Gwt: Run as desktop application

问题:

We decided to write client side application using Ext GWT it is good and powerful framework, but currently client wants to create desktop application, So, my question is Are there any solutions to start GWT application as Desktop? P.S I've found one project calls gwt-in-the-air but want opinion of professionals :) Thanks.

回答1:

Depending on your needs, you should be able to package a GWT app as an Adobe AIR or Appcelerator Titanium Desktop application without any modification.
IIRC, there's only a small patch/override to do on com.google.gwt.xhr.client.XMLHttpRequest because it uses new Function() which is forbidden in Adobe AIR (I can't tell for Titanium).

There's also Prism or XULRunner (used by the Flickr Uploader IIRC).

If you need anything specific to the desktop environment (access to the filesystem, etc.), then gwt-in-the-air can be a good start if you don't like GPL or commercial licenses and are ready to fix a few bugs. gwt-in-the-air is discontinued. A fork is still live (GPLv3/commercial, and with a whole lot more features) under the name gwt4air. But unless you need many of these features, then coding them in JSNI within GWT shouldn't be that hard either.

This answer is from the author of gwt-in-the-air (who has abandoned desktop apps for HTML5-based web apps, with almost the same feature-set and easier/better application update process; and that explains why gwt-in-the-air is dead.)