Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Cloud Hosting : GWT - Google Web Toolkit

[peter fisk]

Google Web Toolkit (GWT) is a set of tools that allow the creation of user-interface widgets using the Java programming language. The Java code is then compiled to compressed Javascript for deployment from a website.

A major advantage is the availability of programming tools like JBuilder and Eclipse to assist in managing the source code libraries.

Also, the Java->Javscript optimizing compiler "... safely eliminates dead code -- aggressively pruning unused classes, methods, fields, and even method parameters -- to ensure that your compiled script is the smallest it can possibly be. Another example: the GWT compiler selectively inlines methods, eliminating the performance overhead of method calls."

The compiler can also merge multiple image files into a single "image bundle" for faster uploading.

In summary, GWT allows writing better Javascript than it would be feasible to do by hand coding.

[cwcw]

although it bears google's name, GWT is more of a new javascript-java framework then anything hosting related I think?

[peter fisk]

Yes, it is a technology for generating client-side Javascript code and it can be used with non-Google servers.

However, Google bundles it with some of their other App Engine toolsets. For example, the Eclipse plugin for App Engine Java support will automatically generate a GWT application template and client-server RPC code.

Google also maintains the latest versions of several other Javascript libraries (jQuery, Mootools, ...) for building AJAX-style applications.

[cwcw]

well Google don't maintain those javascript libraries, rather they provide a CDN for distributing them. GWT is not strictly limited to App Engine or anything and it was in fact developed much earlier than App Engine's Java version. Grouping GWT and App Engine together is more of Google's branding exercise than real tight integration and the plugin for Eclipse therefore is called Google Eclipse plugin.

[peter fisk]

I used the word "maintain" too loosely in the context - a better choice would have been "make conveniently available".

The library page is at http://code.google.com/apis/ajaxlibs.

GWT development started several years before App Engine, but I think that its use with App Engine is about a lot more than branding.

For example, the new Google's new "Wave" product was developed using GWT and App Engine. These are complementary technologies (client side - server side) that are part of their overall software strategy.

App Engine has direct API's for the following Google services:
-- memcache
-- URL fetch
-- mail
-- images
-- accounts

"The Google Data APIs Python module includes support for the following Google services:"
-- authentication
-- contacts
-- calendar
-- documents
-- spreadsheets
-- Picassa
-- YouTube

http://code.google.com/appengine/doc...aservices.html

IMHO, they are positioning App Engine as the gateway for developers to integrate as many Google services as possible into applications.