Building a Web App with BoxLang: A Hands-On Experience by Raymond Camden
BoxLang, the new JVM-based scripting language from Ortus Solutions, is gaining traction among developers looking for a modern, lightweight alternative for building web applications. In a Recent blog post, Raymond Camden took it for a spin by developing a simple blog application, highlighting BoxLang's capabilities and ease of use. Let’s break down his experience and key takeaways.
Getting Started with BoxLang
Before diving into development, Ray explored the various environments where BoxLang can run. While it supports serverless functions (like AWS Lambda) and command-line executions, it can also power full-fledged web applications. To test his setup, he opted for MiniServer, though he acknowledged that CommandBox and Docker are also viable options for deployment.
One of BoxLang’s features that stood out is its ability to automatically route URLs based on file names, similar to ColdFusion, PHP, and ASP. For example, a file named blog.bxm in the server's root directory would be accessible via /blog.bxm, simplifying routing and development.
Application-Level Features in BoxLang
Beyond basic request handling, BoxLang provides application-level configurations that allow for greater control over how requests and responses are processed. Ray explored features such as:
- Application Handlers – Allowing customization of request processing, session handling, and startup logic.
- Session Management – Providing built-in mechanisms for storing and retrieving user session data.
- Caching – Enabling faster data retrieval and optimized performance for web applications.
- Class Support – Making it easy to create structured, JSON-ready APIs for modern web services.
These features bring BoxLang closer to other full-fledged server-side frameworks, making it an attractive option for developers coming from a ColdFusion or JavaScript background.
Developing the Blog Application
For his demo project, Ray built a simple blog application with the following functionality:
- A homepage displaying the ten most recent blog posts.
- Individual post pages.
- A MySQL-powered database to store and retrieve blog content.
To connect BoxLang with MySQL, he installed the bx-mysql module using the command:
install-bx-module bx-mysql
He then extracted an old WordPress export of his blog, wrote a BoxLang script to parse the XML data, and inserted it into MySQL. This demonstrated BoxLang’s flexibility in handling different data sources and integrating seamlessly with relational databases.
Final Thoughts
Ray’s experience with BoxLang shows that it is more than just another scripting language—it’s a powerful tool for web development. With built-in application handling, database support, and a straightforward routing mechanism, BoxLang simplifies the process of building dynamic web applications.
For developers looking to try it out, Camden recommends checking out the official documentation and experimenting with small projects. Whether you're a ColdFusion veteran or a newcomer to JVM-based languages, BoxLang is worth exploring for your next web application.
Have you tried BoxLang yet? Let us know about your experience in the comments!
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