GWT Special Features compared to other Frameworks

Question

I am on searching special features of GWT which are present only in GWT and not in other web framework. I am a student and I am not well acquainted to the many web frameworks on the market, so if u can help me increasing my list of special GWT features, it would be a great help. Some which i know are:

 1. GWT allows using java to program
web. (only, it also allows merging
javascript through JSNI of course) 

2. The developer does not have to be a guru in browser incompatibilities
to develop web sites which works on
a variety of browsers because
incompatibilities are handled by GWT
through differed bindind

3. GWT allows easy integration of popular Java Tools such as ,
hibernate through gilead

4. GWT enables server implementation not only in java but also other
languages such as php

5. GWT enables code splitting which improves application interactivity
by allowing javaScript file to
download only when required

6. In essence GWT is toolkit, it does not force a way to program,
other layers can be placed on top of
it to program such as placing MVP or
MVC framework on top of GWT and then
develop app

7. GWT MVP is great because first it allows collaborative working, faster
testing with JUnit and the event bus
allows many updates in client side
application by placing event on the
event bus

8. GWT compiled java files to obfuscated mode which is first small
and make the application safer
because bots fails on the javascript
generated during the obfuscated mode

In case in the 8 points, i've mention something which not special to GWT, then let me know.

Answer 1

There are other, more important/wider accepted GUI-Frameworks that are based on Java. There are for example Struts and JSF. That's why some of your points don't fit only for GWT, but for all GUI java frameworks in general, e.g. bullet point 1, 2 & 3.

But to add another one: I think GWT is an easy way to code an AJAX-application, because it hides the AJAX stuff quite well. Wouldn't you agree?

Furthermore, GWT is a proprietary framework (which is somehow a unique property). JSF is standardized and Struts is lead by Apache.

Answer 2

There's also 'perfect caching', which is the term used to describe the way that GWT optimises JavaScript for each browser.

Instead of building a large JavaScript file, with code that can handle all of the various browsers, GWT builds multiple JavaScript files at compile time, and downloads only the one that is relevant to the browser type that is being used.

EDIT: Every time you make a change to your Java code, GWT changes the name of the corresponding JavaScript file. Web servers can turn on caching for the JavaScript files (so that browsers won't re-download the same file), assured that the name will change when the Java code changes, and the browser will then download the latest version.

EDIT: I also really like the CssResource feature. By creating obfuscated CSS style names, GWT effectively gives each widget its own namespace for CSS styles; for example, I could define a 'pretty' style name on two different widgets, and have those styles using different CSS rules. Of course, it is possible to share CSS styles between widgets too.

Image resources are cool too. They optimise the way that images are downloaded and accessed.

Don't forget internationalization.

Answer 3

I think you pulled together a pretty decent list of differentiators there already. I think that one point worth adding is the RequestFactory feature in the most recent release, which, if you will, is simplistically speaking and RPC for data and makes it quite easy to develop Create, Read, Update and Delete - type (CRUD) of applications.