Im considering starting a new web app and want to know more about GWT vs just Javascript (GWT compiles Java to Javascript). Does GWT offer productivity gains over just using JS? Any tips on using GWT?
You've left out a third option: using a mature pure-JavaScript library like JQuery, Closure, or YUI.<p>IMHO that's the best of the options, because you can fall back to pure JS if you need extra flexibility or speed, and yet still don't have to deal with cross-browser bugs.
Disclaimer: I've never used GWT professionally before.<p>I think its a good idea if your web application is driven by the JS instead of just using it to add interactivity. As in, something like Gmail or wave which are basically "javascript applications" rather than "web applications", if you know what i mean.<p>JS can get a bit annoying when trying to impose the needed structure to write big applications. That structure is "built-in" when using something like Java.<p>Also, with a JS-heavy application, you'd need to take care of the different browser quirks(via library or otherwise). Apparently, GWT can take care of this for you.<p>Having said that, I don't typically like "generated" code. At least not code that I don't generate myself.
If you use GWT integrate it nicely into your build process. Worked at a place where it was a bit klunky whenever you made a change to the GWT code and subsequently GWT has left a bad taste in my mouth but I think that's probably unfair.<p>If we'd taken the time, we could have ironed out the klunkiness.<p>Might be worth building a vertical slice of you app, first with jquery (or another JS library) and then with GWT and see which one suits it better.