GWT site does not do it justice
TrashHalo
understand why GWT matters. Another javascript toolkit that somehow
used Java. It was not until I decided to give it a shot that I
understood that GWT is NOT another javascript toolkit but is something
completely different. Something wonderful... My heart melted a little
when I saw the component driven user interface api that I was so
familiar with in desktop application development. A little more when I
understood the event api and how GWT pushes the events down to the
client. When I figured out I can set break points and step through my
Java code as if it were a native application.... well to be frank, I
fell in love.
While this documentation exists on the site it is buried and abstract.
Something needs to be done to quickly let developers know GWT matters
before they move on to another site. Flash movies exist on the gwt
blog demonstrating the pretty interface that one can create with GWT
but pretty interfaces can be made with many different technologies.
Show people a video with eclipse hitting a breakpoint when a user
presses a button. That would attract attention.
Simplier code samples that show only a few widgets to demonstrate the
component API would help demonstrate GWT's component nature. Examples
demonstrating creating custom components through extending composites
or using JSNI would also help.
I know that GWT just got out of beta and that alot of this work is
already planned but I just wanted to let you guys that you are doing a
wonderful job.
Reinier Zwitserloot
Apologies for tossing this one back in your face, but: If you can turn
a little of that love and passion into a fine introduction for the
complete GWT layman just shopping around for web frameworks, I'm sure
one of the core contributors will give it a prominent spot on the GWT
homepage.
I do agree GWT could do a little better selling itself no so much on
the 'java' thing, but more on what GWT gives you that no other
framework does:
- debug using a real debugger.
- sidestep vast swathes of browser incompatibility hell.
- write modular code with wild abandon. Any code you end up not
using? It gets skipped, automatically. See a huge library with this
one feature you'd like to use? Don't need to rip that out. Just use
the entire library, only the stuff you're actually going to need will
be copied in.
- produces world's fastest and leanest client-side code. GWT
optimizes far better than any JS-only optimizer can.
etcetera.
Bruce Johnson
We've been so busy working on building the toolkit itself, we haven't spent quite enough time refining our marketing pitch :-) But, we are working on a few near-term tweaks that might help a little. I'm eager to see some additional changes to help new visitors realize that indeed GWT isn't just another Java(Script) library.
-- Bruce
TrashHalo
> a little of that love and passion into a fine introduction for the
> complete GWT layman just shopping around for web frameworks, I'm sure
> one of the core contributors will give it a prominent spot on the GWT
> homepage.