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Reunification day for web user interfaces


14 months ago I was not feeling very comfortable with the 2000ish approach of web apps development: see post looking-for-web-framework  Namely having a backend web framework which spits HTML to the browser with a bit of javascript as icing sugar to give a bit of interactivity.
Using Flex on a large scale project gave me a very good impression:

  • Having a front end dedicated framework that you can test by itself without a backend was very productive
  • I find the idea of discussing the API between the backend and front-end very sound
  • With the nowadays processing power of end user devices, I like the idea of shifting the rendering processing load to the end user's terminal.

At the time, June 2012, I wanted to evaluate some options for web development but pure Javascript did not even came to my mind.

On a comparative article from JavaSPEKTRUM - Java Rich Client, Wicket was qualified as the technology that would allow to build a powerful user interface for the least complexity.
While trying to write a very simple form for a google app engine application using JPA 2.0 (see jpa-20-with-google-app-engine), wicket was configured for the web layer. The form was a simple text input and a submit button but with Wicket: it is not enough to write the HTML. You also need to create a Java class for your page otherwise your form does not exist.

That sad experience put me off of any web development in java for some time.

On a training for Distributed systems with SOA from Udi Dahan, Udi mentioned the use of Javascript framework to compose the UI from various sources of information. I had a look at Knockout and Waow... Things have moved on since that wicket day....

The reunification is here: the Microsoft world and the Unix world are together on the same web front end boat: web based UI using Javascript. This is definitely the way forward.

I will devote one or more posts about doing a simple form using a Javascript framework. I tried Knockout and liked it very much. It is very targeted and does what it says.

I later had a look to AngularJS and it is more complex to grasp than Knockout but it is all encompassing. You don't need to bring in extra utilities. It is really heroic.

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