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Building Rich-Client-Like Web Apps With Echo
An anonymous reader writes: "IBM developerWorks is running a feature on the 'Echo' project, which is used for creating web apps that 'look and act like rich clients.' Echo uses HTML and JavaScript to render a user-interface in the browser instead of client-side plugins like Java WebStart. The API is similar to that of Swing. The article examines an example email client written with the technology. The framework itself is built on Java servlets, and is distributed under the LGPL. More examples can be found here."
However the big thing at many companies today is 'do you have a web front end?' No, oh were going to someone who does. Why cause its considered 'cool and new and in and hip'. Yeah okay that's crap, but talk to an exective and that is what many want for some reason. My companies president is just this way. He wanted a java web application front end. He didn't know what he was asking, but he wanted it anyway. What a dumbass huh?
Why is this happening? Maintenance and deployment. I can setup a webserver and when I need to push an update to the software out to the users I just update the webserver and everyone gets it. Java applets may get broken if the right VM is not on the client. Javascript is pretty basic and much of it can be coded to work well with both IE and mozilla and netscape. There is plenty of browser detection code in JS already out there. Rich clients are what people want too.
Also this means that one can lock down a desktop system so that it only has a web browser and everything a user does is done using the browser. Similar to the old green screen models, only now the client is a little more powerful.
Imagine having ot go and install software on 3000 users desktops. Asking users to install software themselves can sometimes be asking for disaster. mac's update is pretty good, but now you just have to get the users to run the update.
Software push is the way that companies want to go, and the web offers them the easy way to push.
Yeah everything is 'web this / web that' but so what?
Anyway, this whole echo stuff is just allowing a java developer to develop code for a rich client that happens to be a web browser without having to think about cookies and maintaing state. What's so bad about that. Hey if you don't like it dont use it.
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Yes, options are always good.
Echo seems interesting, and there is also Millstone, which is truly terminal independent, whereas Echo seems to be browser only.
Fundamentally the two platforms seem to be very similar, just take a look at the HelloWorld examples: HelloWorld with Echo, HelloWorld with Millstone.
The important thing about a platform like this is the default component library, and at least Millstone has a versatile and strong component set that's also as small as possible. Take a look at their feature demo that showcases the basic components. The feature demo itself runs on Millstone.