Simplify Ajax development with Cypal Studio for GWT

Cypal Studio and GWT

GWT is a set of tools that allow Java programmers to write dynamic Ajax Web applications in a pure Java programming language without using JavaScript. GWT applications can run in all major browsers, allow full interaction with the user, and perform comprehensive testing and debugging within the Java development environment.

The GWT framework has four main components. A set of parts that are implemented in the Java language that provide all of the standard user interface (UI) functionality-typically provided by application programming interfaces (APIs) that are simpler than Swing. A remote procedure call mechanism that allows you to communicate between the client and the server, where GWT handles all of the pipeline and data transformations. A fully integrated browser emulator that allows GWT to run independently during the development process, including the ability to set breakpoints in the editor during a GWT debugging session. Finally, there is a compiler that converts Java code into a cross-browser JavaScript code that actually executes in the client browser to help you deal with browser incompatibility issues.

Although GWT simplifies the process of creating an Ajax application, it still has several parts that must be synchronized to work properly. At the time of this writing, advanced tool support for GWT has begun to appear in the mainstream Java development environment.

Cypal Studio for GWT is an Eclipse plug-in that can be used to simplify many of the common tasks that are performed during the GWT development process.

Installing Cypal Studio in the Eclipse Web Tools Platform

To use Cypal Studio for GWT, you must first download it. The latest GWT version of this article was 1.3 and provides different files for microsoft®windows®, Mac OS X, and linux® systems. Simply download the files that apply to your operating system, unzip them, and place the resulting folders in a convenient location.

Next, you need a version of Eclipse with the Web Tools Platform (WTP) plug-in. WTP is a collection of selected tools that support WEB application development. It includes various WEB-standard editor support, such as HTML and cascading style sheets (cascading style sheet,css), JavaServer Page (JSP) editor support, supporting the creation and maintenance of databases used in Web applications, and in the development process Run the application on the WEB server.

The easiest way to get a WTP-enabled Eclipse system is to download all files at once. This method is especially recommended if you are downloading Eclipse for the first time. The WTP download page will provide all-in-one downloads for all WTP plug-ins and some prerequisite plug-ins. The page will be a bit messy: Please find the Web Tools Platform; All-in-one. At the time of this writing, the WTP version was 1.5.4. Have a version for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X; Download a version that is appropriate for your platform.

If downloading all the files at once makes you feel too simple or-more likely-you already have Eclipse and you don't want to download all the files, you can download WTP as a plugin. The download page lists some prerequisite plug-ins. Download, unzip, and place the plug-ins in the plugin directory of the Eclipse installation. Then the download file name is similar to the Wtp-r-1.5.4.zip Web Tools Platform (WTP, JST, and WST combination). Unzip the file into the plug-in directory as well.

When all the above files are downloaded, you are finally ready to download the latest version of Cypal Studio for GWT. At the time of this writing, the version name was Cypal.studio.for.gwt-beta.zip. Unzip the file to the Eclipse directory and get the files in the features and plugins directory.

Note: If you have installed the old Googlipse plug-in, you may have to remove the plugin so that you can cleanly install the Cypal Studio for GWT plug-in.

Now that all files have been downloaded, there is still a configuration option that must be set before it can be started. Start and run Eclipse, and then access the Preferences window, as shown in Figure 1. If everything works, Cypal Studio should have an entry on the left. Just set the GWT home setting to the top-level directory of the GWT installation you created earlier.

Figure 1. Cypal Studio Preferences window

The operation should have all the files you need installed for you. Let's get started!