The Google Web Toolkit's AJAX Recipe: Less JavaScript, More Speed

an Francisco, CA—How popular is the Google Web Toolkit (GWT)? Google claims their Java web development framework for AJAX (asynchronous JavaScript and XML) applications has been downloaded millions of times since being launched during the JavaOne Conference in May 2006, but perhaps a better indication of its popularity is that Pearson Education dedicated an entire conference to it: Voices That Matter: Google Web Toolkit, a four-day affair for Java developers here this week. The 175 attendees exceeded Pearson expectations by 25.

In a media briefing at the conference, Google Engineering Manager and GWT co-creator Bruce Johnson explained the mission his team undertook when Google open sourced GWT under the Apache 2 license in December 2006: create a better user experience by enabling Java developers to create high-performance web applications using only the Java tools they know rather than trying to master the JavaScript skills that are necessary for creating responsive web interfaces for all the browsers out there. As Johnson describes it, the state of the typical web application today leaves a lot of room for improvement. "The average usability of web sites sucks," he said, citing all-too-familiar examples of web user headaches:

• A mortgage application that requires the user to complete a 12-page application, but mandates "Don't Hit the Back Button" because the site's AJAX implementation breaks that function—if a user realizes he or she made a mistake on a previous page, the user is stuck.
• An e-commerce site warning that a user's credit card will be charged twice if he or she presses the Submit button twice, yet the site just hangs while processing the initial submit click and offers no confirmation in the meantime
• Of course, the 404 (page not found) and 500 (internal server) errors with which every web user is familiar