Google Web Toolkit: Java Web Application Developers' Toolkit

At present web application development is a very laborious task when error can turn up all the time. A web application developer can spend up to 90% of his time trying to avoid the tricks of the browser.  Moreover, creating, re-using and supporting big JavaScript code bases and AJAX components can be hard and unreliable.

Google Web Toolkit (GWT) especially together with the Google plug-in for Eclipse saves from these problems allowing web developers quickly create and maintain complicated but highly productive JavaScript interface applications using Java.

In Google Web Toolkit (GWT) the AJAX interface is written on JAVA and then is cross-complied into the optimized JavaScript which functions automatically in all main browsers. GWT web developers can easily create one widget for a web page or the whole application using Google Web Toolkit .

Cross compilation provides supported abstractions and modularity necessary for web application development without creating excessive load on the productivity of the execution environment.

Peculiarities of Google Web Toolkit

• The server connection is conducted via a simple Remote Procedure Call (RPC). GWT supports a large set of transfer protocols such as JSON and XML but GWT RPC makes all connections on Java very simple and effective. GWT RPC can process polymorphic class hierarchies, object graph cycles and can even create exception on the network.
• Optimized JavaScript script loading based on the user’s profile. Deferred binding is a GWT function which creates many versions of the compiled code. Only one version has to be loaded by an individual client while launching the execution environment.
• Using the same components of a user’s interface in different projects. GWT application developers create reusable widgets gathering them from other widgets and automatically outputting them in the panels. If a web application developers wants to use a widget in another project, he just packs it into a JAR file.
• If the GWT class library doesn’t meet the web application requirements, web developer can combine the manually written JavaScript in the Java source code using JavaScript Native Interface (JSNI). GWT application developers get the advantages of modeling JS objects as the Java full types (for example, code completion, refactoring, integration) without additional memory or speed consumption.
• Easy and effective application localization. Web application developers can easily create effective international versions of applications and libraries using the powerful technologies of the GWT Deferred binding.
• Convenient tools for web development. Since GWT uses Java, for AJAX development any development tools on Java can be used (Eclipse, IntelliJ, JProfiler, JUnit). It allows web developers make use of the convenience of Java automatic refactoring. Moreover, apart from checking static types in Java, it allows web developers cope with the JavaScript error class (misprints, type conflict) while writing the code and not while executing, which increases the speed of work and reduces the number of bugs.
• Direct GWT integration with JUnit allows web application developers to perform module testing in the debug program as well as in the browser. Even module testing of asynchronous RPC can be performed.

Google Web Toolkit is an excellent tool for web developers to create rich internet applications with Ajax which definitely make your web applications more attractive and more functional.