Paul Krill
Editor at Large

Google upgrades Web toolkit for browser apps

news
Dec 9, 20092 mins

Google Web Toolkit 2.0 provides enhancements of performance profiling and incremental downloading

Google on Tuesday evening released Google Web Toolkit (GWT) 2.0 for building browser-based applications, offering enhancements for performance profiling and incremental downloading as well as a declarative UI framework.

Version 2.0 of the open source development toolkit is built to accommodate recent improvements in browser speed and capabilities for larger, richer Web applications, Google said. The toolkit is available for download.

[ Google on Tuesday unveiled a browser extension system and an extension gallery for its Chrome browser. | Keep up on the day’s tech news headlines with InfoWorld’s Today’s Headlines: First Look newsletter. ]

“We use Google Web Toolkit for all our Java-based internal apps”, said Ben Fried, Google chief information officer, in a statement released by the company. “It’s a great tool for enterprise-class Java GUI development and we build our most sensitive and critical corporate systems with it. In addition to the big benefits in developer productivity, GWT offers, the future-proofing and browser independence you get out of the box mean that we’re protected from the problems caused by browser-specific bugs and exploits.”

Features of version 2.0 include:

  • Speed Tracer, for performance profiling. Speed Tracer leverages HTML 5 technologies, allowing developers to diagnose performance problems in the browser. Insight is offered into low-level browser operations.
  • Code Splitting, for incremental downloading. This feature lets developers slice and dice application code so key functionality can load immediately while other features load later as needed.
  • UiBinder, a new declarative UI framework that enables rapid design iteration and clean separation between the presentation layer and application logic.

GWT 2.0 was unveiled at a Google Campfire One event, which features on-campus interactions between Google and the developer community.

This story, “Google upgrades Web toolkit for browser apps,” was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Follow the latest in developers issues at InfoWorld.com.

Paul Krill

Paul Krill is editor at large at InfoWorld. Paul has been covering computer technology as a news and feature reporter for more than 35 years, including 30 years at InfoWorld. He has specialized in coverage of software development tools and technologies since the 1990s, and he continues to lead InfoWorld’s news coverage of software development platforms including Java and .NET and programming languages including JavaScript, TypeScript, PHP, Python, Ruby, Rust, and Go. Long trusted as a reporter who prioritizes accuracy, integrity, and the best interests of readers, Paul is sought out by technology companies and industry organizations who want to reach InfoWorld’s audience of software developers and other information technology professionals. Paul has won a “Best Technology News Coverage” award from IDG.

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