Best Web2.0 framework for Java?

Question

Hi all,

this question is quite related to the one asked here, however, I am not interested in the best web framework, but in the best web2.0 framework for Java. First, here is what I want to achieve:

1. Cutting-Edge GUI experience (see e.g. stackoverflow.com ;-) , http://presentlyapp.com/ and so many more)
2. Easy MVC handling (similar to the implementation of Ruby-On-Rails)
3. Excellent ORM (similar to the implementation of Ruby-On-Rails)
4. Very important to me: Easy implementation of sms/e-mail/JSON/XML/... message receiver

I do assume, that Spring Roo is going to be the answer, still, I am very interested in the community's oppinion (i.e. does Spring Roo really suite my needs? Is Spring Roo ready for production? Disadvantages of Spring Roo? Alternatives? Advantages/Disadvantages of Roo/JSF/Wicket/...).

Thank you very much for your suggestions in advance.

-------------- EDIT: -----------------

One thing I forgot: Good user/admin management framework also important. Alternative info: Instead of suggesting the framework: Any mixture of frameworks recommended?

Answer 1

I've never tried it but Vaadin looks like a framework you could be looking for, very Web2.0 anyway :)

Also Play framework might be interesting?

Can't vouch for production readiness though.

Answer 2

Look at Grails framework. I'm using it currently, it's really rocks

Answer 3

Vaadin is more like a UI library instead of a full-fledged framework, and it is commonly used as the UI layer with eg. Spring (examples available at our site). To answer you point-by-point:

1. We take look'n'feel quite seriously, and our themeing system allows you to completely customize your application's look using standard technologies, ie. CSS, GWT etc.
2. All your code runs in the server, and the programming model is event-based. This allows you to tie your business logic to the UI very naturally.
3. There is not a lot of ORM logic in Vaadin since you have all of JEE technologies at your disposal. We do offer a JPA container you can use to ease JPA integration, or you could use Spring.
4. Since your code runs in the server you can just use whatever Java libraries you need.

If you prefer the Grails way there is the Grails plugin available at grails.org.

It's very easy to get started so jump in and start messing around! If you run into any questions or difficulties our forum is very active and has hundreds of helpful experts to help you.

Answer 4

I fell i love with Tapestry 5

Answer 5

The combination of Spring ROO (1.1) with GWT 2.1 is looking very promising. Take a look at this screencast. Both ROO 1.1 and GWT 2.1 are currently in their milestone build phase and the teams are working together closely.

Answer 6

I have finally come to Spring MVC and jQuery ... although it is a bit of a hack, but it works quite o.k.