Google Web Toolkit: GWT Java AJAX Programming

In Detail

GWT Ajax Programming shows you how to create reliable user interfaces that enhance the user experience.

GWT is an open source Java software development framework that makes writing AJAX applications like Google Maps and Gmail easy for developers who don't speak browser quirks as a second language. Writing dynamic web applications today is a tedious and error-prone process; you spend 90% of your time working around subtle incompatibilities between web browsers and platforms, and JavaScript's lack of modularity makes sharing, testing, and reusing AJAX components difficult and fragile.

GWT lets you avoid many of these headaches while offering your users the same dynamic, standards-compliant experience. You write your front end in the Java programming language, and the GWT compiler converts your Java classes to browser-compliant JavaScript and HTML.

Chapter-by-Chapter

Chapter 1 introduces GWT, the download and installation of GWT, and running its sample application.

Chapter 2 deals with the creation of a new GWT application from scratch, and using the Eclipse IDE with GWT projects, creating a new AJAX Random Quotes application, and running this new application.

Chapter 3 deals with an introduction to and overview of GWT asynchronous services, and creating a prime number service and geocoder service.

Chapter 4 deals with using GWT to build simple interactive user interfaces. The samples included in this chapter are live search, auto fillable forms, sortable tables, dynamic lists, and a flickr-style editable lable.

Chapter 5 introduces some of the more advanced features of GWT to build more complex user interfaces. The samples included in this chapter are pageable tables, editable tree nodes, a simple log spy, sticky notes, and a jigsaw puzzle.

Chapter 6 includes an introduction to JavaScript Native Interface (JSNI) and using it to wrap third-party JavaScript libraries like Moo.fx and Rico. it also includes using the gwt-widgets project and its support for the Script.aculo.us effects.

Chapter 7 deals with creating custom GWT widgets. The samples included in this chapter are a calendar widget and a weather widget.

Chapter 8 concerns itself with creating and running unit tests for GWT services and applications.

Chapter 9 sees us using Internationalization (I18N) and client-side XML support in GWT.

Chapter 10 includes the deployment of GWT applications using both Ant and Eclipse.

This book is for Java developers who want to create Ajax interfaces using the Google Web Toolkit (GWT). It focuses on useful, practical tasks from the first chapter.

The book is aimed at programmers who want to use GWT to create interfaces for their professional web applications. It concentrates on the serious side of Ajax: creating powerful, productive applications for browser platforms.

Approach

Each chapter covers a series of practical tasks, showing how to achieve a particular useful result.

Who this book is for

Readers will need experience writing non-trivial applications using Java. Experience with developing web interfaces is useful, but knowledge of JavaScript and DHTML is not required GWT takes care of that!