.

​Google​ ​Web​ ​Toolkit

● Initial​ ​release​ ​-​ ​May​ ​16,​ ​2006

● Stable​ ​release​​ ​-​ ​V2.8.1​ ​/​ ​April​ ​24,​ ​2017;
● Written​ ​in​​ ​Java
● Operating​ ​system​​ ​-​ ​Linux​,​ ​Windows​,​ ​OS​ ​X​,​ ​FreeBSD

Google​ ​Web​ ​Toolkit​​ ​(​GWT​​ ​)​ ​ ​is​ ​an​​ ​open​ ​source​​ ​set​ ​of​​ ​tools​​ ​that​ ​allows​​ ​web​ ​developers​​ ​to
create​ ​and​ ​maintain​ ​complex​​ ​JavaScript​​ ​front-end​​ ​applications​ ​in​​ ​Java​.​ ​Other​ ​than​ ​a​ ​few​ ​native
libraries,​ ​everything​ ​is​ ​Java​ ​source​ ​that​ ​can​ ​be​ ​built​ ​on​ ​any​ ​supported​ ​platform​ ​with​ ​the​ ​included
GWT​​ ​Ant​​ ​build​ ​files.​ ​It​ ​is​ ​licensed​ ​under​ ​the​​ ​Apache​ ​License​​ ​version​ ​2.0.​[2]

GWT​ ​emphasizes​​ ​reusable​​ ​approaches​ ​to​ ​common​ ​web​ ​development​ ​tasks,​ ​namely
asynchronous​ ​remote​ ​procedure​ ​calls​,​ ​history​ ​management,​​ ​bookmarking​,​ ​UI​​ ​abstraction,
internationalization​,​ ​and​​ ​cross-browser​​ ​portability​.

History
● GWT​ ​version​ ​1.0​ ​RC​ ​1​ ​was​ ​released​ ​on​ ​May​ ​16,​ ​2006.Google​ ​announced​ ​GWT​ ​at​ ​the
JavaOne​​ ​conference,​ ​2006

● In​ ​August​ ​2010,​ ​Google​ ​acquired​ ​Instantiations,a​ ​company​ ​known​ ​for​ ​its​ ​focus​ ​on
Eclipse​ ​Java​ ​developer​ ​tools,​ ​including​ ​GWT​ ​Designer,​ ​which​ ​is​ ​now​ ​bundled​ ​with
Google​ ​Plugin​ ​for​ ​Eclipse​.

● In​ ​2011​ ​with​ ​the​ ​introduction​ ​of​ ​the​​ ​Dart​ ​programming​ ​language​,​ ​Google​ ​has​ ​reassured
the​ ​GWT​ ​community​ ​that​ ​GWT​ ​will​ ​continue​ ​to​ ​be​ ​supported​ ​for​ ​the​ ​foreseeable​ ​future,
but​ ​also​ ​hinted​ ​at​ ​a​ ​possible​ ​rapprochement​ ​between​ ​the​ ​two​ ​Google​ ​approaches​ ​to
"structured​ ​web​ ​programming".​ ​They've​ ​also​ ​admitted​ ​however​ ​that​ ​a​ ​number​ ​of
engineers​ ​previously​ ​working​ ​on​ ​GWT​ ​are​ ​now​ ​working​ ​on​​ ​Dart​.

● In​ ​2012​ ​at​ ​their​ ​annual​ ​I/O​ ​conference,​ ​Google​ ​announced​ ​that​ ​GWT​ ​would​ ​be
transformed​ ​from​ ​a​ ​Google​ ​project​ ​to​ ​a​ ​fully​ ​open​ ​sourced​ ​project.​​ ​In​ ​July​ ​2013,​ ​Google
posted​ ​on​ ​its​ ​GWT​ ​blog​ ​that​ ​the​ ​transformation​ ​to​ ​an​ ​open​ ​source​ ​project​ ​was​ ​complete.
Development​ ​with​ ​GWT

​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​Using​ ​GWT,​ ​developers​ ​can​ ​develop​ ​and​ ​debug​​ ​Ajax​​ ​applications​ ​in​ ​the​ ​Java
language​ ​using​ ​the​ ​Java​ ​development​ ​tools​ ​of​ ​their​ ​choice.​ ​When​ ​the​ ​application​ ​is​ ​deployed,
the​ ​GWT​ ​cross-compiler​ ​translates​ ​the​ ​Java​ ​application​ ​to​ ​standalone​​ ​JavaScript​​ ​files​ ​that​ ​are
optionally​​ ​obfuscated​​ ​and​ ​deeply​ ​optimized.​ ​When​ ​needed,​ ​JavaScript​ ​can​ ​also​ ​be​ ​embedded
directly​ ​into​ ​Java​ ​code,​ ​using​ ​Java​ ​comments.

