Snippets can be stateful or stateless Using session affinity suitable in large scale

21. No hidden magic or code plumbing Everything is just well designed

22. Snippet provides rendering logic Called arbitrarily times on multiple pages Snippet is Scala class or object Functions transforming sequence of XML nodes Snippets can be stateful or stateless Using session affinity No hidden magic or code plumbing Everything is just well designed

23. AJAX&Comet

24. Native support for AJAX and Comet Probably best support available today

25. JavaScript becomes Scala functions Using Scala function callbacks for AJAX

26. Abstracts underlying JavaScript libraries Support for JQuery, YUI and ExtJS

27. Comet support through Actors Receiving messages from browser

28. Utilizes long-polling Future use of HTML5 web sockets

29. Provides inherent security Using opaque GUIDs for AJAX & Comet URLs

30. Native support for AJAX and Comet Probably best support available today JavaScript becomes Scala functions Using Scala function callbacks for AJAX Abstracts underlying JavaScript libraries Support for JQuery, YUI and ExtJS

31. Comet support through Actors Sending/receiving messages to/from browser Utilizes long-polling Future use of HTML5 web sockets Provides inherent security Using opaque GUIDs for AJAX & Comet URLs

32. Persistence Support

33. Dual persistence support Provided by Mapper and Record frameworks

34. Mapper persistence framework Original persistence framework

35. Lightweight object-relational mapping Similar design to ActiveRecord

36. Support for common relational databases MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle Database, etc.

37. Support for different persistence systems Hibernate, JPA, etc.

38. Lightweight object-relational mapping Similar design to ActiveRecord Support for common relational databases MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle Database, etc. Support for different persistence systems Hibernate, JPA, etc.

39. Record persistence framework New store-agnostic persistence framework

40. Support for different stores MongoDB, CouchDB, Squeryl, etc.

41. Easy to develop custom back-end Automatic validation, CRUD and REST support

42. Support for different stores MongoDB, CouchDB, Squeryl, etc. Easy to develop custom back-end Automatic validation,CRUD and REST support

43. REST & WebServices

44. Built-in REST and WebService support Using either simple DSL or full dispatching

45. Both statefull and stateless handling Declarative rules for URI dispatching

46. Simple DSL for JSON construction Extremely fast serialization/deserialization

47. First-class XML support Native part of Scala language

48. Built-in REST and WebService support Using either simple DSL or full dispatching Both statefull and stateless Declarative rules for URI dispatching DSL for JSON construction Extremely fast serialization/deserialization First-class XML support Native part of Scala language

49. Modularity

50. Lift uses modular architecture Using Apache Maven artifacts Many existing modules available to use Just add dependency into your project

52. Security

53. Out-of-the-box security No vulnerability from the Top Ten

54. Difficult to introduce vulnerabilities Developers needs to put a lot of effort

55. Page elements have opaque GUIDs Used to reference server components

56. AJAX and Comet use similar GUIDs Sensitive data are not exposed

57. Persistence safe from SQL injection SQL queries sanitization enforcement

58. Out-of-the-box security No vulnerability from the Top Ten Difficult to introduce vulnerabilities Developers needs to make an effort Page elements have opaque GUIDs Used to reference server components AJAX and Comet use similar GUIDs Sensitive data are not exposed Persistence safe from SQL injection SQL queries sanitization enforcement

59. Scalability

60. Support for database sharding Using federation of database servers

61. Using non-blocking input/output Out-of-the-box support for Jetty Continuations

62. Decoupling threads from requests Implemented via Scala Actors

63. Support for database sharding Using federation of database servers Using non-blocking input/output Out-of-the-box support for Jetty Continuations Decoupling threads from requests Implemented via Scala Actors

64. Negatives & Drawbacks

65. The good, the bad and the ugly Lift has downsides as well

66. Framework „takes over control“ What is happening in the background?

67. Documentation is insufficient Many important details are missing

68. Exploring Lift book is incomplete Upcoming Lift in Action book is still in EAP

69. No direct tool support Related to insufficient Scala tool support

70. The good, the bad and the ugly Lift has downsides as well Framework „takes over control“ What is happening in the background? Documentation is insufficient Many important details are missing Exploring Lift book is incomplete Upcoming Lift in Action book is still in EAP No direct tool support Related to insufficient Scala tool support

71. Summary

72. Lift makes the web development simple Lift combines many ideas & methodologies Lift has new take on web development Lift is inherently secure Lift has excellent AJAX and Comet support Lift is already proven in the industry

74. Content adapted from Lift in Action book Timothy Perrett, Manning Publications, 2011 Content adapted from Exploring Lift book Derek Chen-Becker, Marius Danciu and Tyler Weir, 2009 Content adapted from official website liftweb.net Courtesy of WorldWide Conferencing, LLC