Doubts regarding Ext-GWT & comparison with ext-js :please add your input

[mailtonandan]

Hi Friends,
I am in a serious confusion b/w using ext-js (+DWR) or ext-gwt in my project.
I have tried examples in both of them.I have some questions regarding the same.
1. How is the support for Ext-GWT aka GXT? is it similar to Ext-JS or lesser than that?
2. How stable is GXT ?? is it already stable? Can I directly start using it for long-term project?
3. How is the performance of the GXT-generated javascript compared to Ext-js javascript??
4. Google assures guarantee for the correctness of compiled/generated javascript, how about Ext-GWt???To what extent we can rely on it and in case any issues occur how should one go about??? does the commercial licence support and fix issues or add features? if so how fast it is?


I have listed down some points while comparing Ext-JS v/s Ext-GWT.
"Kindly add your valuable inputs which could help people in my situation to decide on".

(I got errors while adding this content in this thread..so i hav put the same contents in my blog) pls have a look at it

http://www.extjs-j2ee.blogspot.com/

Disclaimer: The content in the above blog is from my personal perception, kindly correct if anything is wrong, I will be glad to hear from you. thank you.

[TheBuzzer]

I would say you should use gxt for the long term.

the other one is just a javascript wrapper. GXT does contain some javascript code but it is mostly in java.

Most likely later on google's new web browser is going to be working better with pure java code written in gwt. Becuase google chrome is going to be compiling javascript to machine code.

So most likely there will be another converter for gwt that will be converting java code to machine code with the bits of javascript converted too.

It took me a while to figure which one should I use too but I think you should use gxt and not use the wrapper.

[jpnet]

TheBuzzer, I don't he was asking for a comparison of GXT vs GWT-Ext (the now discontinued GWT wrapper over JS code written by a developer outside of ExtJS LLC). I think he wanted a straight up comparsion between GXT and the ExtJS the JS library.

As far as support goes, I can't answer that. I have used both. I have used the ExtJS (the JS library) much more than Ext-GWT (GXT). However, with the latest release of the GWT 1.5 compiler, GWT compiled apps seems to run pretty quickly. I would be willing to bet that the GWT compiler will churn out 'quicker' JS then your average JS coder.

I would love to hear what others have to say.

-JP

[jpnet]

Oh ya, a few more points to mention. I feel that the GXT community doesn't even come close to comparing to the ExtJS community. This may be attributed to a number of factors:
1) Immaturity of the GXT library vs the ExtJS library
2) The GXT documentation is horrible, this may be because of point #1. You'll be relying on Javadocs. Where as ExtJS has a learning center and the documentation goes a bit further than javadocs.
3) It's my impression there is only one developer. Who might I add, seems to be very active in the "Premium Help" forum. Do not misunderstand this as a complaint. This is completely understandable, as you want to cater to your customers.
4) Lack of tutorials and solid examples. The downloadable package contains samples, but it would be nice to see more.

In summary, right now GXT is a 2nd class citizen to ExtJS. This is understandable as ExtJS LLC is a young company, and undoubtly resources are tight compared to more established companies. It's just disappointing, as I'm developing a web app for the company that I work for... and ExtJS/GXT are some of the most aesthetically pleasing libraries, however, I don't really care to work with JS much more, hence why I tried GXT. I love GWT and the idea of GXT, but it's just not quite there. I'm sure in about a year or so, GXT will be *very* nice to use. But, I think I'll go back to using just GWT.

My two cents.

-JP

[mailtonandan]

Thanks for your valuable input.
I am trying to understand the GXT compiler, is it a wrapper over existing GWT compiler?
or how does it work?
The point I am looking at is how reliable is this complier? most of the components would work fine but minor look-n-feel issues can get great -ve feedback.
Is anybody aware of such issues? I would appreciate if somebody can share info regarding this.

[gslender]

mailtonandan,

Your blog post has some incorrect facts. Ext GWT (aka GXT) is not based on 2.0.2 of ExtJS as your table suggests. You may be confused with GWT-Ext (http://gwt-ext.com/) which *is* a wrapper around ExtJS using GWT.

GXT is a "from the ground up" UI library that shares similar widgets/styles from ExtJS from the same company that build ExtJS.

There is no compiler in GXT, it leverages the GWT 1.5.2 compiler and much of the DOM functionality - which is different from ExtJS and GWT-Ext which are based on ExtJS's method and framework for manipulating the dom etc.

Of an even greater ongoing importance will be Google's development of compiled Java to JS (in the V8 engine) such that its new Chrome browser could possibly make for even faster and smarter client native compiled code. GXT (being based on GWT) will be able to directly take advantage of that in the future.

The comments about the community are probably true, but this is growing and more users = more likely contributors who can offer some of their spare time to help new users. One of the benefits is that ExtJS also offer paid support so you can be assured of assistance.

The real significant difference between GXT and ExtJS is the development model - in GXT everything server and client is in Java (and the on the client side very little, or no JS/CSS knowledge is needed at all) - compared to ExtJS you would probably need to know a few different languages and environments (web server, server scripting, client scripting, XML or JSON etc) and for new starters, this could be a harder hill to climb.