​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​GWT​ ​does​ ​not​ ​revolve​ ​only​ ​around​ ​user​ ​interface​ ​programming;​ ​it​ ​is​ ​a​ ​general​ ​set​ ​of
tools​ ​for​ ​building​ ​any​ ​sort​ ​of​ ​high-performance​ ​client-side​ ​JavaScript​ ​functionality.​ ​Indeed,​ ​many
key​ ​architectural​ ​decisions​ ​are​ ​left​ ​completely​ ​to​ ​the​ ​developer.​ ​The​ ​GWT​ ​mission​ ​statement
clarifies​ ​the​ ​philosophical​ ​breakdown​ ​of​ ​GWT's​ ​role​ ​versus​ ​the​ ​developer's​ ​role.​ ​History​ ​is​ ​an
example​ ​of​ ​such:​ ​although​ ​GWT​ ​manages​ ​history​ ​tokens​ ​as​ ​users​ ​click​ ​Back​ ​or​ ​Forward​ ​in​ ​the
browser,​ ​it​ ​does​ ​not​ ​prescribe​ ​how​ ​to​ ​map​ ​history​ ​tokens​ ​to​ ​an​ ​application​ ​state.

GWT​ ​applications​ ​can​ ​be​ ​run​ ​in​ ​two​ ​modes:

● Development​ ​mode​ ​(formerly​ H ​ osted​ ​mode​):​ ​The​ ​application​ ​is​ ​run​ ​as​ ​Java​ ​bytecode
within​ ​the​​ ​Java​ ​Virtual​ ​Machine​​ ​(JVM).​[11]​​ ​This​ ​mode​ ​is​ ​typically​ ​used​ ​for​ ​development,
supporting​​ ​hot​ ​swapping​ ​of​ ​code​​ ​and​ ​debugging.

● Production​ ​mode​ ​(formerly​ W ​ eb​ ​mode​):​ ​The​ ​application​ ​is​ ​run​ ​as​ ​pure​ ​JavaScript​ ​and
HTML,​ ​compiled​ ​from​ ​the​ ​Java​ ​source.​ ​This​ ​mode​ ​is​ ​typically​ ​used​ ​for​ ​deployment.

Components

The​ ​major​ ​GWT​ ​components​ ​include:

1. GWT​ ​Java-to-JavaScript​ ​Compiler

​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​Translates​ ​the​ ​Java​ ​programming​ ​language​ ​to​ ​the​ ​JavaScript
programming​ ​language.

​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​2.​ ​ ​GWT​ ​Development​ ​Mode

​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​Allows​ ​the​ ​developers​ ​to​ ​run​ ​and​ ​execute​ ​GWT​ ​applications​ ​in
development​ ​mode​ ​(the​ ​app​ ​runs​ ​as​ ​Java​ ​in​ ​the​ ​JVM​ ​without​ ​compiling​ ​to​ ​JavaScript).​ ​Prior​ ​to
2.0,​ ​GWT​ ​hosted​ ​mode​ ​provided​ ​a​ ​special-purpose​ ​"hosted​ ​browser"​ ​to​ ​debug​ ​your​ ​GWT​ ​code.
In​ ​2.0,​ ​the​ ​web​ ​page​ ​being​ ​debugged​ ​is​ ​viewed​ ​within​ ​a​ ​regular​ ​browser.​ ​Development​ ​mode​ ​is
supported​ ​through​ ​the​ ​use​ ​of​ ​a​ ​native-code​ ​plugin​ ​called​ ​the​ ​Google​ ​Web​ ​Toolkit​ ​Developer
Plugin​ ​for​ ​many​ ​popular​ ​browsers.

​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​3.​ ​ ​JRE​ ​emulation​ ​library

​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​JavaScript​ ​implementations​ ​of​ ​the​ ​commonly​ ​used​ ​classes​ ​in​ ​the​ ​Java
standard​ ​class​ ​library​ ​(such​ ​as​ ​most​ ​of​ ​the​ ​java.lang​ ​package​ ​classes​ ​and​ ​a​ ​subset​ ​of​ ​the
java.util​ ​package​ ​classes).

​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​4.GWT​ ​Web​ ​UI​ ​class​ ​library

​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​A​ ​set​ ​of​ ​custom​ ​interfaces​ ​and​ ​classes​ ​for​ ​creating​​ ​widgets​.

