I had been avoiding Google Web Toolkit , a unique Open Source offering. Then I needed to write a fancy web app quickly. GWT Rules!

GWT compiles Java source to class files and then analyses the class files to produce a web application coded in Javascript. Java is not used as the pages are served - they are static content. Straight HTML can be added to the pages from which the javascripts are servered.

Generating interactive web pages which behave like applications has devolved upon Javascript. It's the only commonality for live executing that's always present in all the major browsers. Hand coded JS, libraries of JS ... and now the GWT metacompiler which uses Java as its language, Java class files as its assembly code and Javascript as its object code.

GWT provides the UI classes and the hooks like HTTP calls and JSON translation necessary for the web-based client-server app-on-a-page which are standard now.

The GWT project often re-iterates the intent to stay simple and core. GWT is stimulating an outpouring of creative support and extension libraries for server support, for visual presentation, and for integration with other development tools and IDEs.

I'm using GWT to write PigView, an open-source z/VM operations navigator based on PigIron . I'll report back as the application progresses.