Google Releases GWT Designer

Last week, Google released the GWT 2.2 update. While this was a relatively minor update, at least compared to previous version updates, there was one new feature mentioned in the release notes that was much needed: GWT Designer.

UiBinder’s Missing Cousin

The GWT 2.0 version saw the release of the UiBinder framework, a technique for creating GWT components in HTML, analogous to building applications in MXML over ActionScript in Flash/Flex. For example, the following UiBinder snippet creates a GWT panel and list box in an HTML-based template:

<ui:UiBinder xmlns:ui=‘urn:ui:com.google.gwt.uibinder’    xmlns:g=‘urn:import:com.google.gwt.user.client.ui’>
      <g:HTMLPanel>
             Hello, <g:ListBox ui:field=‘listBox’ visibleItemCount=’1′/>.
      </g:HTMLPanel>
</ui:UiBinder>

What was severely lacking in the GWT 2.0, though, was the ability to edit this layout using a visual tool. There was really no compelling reason to switch to UiBinder, since it required learning a new syntax with limited benefits over writing it directly in Java.

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