AJAX-Tools
Google Web Toolkit or GWT is a very popular framework for developing Ajax based websites. As developers worldwide need all the help they could get in developing websites based on a very difficult web technique, GWT is a welcoming framework.
GWT helps developers write the application freely in Java and convert the function later into JavaScript and eventually Ajax. But instead of completely changing the form of the code, Java is still used to control the contents of the Ajax based website.
As an open-source framework, GWT has been constantly used for building online applications especially widgets which could be easily launched in desktops. As a strong supporter of Ajax, the move to offer GWT as an open source is a good move for Google as they aim to implement more Ajax websites for everyone.
In a few days, GWT will release the latest version of GWT. The Release Candidate 1.5 will give developers further advantage in developing an Ajax based application without even writing a single line of JavaScript. With this release, GWT hopes to address common problems in developing Ajax based applications.
Among the problems GWT RC 1.5 hopes to address is browser incompatibility which until today has baffled different developers since they end up building two versions of the website so that it could be launched in different browsers. Speed of the application that will be used with GWT will also increase. The compiler of GWT will now be working faster – Google even claims that the compiler will even outdo the native JavaScript in speed.
As a framework for Java, GWT has also enhanced its support for Java 5. This version of Java can be fully integrated with GWT as more features of Java 5 could be used for GWT. From syntax, annotations, variable parameter lists to different components in the latest version of Java 5 could now be integrated with GWT.
Another feature that was upgraded with the GWT RC 1.5 is the enhanced support for widgets. As widgets become a very useful tool for regular users and a channel for greater earnings from developers, enhanced support for widgets has become a demanded feature from Google. Heeding this call, new libraries of function were added for the latest GWT as well different reusable codes for building the widget application faster.
Of all the features that will come with the new GWT, the “widgetry” feature of GWT should excite more developers when compared to other products. GWT is already a fast framework as it is but better widgets should attract more developers to GWT.
To show the power of GWT and its further enhancements, the newly created service of Google about health (Google Health) will be used to demonstrate the power of GWT. This feature of Google is still on its beta version and some error in webpages has been encountered so this should be the perfect sandbox to demonstrate the new release of GWT. If the new version will live up to its description, all services of Google will be converted to the latest version of the toolkit.
