[nlotz]

This is my last post on this topic

Magic 8-Ball says: Very doubtful.

[ebardet]

codedude, I find you're a bit harsh. Not only SmartGWT is young but it encompasses a close to comprehensive set of features that are well advanced compared to other libraries available to date.

Keep on the good work SmartGWT.

E

[Isomorphic]

Codedude,

Initial download size has not been a barrier to the adoption of SmartClient, which is already used pervasively throughout the Global 2000.

On the sizes you mentioned: you didn't build an application, you built a trivial sample. As we have explained, if you had built a full-blown application with both technologies, the numbers would be much closer, except of course that unless you undertook years of R&D to bring GWT up to SmartGWT's level, your GWT-based application would be much, much less functional, and would require much more server contact after initial load.

No one has ignored your feedback. Indeed, a great deal of effort was expended explaining why, although there are approaches to reducing the runtime size that have been explained here and elsewhere, they aren't viewed as a priority either by Isomorphic or by the majority of SmartGWT users. And you were also given options for tackling runtime size if you consider it more important.

However your feedback stopped being constructive when you laughed at people who were answering your concerns and then started posting the word "bloated" on other threads and in blogs. The word "bloated" is pejorative, everyone recognizes it as an insult, along with laughing at people, of course. Actual constructive feedback from the community has always been welcomed and encouraged here.

To sum up on the technical front, for the applications that SmartGWT is targeted at, a reduced initial download size would not have an appreciable impact on performance. For featherweight applications that SmartGWT is *not* targeted at, JQuery is a better choice.

Many organizations combine the two, using JQuery for minor interactivity and loading SmartClient or other technologies for full-blown applications. This combination provides a much more effective solution than an approach that tries to use GWT only, because:

• GWT's widget system will never match JQuery's ultralight footprint for basic interactivity
• GWT is an awkward technology to use for sites that are mostly about content rather than interactivity (eg, mainstream CMS integration lacking)
• perhaps worst, GWT applications grow in proportion to their most complex screens, forcing you to keep dividing the application to keep a light footprint on key landing pages, which basically throws away many of GWT's key benefits.

For these reasons we are seeing a trend toward mixed solutions across the many companies we work with, and we are focused on enabling and explaining this mixed solution.

[Clarification: you can use JQuery via GWT (called GQuery) and this makes sense as a combination with SmartGWT if you want to stay pure GWT. It's specifically GWT's widget system which isn't as light as JQuery and will increasingly get larger.]