Install gwt with Homebrew

Project links

• Homepage
• Repository
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• i18nCreator
• webAppCreator

Project history

Google announced Google Web Toolkit in May 2006 as a publicly available software development tool for creating AJAX applications. The early Google Developers Blog description said developers could build and debug in Java with normal Java tools, then deploy browser-compliant JavaScript and HTML generated by the GWT compiler.

GWT 1.0 builds appeared in May 2006, followed by the 1.1 series in August 2006 and the 1.2 and 1.3 series later that year. In December 2006, Google announced that it was releasing all GWT source code under an open source license, after the tool took off faster than expected.

The project evolved through a long 1.x line and then GWT 2.0 in December 2009. The versions page notes that 2.0.0 introduced a single distribution for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux, replacing earlier platform-specific download artifacts. Later 2.x releases continued through compiler, SDK, Java compatibility, and tooling changes.

The GitHub repository was created in 2013, and its README says it is the official open source project for GWT releases 2.5 and onward. This marks the package's transition from a Google-hosted toolkit with downloadable SDK zips into a GitHub-centered open source project with source builds, tests, and community contribution guidance.

Adoption history

GWT gained early attention because it let Java developers build rich browser applications without switching fully to handwritten JavaScript. The official books page records a wave of third-party books from late 2006 through 2013, including GWT in Action, GWT in Practice, Google App Engine and GWT books, and GWT 2-focused books, which is a strong signal of ecosystem uptake.

The official resources also point to related frameworks such as Ext GWT and Vaadin, with Vaadin described as built on top of GWT. That ecosystem made GWT more than a compiler: it became a platform for Java-centric web UI libraries, enterprise application patterns, and server/client integration techniques.

GWT's community story shifted as browser tooling changed. The project retained its Java-to-JavaScript compiler identity while adding documentation around Super Dev Mode, JsInterop, JRE emulation, RequestFactory, activities and places, UiBinder, code splitting, and testing. The roadmap later focuses on Java language and JRE emulation support and explores J2CL-related JsInterop features.

How it is used

A typical GWT workflow uses Java source for client-side code, GWT modules, JRE emulation, widgets or direct DOM APIs, RPC or other AJAX communication, and the compiler to produce JavaScript. The official documentation covers project creation, UI building, event handling, debugging, styling, compilation, internationalization, testing, deployment, and API reference material.

For package-manager users, the brew package exposes older SDK command-line helpers such as webAppCreator and i18nCreator. Source builders use Java and Ant, with the GitHub README documenting SDK distribution builds, Maven artifact creation, code-style checks, and test suites.

Why package nerds care

GWT is important in package history because it represents a pre-TypeScript, pre-modern-SPA answer to the same problem: use a statically typed language and mature tooling to produce browser JavaScript. Its package shape, a Java SDK plus compiler plus command-line helpers, is very different from the npm-centered frontend stacks that later dominated web development.

It also matters as a long-lived compatibility package. Maintaining GWT means preserving Java APIs, emulated JRE behavior, compiler output, old SDK workflows, and documentation for applications that may have started in the Ajax boom but still need buildable artifacts years later.

Timeline

• 2006-05-16: Version 1.0 RC 1 build listed on the official versions page.
• 2006-05-25: Version 1.0 build listed on the official versions page.
• 2006-12: Google announced the release of GWT source code under an open source license.
• 2009-12-08: GWT 2.0.0 build listed with a single Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux distribution.
• 2012-10-24: GWT 2.5.0 build listed on the official versions page.
• 2013-04-18: GitHub repository created; README says GitHub source is official for releases 2.5 and onward.
• 2017-10-19: GWT 2.8.2 build listed on the official versions page.
• 2020-05-13: GWT 2.9.0 build listed on the official versions page.
• 2024-01-09: GWT 2.10.1 and 2.11.0 builds listed on the official versions page.

Related projects

• J2CL: GWT roadmap discusses exploring J2CL-exclusive JsInterop features.
• Vaadin and Ext GWT: official books page lists them as related frameworks in the GWT ecosystem.
• Google App Engine: official books page records combined GWT and App Engine application development material.
• Java, Ant, Maven, and JRE emulation: core build and compatibility technologies documented by the project.

Sources

• https://api.github.com/repos/gwtproject/gwt
• https://developers.googleblog.com/write-ajax-applications-in-the-java-language-with-google-web-toolkit/
• https://github.com/gwtproject/gwt
• https://googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/12/opening-up-google-web-toolkit.html
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gwtproject/gwt/main/README.md
• https://www.gwtproject.org/books.html
• https://www.gwtproject.org/doc/latest
• https://www.gwtproject.org/makinggwtbetter.html
• https://www.gwtproject.org/roadmap.html
• https://www.gwtproject.org/versions.html