For the past three years, I have been using Google Web Toolkit (GWT) to build web applications. I am very impressed with the framework and the functionality it provides. In short, GWT allows you to build a AJAX web application using Java.
I’m using GWT for the following reasons…
- Allows me to leverage my existing Java expertise
- Development style is similar to desktop / Swing development
- Minimizes the need for low-level JavaScript / CSS
In addition to GWT, I’m using the SmartGWT widget set. SmartGWT is a 3rd party widget set that contains some very professional looking components. SmartGWT offers a community edition and commercial edition. In fact, SmartGWT is more than a widget collection, it includes support for databinding and server-side support. However, you can use only the modules that you need for SmartGWT. I like this modular approach. Check out the Smart GWT demos and see for yourself.
I could talk all day about the nice features of GWT. Bottom-line: GWT is light-years ahead of Struts and Spring MVC.
Let me know what you think.
