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This article may be more technical than it needs to be. It may require attention from an expert. Please make this article accessible to the widest possible audience. Consider associating this request with a WikiProject. (May 2009) |
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| Developer(s) | IT Mill |
| Initial release | May 20, 2009 |
| Platform | Java |
| Type | Web Application Framework |
| License | Apache License 2.0 |
| Website | http://vaadin.com/ |
Vaadin is an open source web application framework for rich Internet applications. In contrast to Javascript libraries and browser-plugin based solutions it features a server-side architecture, which means that the majority of the logic runs on the servers. Ajax technology is used at the browser-side to ensure a rich and interactive user experience. On client-side Vaadin is built on top of and can be extended with Google Web Toolkit.
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Features
One of the most prominent features of Vaadin is the ability to use Java (using a Java EE platform) as the only programming language, while creating content for the web. The framework incorporates event-driven programming and widgets, which enables a programming model that is closer to GUI software development, than traditional web development with HTML and Javascript.
Vaadin utilizes Google Web Toolkit for rendering the resulting web page. While Google Web Toolkit operates only client-side (i.e. a browser's JavaScript engine) – which could lead to trust issues – Vaadin adds server-side validation to all actions. This means that if the client data is tampered with, the server notices this and doesn't allow it.
Vaadin's default component set can be extended with custom GWT widgets and themed with CSS.
From application developers point of view, Vaadin is just one JAR-file that can be included in any kind of Java Web project developed with standard Java tools. In addition, there is Eclipse plugin for easing the development of Vaadin applications as well as direct support (and distribution through) Maven.
Vaadin applications can be deployed as Java Servlets to any Java server, including Google App Engine. Applications can also be deployed as Portlets to any Java portal, with deeper integration to Liferay Portal.
History
Development was first started as an adapter on top of the Millstone 3 open source web framework released in year 2002. It introduced an Ajax based client communication and rendering engine. During 2006 this concept was then developed separately as a commercial product. As a consequence for this, a large part of Vaadin's server-side API is still compatible with Millstone's Swing-like APIs.
In early 2007 the product name was changed to IT Mill Toolkit and version 4 was released. It used a proprietary JavaScript Ajax-implementation for the client-side rendering, which made it rather complicated to implement new widgets. By the end of year 2007 the proprietary client-side implementation was abandoned and GWT was integrated on top of the server-side components. At the same time the product license was changed to open source Apache License 2.0. The first production ready release of IT Mill Toolkit 5 was made on March 4, 2009 after over one years beta period.
On September 11, 2008, it was publicly announced[1][2] that Michael Widenius, the main author of the original version of MySQL, invested in IT Mill, the developer of Vaadin. The size of the investment is undisclosed.
On May 20:th 2009, IT Mill Toolkit changed its name to Vaadin to attract more community. The name originates from the Finnish word for doe, more precisely put, a female reindeer. It can also be translated from Finnish as "I insist". In addition to name change, a pre-release of version 6 along with a community [web-site] was launched.
Competitors
Historically, Vaadin has been compared to Echo and ZK frameworks that use similar of server-side programming model. The server-side APIs are quite similar providing both events and GUI components, but the client-side (i.e. web browser) interaction differs in the way that Vaadin uses Java programmed GWT widgets, while ZK is jQuery based, and Echo has its own implementation. Currently, the most frequently compared frameworks include Adobe Flex, Google Web Toolkit, Apache Wicket and ICEfaces.
For C++, the Wt toolkit offers similar capabilities.
See also
External links
- Vaadin community-site
- Vaadin demo applications (online)
- Book of Vaadin (comprehensive programming guide to Vaadin)
- IT Mill
- GWT homepage
- Article on Ajaxian.com
- Article on WebAppers.com
References
- ^ "Michael "Monty" Widenius investing in Finnish IT Mill". Invest in Finland. http://www.investinfinland.fi/news/2008/en_GB/ITMill/. Retrieved 2009-01-31.
- ^ Asay, Matt. "Monty Widenius invests in Act II: IT Mill". CNET News. http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-10039643-16.html. Retrieved 2009-01-31.
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