Java Reference
In-Depth Information
methodology you're accustomed to with JavaScript, but with the Eclipse IDE you can
step through and debug your Java code line by line in the same toolset that you are
already comfortable with. When you're ready to deploy your application to App
Engine, GWT compiles your source code into optimized, stand-alone JavaScript that
works across all major browsers. GWT enables you to:
•
Communicate with back-end servers using GWT RPC, JSON, and
XML. With GWT RPC you can specify remote endpoints to call
across the Internet with remarkable ease. GWT does the heavy
lifting for you by serializing arguments, invoking the methods on
the server, and deserializing the return values.
•
Create UI components that can be packaged and reused in other
projects.
•
Develop your own JavaScript functionality to include in your
applications using JavaScript Native Interface (JSNI).).
•
Support for the browser Back button and history. You don't have to
waste time programming the lack of state in your application.
•
Use GWT-deferred binding techniques to create compact
internationalized applications based on user profiles.
•
Get started right away using your favorite tools like Eclipse, JUnit,
and JProfiler.
■
Note
This topic is not intended to be a deep-dive into GWT but should provide just enough
information to allow you to understand the technology and get you started developing with GWT. For
more details on developing with GWT, check out
http://tinyurl.com/o3vcpg.
Creating Your Project
Creating your project is a snap using the Google plug-in for Eclipse. Select File
➤
New
➤
Web Application Project and enter the information for your project. Ensure that
you check “Use Google Web Toolkit” and “Use Google App Engine” and that you are
using the latest version of each SDK. Fortunately, Eclipse will notify you when a new
version of either SDK is available for download. After the wizard finishes, you will see
that it has created a number of files to get your project up and running quickly (see
Figure 5-2). As you work through your application, you will be replacing the code
generated by the Eclipse plug-in with your own code.
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