Web application development - options

Question

I am working a resonably sized java project that needs some sort of web based admin.

Just so we can remotely fire up the initializtion class, change some of the variables etc and have a a generally pretty(ish) front end.

I've come across the google web framework, which looks like an option and it seems JSP is another. I like the fact that GWT seems to have a number of UI elements out-of-the-box, time is somewhat critical..

is GWT overkill to use to create a web facing front-end for the project (its basically a demo, so we'll use a local network machine running linux as a server)?

Any other options you may be aware of?

Thanks!

Answer 1

Just use Struts - you can prototype very quickly

Answer 2

One nice thing about JSP is that it's dead easy to get started with if you're a Java house already. There are a few frameworks that can layer on top of JSP to help you a bit if you like, such as Struts.

In terms of rich UI components, you can use any of several JavaScript libraries (jQuery UI, Prototype+script.aculo.us, YUI, Google Closure library, etc.) which are server-technology-agnostic.

Edit: I should mention: I have a friend I trust who raves about GWT (I haven't done enough with it to have an opinion). If you don't already know JavaScript and don't have time to learn it, but still want to create a rich web app, GWT may well be the way to go.

Answer 3

From my personal experiences with web front-end prototyping, GWT is awesome, but that's probably just because I'm used to swing programming. If you've never done any type of Java programming before, stick to something JSP based, like Struts, JSF (with ICEFaces if you want some out-of-the-box components), Spring, Stripes...I think you catch my drift. There are a million web frameworks. Do a little bit of research, but stay with what's familiar and comfortable.

Answer 4

I agree with the answer by zinc, but I'd side more with Stripes. Its a bit like Struts but it is more simpler and easy to get up and running (it doesn't require as much configuration), there is a comparison of the two here

You can have a "hello world" web app running in about half an hour

On the view side, you can use JSP or freemarker (some others aswel maybe)

JSP with some JQuery would make a good UI

Good luck!