Welcome to the Boostalicious site. This site contains information on the Java Boost Toolkit.

You can think of the Boost Toolkit as a lightweight development platform. A platform which encourages you to build powerful systems while keeping your code-base small and tight. Developing Java in Boost requires a little getting used to. There are a number of conventions which deviate from the accepted way of using and developing in Java. We like them and figure there is a good chance you will.

What is it?
Boost is a collection of tools built from the ground up with strong principles to build clean, composable and testable systems. It makes using Java more enjoyable.

Boost includes a simple, but powerful dependency injection framework called Spider, a testing framework (sitting above JUnit and JMock) that makes test driving a breeze called Sniper, a framework for handling (sometimes evil) 3rd party libraries called Scalpel, some handy data structures and utilities (called the Incredibles and Gunge) that levitate above Java.

Boost is fully test driven. It has 100% code coverage. We re-factor it mercilessly. We commit small changes at a time, and we commit often. We love rollback. We have no code duplication over 4 lines. We have no code ownership, as Boost is a team effort. We pride ourselves on the quality of the code. We listen to the code (it speaks to us!). Any “green” build is production ready. We are always looking for ways to simplify and improve the code.

Where did it come from?
The Boost Toolkit was started in late 2005 in Australia. Over the last 4 years, the Boost Toolkit has emerged as a rock solid platform for kick-starting and accelerating Java projects. Boost is being used in a significant number of high profile, global projects. It continues to be evolved by a group of developers committed to providing a highly relevant platform for current and future Java projects.

How do I start?
On the Learn page, there are a couple of “101″s that you can have a wander through to get a feel for the power of Boost. You can download Boost and check out the “Demo” tests that demonstrate various aspects of Boost. Maybe then you might like to get some example code running? If you have any problems, check out the Communicate page and get in touch with us. We are only too happy to help.

Have fun