GWT Roundup

GWT continues to have a lot of ferment around it.

• Over at the Official GWT Blog, we learn that GWT Beta 1.1.10 is now available -- thanks to a heap of contributions from users -- and that a new 68 page online book on GWT has been released:

  ...provides you with a thorough introduction to the Google Web Toolkit. From installation, through your first application, to UI components and Remote Procedure calls, you'll learn the ins and outs of the framework. Some knowledge of Java programming and HTML is assumed, but you don't have to be an expert in web programming.

• Gunnar Wagenknecht has taken the source for Googlipse and extended it quite a bit. He's released his new, extended GWT Eclipse Plugin here, along with a flash movie demonstrating its use.

• Not to be outdone, NetBeans now also has support for GWT via a project template.

• There is now a GWT Powered site (http://www.gwtpowered.org) that tracks developments in and around GWT.

• Over at Robert Hanson's blog he has a nice article on the new SVGPanel Widget.
  

  This article explains how you can use the SVG support contained in GWT Widget Library o.o.5 to render SVG elements, and how you can make your page compatible with both Firefox and Internet Explorer 6.

• Over at NubGames, they've put together another nice tutorial, this one with a focus on creating new widgets and doing layouts and the effectiveness of GWT as a UI toolkit.

• Don't neglect to check out the unofficial GWT Wiki. Somewhat in competition with the GWT Powered site above.

• Built on top of JJAX, a framework for Enterprise AJAX Applications.
  

  JJAX builds on GWT by providing a framework for building secure database driven applications
  
  [snip]
  
  Secure and authenticated access to GWT applications and RPCs. Build one or multiple application modules and decide which RPC calls each application has secure access to.
  
  [snip]
  
  Very handy bread crum GUI feature including bread crum trail containers that allow for advanced navigation without a lot of programming effort. All the hard lifting for managing state and navigation is done by the framework. Often times when building navigation from view to another view implementing return button or back button features can lead to messy code. JJax has built in support for managing GUI state and bread crums.
  
  [snip]
  
  When you upgrade the GWT/JJAX client (fix a bug or add a new feature), you can optionally force end users to load the new client version into thier browser. For example, this can be necessary if there is a serious bug that requires users to upgrade their GWT client immidiately or if the client upgrade is required to synchronize with a corresponding server change that impacts API compatiability in the RPCs. With this feature the server hosting administrator controls if the end user needs to upgrade their GWT client (even if they are in an active session).

Pretty soon these GWT roundup posts will have to be several pages long. GWT is becoming a subcontinent of Ajax development all its own.

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