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We've used gwt extensively and eagerly await 2.0.

GWT is basically built for building webapps like gmail. If you are building a website then I wouldn't bother with it personally, I find jquery much easier in that sense. It's really built for highly interactive, gmail/google docs/wave like applications which are a single page with dynamic content.

Take a look at the following project, which is a nice example of what gwt can do outside of google health, wave etc: http://code.google.com/p/gwt-cal/

There are huge benefits with 2.0 over other libraries for building these types of applications:

http://www.infoq.com/news/2009/10/gwt-2-m1

http://fredsa.allen-sauer.com/2009/09/gwt-for-enterprise-dev...

In terms of cross browser, we have only ever had a single issue which was a drag and drop, google map like component. Workarounds were not that hard.

Oh, and styling your interface is very easy if you use firebug well. We have a 37-signals-esque single page interface which is pretty slick.



Just to be clear, Gmail was _not_ written with GWT.


It's worth noting, though, that Google's implementation of Wave is written in GWT. Since GMail predates the invention of GWT, it's likely that it would be a GWT application if started today.


Many things would be different if Gmail were started today -- not all of them good :)


Though it probably would be if the project were started today.


does new v3 beta maps use gwt?


I don't believe so, though the web implementation of Latitude (http://maps.google.com/maps/m?mode=latitude) for iPhone and Palm Pre does.




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