With the latest release of the Tools for Graal Development Kit for MIcronaut, version 4.5.0, we have some very exciting new features for users to try out that will make working with Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) and building Micronaut applications even better!
Graal Development Kit for Micronaut (GDK), previously Graal Cloud Native (GCN), is an Oracle build of the open source Micronaut® framework. The GDK provides a curated set of Micronaut framework modules that simplify cloud application development, are designed to compile ahead of time with GraalVM Native Image, and are fully supported by Oracle. GDK modules provide platform-independent APIs and libraries for several core cloud services across Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Google Cloud Platform (GCP), with Microsoft Azure coming soon.
We provide a set of VS Code extensions and an IntelliJ plugin that make working with GDK and Micronaut applications easier and more productive, find out more here.
Renaming is now Complete
As was announced in the previous release, we have been in the process of renaming our cloud agnostic development framework from Graal Cloud Native (GCN) to the Graal Development Kit for Micronaut (GDK). This process has also involved the tools and we are now happy to announce that the renaming is complete. You will notice some changes in the names of the VS Code Extensions and the IntelliJ plugin, but the change of name doesn’t require that you install any new extensions. Just update your existing VS Code, or IntelliJ, extensions that’s sufficient to get the latest updates.
The VS Code extensions can be found on the VS Code Marketplace and the IntelliJ plugin market place.
Introducing the Game-Changing OCI Config Tool
Working with the cloud can be complex. So, in order to make it easier we have developed tooling to manage cloud assets and security polcies for OCI.
When creating a GDK project you will typically choose a set of cloud services that you want the application to access. These will include services such as object storage, databases and logging. The project will contain the required dependencies (and sample code if you wish) that enable you to easily access these cloud services from your application. But, if you are using OCI as your cloud platform, we can now provide support for locating cloud assets and the necessary configuration to bind them to your application. Imagine that you have a GDK application that needs to access to an object storage bucket. Using our new tooling you can now locate the bucket you want to use, from within VS Code, and save the configuration required to use it when you run it locally. This configuration can be pushed to the vault if you so wish, for use in a deployed application.
But, finding the cloud assets, such as an object storage bucket, that you want to access is only half the story. You also need to correctly configure the security policies to access these cloud assets within OCI. With our new tooling you are now able to generate exactly the required security policies for your application to run and make use of these cloud assets!
More features and improvements are planned for this feature in the future, but it is ready to try out now.
Support for Graal Development Kit for Micronaut 4.5.0
With the latest release of the tools, we now support creating and working with the 4.5.0 version of the GDK. Install the latest versions of the VS Code extension (on the VS Code Marketplace), or the IntelliJ plugin (on the IntelliJ pluign market place).
To find out more about what comes in the 4.5.0 release of the Graal Development Kit for Micronaut, please read the release blog post.
Micronaut Development Improvements
With every release we aim to add new features to support working with Micronaut applications. This release sees some solid additions.
New File Menu
You can now access Micronaut specific functionality, such as creating new controllers, from the right-click menu. Simply select a package within your project and right click to reveal the Micronaut specific items in the menu.
Controller support
We have added more support for adding PUT, GET and POST methods to normal Micronaut controllers. Previously, we only supported generating these for Micronaut Data controllers, but with this release we can now generate boilerplate controllers for standard Micronaut controllers.
Test Generation
You can now generate tests for controllers from the source action menu. This will create a JUnit test for the various methods available within the controller. Bear in mind that you will need to update the test.
Next Steps
- Download the Graal Development Kit for Micronaut Extension Pack for VS Code, or Graal Dev Kit for Micronaut for IntelliJ, and try them out.
- Read about the features and changes in the 4.5.0 release of the GDK in the release blog post
In summary, this release adds some exciting new features to our tooling offering, as well as some solid work-a-day improvements for working with Micronaut applications. Thanks for reading.
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