​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​Widgets​ ​like​ ​ ​ ​Button,​ ​PushButton,​ ​RadioButton,​ ​CheckBox,​ ​ToggleButton,​ ​TextBox,

PasswordTextBox,​ ​TextArea,​ ​Hyperlink,​ ​ListBox​ ​etc.,.

Features

● Dynamic​ ​and​ ​reusable​​ ​UI​ ​components​:​ ​programmers​ ​can​ ​use​ ​pre-designed​ ​classes​ ​to
implement​ ​otherwise​ ​time-consuming​ ​dynamic​ ​behaviors,​ ​such​ ​as​ ​drag-and-drop​ ​or
sophisticated​ ​visual​ ​tree​ ​structures.
● Simple​​ ​RPC​(Remote​ ​Procedural​ ​Call)​ ​ ​mechanism
● Browser​ ​history​ ​management
● Support​ ​for​ ​full-featured​ ​Java​ ​debugging
● GWT​ ​handles​ ​some​ ​cross-browser​ ​issues​ ​for​ ​the​ ​developer.
● Support​ ​for​​ ​Internationalization​ ​and​ ​localization
● HTML​ ​Canvas​ ​support​ ​(subject​ ​to​ ​API​ ​changes)​[20]
● The​ ​developers​ ​can​ ​mix​ ​handwritten​ ​JavaScript​ ​in​ ​the​ ​Java​ ​source​ ​code​ ​using​ ​the
JavaScript​ ​Native​ ​Interface​ ​(JSNI).
● Support​ ​for​ ​using​ ​Google​​ ​APIs​​ ​in​ ​GWT​ ​applications​ ​(initially,​ ​support​ ​for​​ ​Google​ ​Gears​)
● Open-source
● The​ ​developers​ ​can​ ​design​ ​and​ ​develop​ ​their​ ​application​ ​in​ ​a​ ​pure​ ​object-oriented
fashion,​ ​since​ ​they're​ ​using​ ​Java​ ​(instead​ ​of​ ​JavaScript).​ ​Common​ ​JavaScript​ ​errors,
such​ ​as​ ​typos​ ​and​​ ​type​ ​mismatches​,​ ​are​ ​caught​ ​at​ ​compile​ ​time.
● The​ ​JavaScript​ ​that​ ​the​ ​GWT​ ​compiler​ ​generates​ ​can​ ​be​ ​tailored​ ​to​ ​be​ ​either
unobfuscated​ ​and​ ​easier​ ​to​ ​understand​ ​or​ ​obfuscated​ ​and​ ​smaller​ ​to​ ​download.
● A​ ​number​ ​of​ ​libraries​ ​are​ ​available​ ​for​ ​GWT,​ ​by​ ​Google​ ​and​ ​third​ ​parties.​ ​These​ ​extend
GWT's​ ​features.
Enterprise​ ​usage

GWT​ ​uses​ ​or​ ​supports​​ ​Java​,​ ​Apache​ ​Tomcat​​ ​(or​ ​similar​ ​web​ ​container),​​ ​Eclipse​ ​IDE​,
Internet​ ​Explorer​,and​​ ​Internationalization​ ​and​ ​Localization​.​ ​Java-based​ ​GWT​​ ​RIAs​​ ​can​ ​be
tested​ ​using​​ ​JUnit​​ ​testing​ ​framework​ ​and​ ​code​ ​coverage​ ​tools.​ ​Because​ ​GWT​ ​allows
compile​ ​time​ ​verification​ ​of​ ​images,​ ​CSS,​ ​and​ ​business​ ​logic,​ ​many​ ​common
development​ ​defects​ ​are​ ​automatically​ ​discovered​ ​without​ ​need​ ​of​ ​the​ ​manual​ ​testing
commonly​ ​required​ ​by​ ​RIAs.
Google​ ​has​ ​noted​ ​that​ ​some​ ​of​ ​its​ ​products​ ​are​​ ​GWT​ ​based​:
● Blogger
● AdWords
● Flights
● Wallet
● Offers
● Groups
● Inbox

