title: Is still GWT pertinent for new projects?
body: <p>The question <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1205278">Why should I use jQuery instead of GWT?</a> may be outdated (as its answers). And <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/812401">most</a> <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/4673612">of</a> <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/4886397">the</a> other SO related questions may also be outdated nowadays. So, let's update the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_the_art" rel="noreferrer">state of the art</a> about GWT relevance for new projects.</p>
  <p><strong>GWT is more mature nowadays</strong></p>
  <p>Since 2009 questions/answers, GWT has evolved and some JS frameworks are available in Java:</p>
  <ul>
  <li><a href="http://code.google.com/p/gwtquery/" rel="noreferrer">GwtQuery</a> for jQuery (gQuery)</li>
  <li><a href="http://www.sencha.com/products/gxt/" rel="noreferrer">GXT</a> for ExtJS (former ExtGWT)</li>
  <li><a href="http://code.google.com/p/smartgwt/" rel="noreferrer">Smart GWT</a> has superseded <a href="http://gwt-ext.com/" rel="noreferrer">GWT-ext</a></li>
  <li>... and surely more ... (please feel free to append)</li>
  </ul>
  <p>And even more, Java code can be converted to standalone JS libraries: <a href="http://code.google.com/p/gwt-exporter/" rel="noreferrer">gwt-exporter</a></p>
  <p><strong>But low-level JS frameworks may be enough</strong></p>
  <p>But more I read, more I see web developers advising to turn his back on GWT and use directly JS frameworks (<a href="https://getfirebug.com/" rel="noreferrer">Firebug</a>, IDE plugins for JS frameworks...).</p>
  <p><strong>Productivity</strong></p>
  <p>However I like the idea of developing and debugging using the same IDE (Eclipse, Netbeans, IntelliJ IDEA...). I <em>think</em> I will be more productive... I should also think about Documentation and Community (forum reactivity as for this SO question)...</p>
  <p><strong>Questions</strong></p>
  <ol>
  <li>For what kind of new 2014 project GWT should be (or not) considered?</li>
  <li>Are there <em>pertinent</em> alternatives to GWT for easy AJAX web application development &amp; deployment?</li>
  <li>What are the current mode and trend?</li>
  </ol>
  <p><strong>My specific case</strong></p>
  <p>I have just completed a POC (of an intranet web app) based on Python3 (<code>http.server.HTTPServer</code>) calling (POST) <code>bash</code> scripts (some processing in C++) and retrieving JSON data. Some JS (no framework) in the web page for rendering. So I am wondering the best option for next iteration.</p>
  <p>But please answer this question about other cases too. I would prefer a general question/answer to be useful to many more people.</p>
  <hr />
  <p><strong>UPDATE October 2015</strong></p>
  <p>GWT looks less active because no new release since 11 month. But in the past until <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Web_Toolkit#History" rel="noreferrer">13 months between versions 2.4 and 2.5</a>. The <a href="https://github.com/gwtproject/gwt" rel="noreferrer">Git repo mirror</a> is still very active. Moreover GWT is extensible, and new features can come from GWT libraries without requiring new GWT framework release. See for example the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Web_Toolkit#Mobile" rel="noreferrer">most common mobile GWT libraries</a> and there corresponding release cycles. In the mean time the trend is to use Node.js everywhere! Adoption of GWT for new projects really depends on developers skills/motivation and project lifetime (turnover/training/maintenance). Some other criteria as reuse of available source code and time-to-market may also be taken into account... See excellent below answers.</p>