Go2Web20.net - The complete Web 2.0 directory. Kickstarting Google Web Toolkit on the Client Side. At the 2006 JavaOne event, a certain company by the name of Google (they're very big in the search market, apparently) caused quite a buzz with the shock announcement of a new open source API for developing Ajax-heavy web applications.
GWT--Google Web Toolkit--is Google's attempt to tame Ajax, making it a viable option for small-team and/or cost-conscious web applications development. And with a name like Google behind it, perhaps it's no wonder that so many are casting a inquisitive eye over this strange new technology. But GWT is so new, the ink has hardly had time to dry on its Apache license, and there's a dearth of introductory material to consult (Robert Cooper's "Working with the Google Web Toolkit" is a start). Editor's Daily Blog: Too Good To Be True. Posted by editor on June 27, 2006 at 6:44 AM PDT How far should we push Ajax?
The thing about Ajax is that most tutorials are heavily slanted towards replacing existing web apps, so they add a little bit client-side functionality, but they are still heavily focused on the server and the interaction between the server and the "thin" client (a term that is getting increasingly inappropriate for browsers where Ajax is involved). So, you start with a webapp that refreshes the whole page, and then you see how to replace the refresh and instead send a little XML that the client parses and uses to alter the DOM and thus update just the parts of the page that need updating.
And so far, that's been really helpful for a lot of people.