I’m working on some stuff to bring the GWT and other AJAX frameworks question — “how can I write widgets for framework X in GWT?” — full circle. In the meantime, I thought I’d point out two useful resources. First, GWT Site is a blog that tracks developments in the Google Web Toolkit world. If you don’t have time to scan through the discusion forum every day, it’s a good place to get your updates (other than here, of course ).

One of the things that caught my eye, of course, was Googlipse, the so-new-its-still-wet Eclipse plugin for working with GWT. Regular readers of this blog will know that I’ve been working on my own Eclipse plugin for GWT, slated for release some time in 2010. After getting over my disappointment at being scooped, I decided to try it out.

The download is a simple jar that you add to your Eclipse 3.2 plugins directory. From the quickstart doc:

Googlipse is implemented as a WTP Facet. When creating a new Dynamic Web Project, select Googlipse in the Project Facets page. If you already have a Dynamic Web Project, you can add Googlipse facet by selecting Project->Properties->Project Facets(Please make sure you don’t have gwt-user.jar in your classpath). In case you didn’t like Googlipse, you can remove the facet.

[snip]

You can open the RemoteService interface and add/change methods in it. You need to provide the implementation of those methods in RemoteServiceImpl class, but thanks to Googlipse, you don’t have to do anything in RemoteServiceAsync. Googlipse will automatically update the corresponding Async file whenever a RemoteService interface is changed.

The plugin simplifies creation of modules, creation of remote methods and handles launching and debugging in hosted mode. Since the your developing a a dynamic webapp, you can ship your GWT app in the end as a war. Best of all, it’s Open Source.

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