Re: Smart GWT / GWT Ext.... which one is better?

[dhoffer]

I'd have a look at GXT 3.x from Sencha, I can't compare to the others but I think its the best GWT add-on library available.

-Dave

On Thursday, September 13, 2012 1:29:00 PM UTC-6, Manuel wrote:

Hi everyone,

I just started on GWT and reading alot on that guides and tutorials.

Actually i try to find out, which tool to use, to design UI.

Regarding to this post http://code.google.com/p/gwt-ext/ I should use smartgwt, but...

I looked these showcases up:
http://www.gwt-ext.com/demo/#gridGrouping
http://www.smartclient.com/smartgwt/showcase/#grid_summaries

I think, gwt ext feel more smooter to use and its not as "laagy" as smartgwt.

So, I just started and try to figure out whats the pros / cons on each tool...

Hope you can help me with that, and give me maybe some hints I missed.

Thanks

Regards,
Manuel

[Manuel]

Hey,

thanks for your response.

I already had a look at Sencha. But as Iam a beginner in GWT I was looking for something thats free to use, but could be used for commercial purpose aswell.

Sencha has a GPL License and is for Open Sorce only.
SmartGWT is under LGPL licensed, so this could be used for commercial purpose, I guess.


Bad thing on SmartGwt´s Version 3.0 (newest version) is, its not working with the GWT Designer...
But at this point, I dont even know if the GWT Designer should be used for UI Design.

[Andrei]

I prefer the third option: I don't use either of them. I build very complex user interfaces, and so far I never regretted going with pure GWT. Here are a few advantages of this option:

(a) Much smaller compiled code size. This also means faster compile times for developers and faster page load times for users.

(b) Better performance. I had 3 years of experience with Sencha. Their widgets look nice (why we chose them in the first place), but in some complex UIs with lots of data you start to notice the lag relative to pure GWT. Remember that showcase widgets usually represent a very simple use case.

(c) Easier customizations. The simpler the widget, the easier it is to modify it as you need. There is a lower probability of breaking something.

(d) There is a lower probability that the next release of a library would break your code. I remember how much pain we had with Sencha's updates (2.0, 2.1, etc.) I hope it's much better now as Sencha moved closer to pure GWT implementation of their widgets.

(e) Faster updates. Once a new feature is available in GWT, you can use it right away. With libraries you have to wait until their updates.

I suggest that you use one of these libraries in two cases:

1. Your knowledge of CSS is not great, so you want a professional look for your app out of the box.

2. You see some widgets in these libraries that you absolutely must use, and you don't want to spend your time building them in pure GWT.

P.S. Don't let GWT Designer drive your choice of a library. Once you learn GWT, you may end up never using the Designer. I find it much easier and faster to build new views in Ui:Binder, and then simply hit a refresh button in a browser to see how my page looks like.

[Thomas Broyer]

Couldn't agree more!

[Manuel]

Hey,

thanks for sharing your experience.

I will take a look at the UI.Binder stuff.

In the meantime i had a look at vaadin (Apache License Version 2.0), another UI library.
Since this library works on the server-side, Iam not sure if this is a considerable solution.

Anyway, I guess I will stay with pure GWT for now.
There are more interesting things to take a look at besides UI :)

[Alain Ekambi]

The best UI library i ve found so far to use with GWT on the Desktop is Flex.

Hard to believe to i ve tried them all. Nothing beats Flex on the Desktop.

2012/9/16 Manuel <develo...@gmail.com>

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[Rob]

Hi,

You have a couple of other UI library choices:

GWT Bootstrap demo:

-> http://gwtbootstrap.github.com/

mgwt demo:

-> http://gwt-cx.com/mgwt-basic-project/index.html

Some useful links:

Smart GWT tutorials:

-> http://uptick.com.au/blog

Ext GWT demo:

-> http://gwt-cx.com/extgwt-serendipity/Serendipity.html

Cheers

Rob

Kiahu.com