Developer Diary - JavaScript, GWT and Vaadin Graph Libraries

Having a massive headache trying to find an easy to use JavaScript/GWT/Vaadin graph library.

We're looking to invest in a tool to allow us to draw various types of complex directed graphs, ranging from an "Organisation chart" to a business flow diagram separated into "swim-lanes". On top of this the graphs have to be "skinnable", allowing our graphic designers to make them look slick. Finally the whole library should be easy to use and ideally very well documented/supported.

After some Googling, I've come to the conclusion that there is no one stand-out product in the market which makes these requirements. It looks like we may have to sacrifice one of our requirements to progress any time soon.

One of the sources of complexity I am just going to have to deal with comes from the need to wrap whatever tool we use into Vaadin. Obviously if I find a Vaadin component then I'm done, the main issue is with JavaScript, which I have next to no experience with.

However it has just occurred to me to start looking at pure HTML solutions, perhaps I might find a good tool going down that route... Otherwise I am really going to have to start digging and researching >.<

Vaadin - Pure Java Web Application Awesomeness

Lately I have had the pleasure of working with Vaadin, which is the sexiest Java UI language I have ever seen.

To cut to the chase, have a play around with this very snazzy interactive demo of Vaadin. (written in Vaadin!)

For those of you still here, Vaadin is a framework for building web applications using pure Java. No need to learn another language or attempt to deal with Swing, just code! Furthermore, the web application is built on the fly by your server. This means you can directly call all your other Java services and fetch data without having to worry about serialisation!

No more data transfer objects, no more worrying about translating types and no more code that isn't Java. (And on a personal note, no more Adobe Flash Builder... HORRAY!)

If you want to find out more, I recommend their outstanding book, which is online and free! Did I mention the whole framework is totally free as well? It comes in like a single tiny jar file as well... stop reading and download it now!!!