GWT​ ​2.0

On​ ​Dec​ ​08,​ ​2009​ ​Google​ ​launched​ ​Google​ ​Web​ ​Toolkit​ ​2.0​ ​with​ ​Speed​ ​Tracer.
Version​ ​2.0​ ​of​ ​GWT​ ​offers​ ​a​ ​number​ ​of​ ​new​ ​features,​​ ​​ ​including:
● In-Browser​ ​Development​ ​Mode​ ​(formerly​ ​known​ ​as​ ​Out​ ​Of​ ​Process​ ​Hosted​ ​Mode,
OOPHM):​​ ​prior​ ​to​ ​version​ ​2.0,​ ​hosted​ ​mode​ ​used​ ​to​ ​embed​ ​a​ ​modified​ ​browser​ ​to​ ​allow
running​ ​the​ ​bytecode​ ​version​ ​of​ ​the​ ​application​ ​during​ ​development.​ ​With​ ​version​ ​2.0,
hosted​ ​mode,​ ​renamed​ ​"development​ ​mode",​ ​allows​ ​using​ ​any​ ​(supported)​ ​browser​ ​to
view​ ​the​ ​page​ ​being​ ​debugged,​ ​through​ ​the​ ​use​ ​of​ ​a​ ​browser​ ​plugin.​ ​The​ ​plugin
communicates​ ​with​ ​the​ ​development​ ​mode​ ​shell​ ​using​ ​TCP/IP,​ ​which​ ​allows​ ​cross
platform​ ​debugging​ ​(for​ ​example,​ ​debugging​ ​in​ ​Internet​ ​Explorer​ ​on​ ​Windows​ ​from​ ​a
development​ ​mode​ ​shell​ ​running​ ​on​ ​a​ ​Linux​ ​machine).

● Code​ ​splitting:​​ ​with​ ​the​ ​developer​ ​providing​ ​"split​ ​points"​ ​in​ ​the​ ​source​ ​code,​ ​the​ ​GWT
compiler​ ​will​ ​be​ ​able​ ​to​ ​split​ ​the​ ​JavaScript​ ​code​ ​into​ ​several​ ​small​ ​chunks​ ​instead​ ​of​ ​one
big​ ​download.​ ​This​ ​will​ ​lead​ ​to​ ​reduced​ ​application​ ​startup​ ​time​ ​as​ ​the​ ​size​ ​of​ ​the​ ​initial
download​ ​is​ ​decreased.

● Declarative​ ​User​ ​Interface:​​ ​using​ ​an​ ​XML​ ​format,​ ​the​ ​new​ ​feature​ ​known​ ​as​ ​UiBinder
allows​ ​the​ ​creation​ ​of​ ​user​ ​interfaces​ ​through​ ​declaration​ ​rather​ ​than​ ​code.​ ​This​ ​allows
clean​ ​separation​ ​of​ ​UI​ ​construction​ ​and​ ​behavior​ ​implementation.
 ● Resource​ ​bundling:​​ ​the​ ​ClientBundle​ ​interface​ ​will​ ​allow​ ​resources​ ​of​ ​any​ ​nature
(images,​ ​CSS,​ ​text,​ ​binary)​ ​to​ ​be​ ​bundled​ ​together​ ​and​ ​transferred​ ​in​ ​one​ ​download,
resulting​ ​in​ ​fewer​ ​round-trips​ ​to​ ​the​ ​server​ ​and​ ​hence​ ​lower​ ​application​ ​latency.

Since​ ​the​ ​new​ ​development​ ​mode​ ​removed​ ​most​ ​platform-specific​ ​code,​ ​the​ ​new​ ​version​ ​will​ ​be
distributed​ ​as​ ​a​ ​unique​ ​archive,​ ​instead​ ​of​ ​one​ ​per​ ​supported​ ​platform​ ​as​ ​was​ ​the​ ​case​ ​with
previous​ ​versions.

Mobile

As​ ​a​ ​general​ ​framework​ ​for​ ​making​ ​web​ ​apps,​ ​GWT​ ​is​ ​also​ ​capable​ ​of​ ​being​ ​used​ ​as​ ​a
framework​ ​for​ ​making​ ​mobile​ ​and​ ​tablet​ ​apps,​ ​either​ ​by​ ​making​ ​the​ ​needed​ ​widgets​ ​and
animations​ ​from​ ​scratch,​ ​or​ ​by​ ​using​ ​one​ ​of​ ​the​ ​mobile​ ​frameworks​ ​for​ ​GWT.​ ​An​ ​HTML5​ ​app
written​ ​in​ ​GWT​ ​can​ ​have​ ​separate​ ​views​ ​for​ ​Tablets​ ​and​ ​Mobile​ ​phones.
Some​ ​of​ ​the​ ​most​ ​common​ ​mobile​ ​GWT​ ​libraries

● GwtMobile
● gwt-mobile-webkit
● jqm4gwt
● m-gwt
● gwtbootstrap3