Vaadin

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Vaadin

Vaadin-logo-hi.png
Basic data

developer Vaadin Ltd.
Current  version 14.1.17
( February 10, 2020 )
operating system cross-platform
programming language Java
License Apache license
vaadin.com

Vaadin is a free web framework for Rich Internet Application (RIA) under the Apache license 2.0. In contrast to JavaScript libraries and solutions based on browser plugins, it offers a server-side architecture, which means that most of the program logic runs on the server. On the client side, Vaadin is based on Web Components from version 10 ; previously it was based on the Google Web Toolkit Ajax framework . It can be expanded with your own components. Vaadin is mainly operated by Vaadin Ltd. (formerly IT Mill) developed from Turku .

features

One of the main features of Vaadin is that the software developer can write the entire application in Java . The framework includes event-driven programming as well as control elements that bring the programming model closer to the models of common GUI software than in traditional web development with HTML and JavaScript .

Vaadin used Google Web Toolkit (GWT) up to version 10 to display websites, from this version onwards it uses the new "Flow" sub-framework on WebComponents. It adds a server-side data validation to all actions, whereby the server informs about possibly manipulated client data and prevents these changes. Vaadin's standard components can be expanded with your own control elements, for which themes can be created with CSS .

Extensions and tools

In addition to Vaadin's OpenSource extensions, Vaadin Ltd. also commercial extensions:

Vaadin TouchKit
An extension for Vaadin applications that work like native applications in mobile devices. The applications run with HTML5, JavaScript and CSS on the device in full-screen mode of the browser. With the possibilities of HTML5 and the Apache Cordova APIs, accelerometer , camera , compass and geolocation can be used.
Vaadin TestBench
Vaadin TestBench is a Selenium 2-based tool for creating automated surface tests . Test cases are recorded with a recorder. These are stored and changed as JUnit tests. The tests can run locally or remotely. The test results are saved in files.
Vaadin charts
Library of visual components for displaying animated and interactive diagrams in Vaadin applications.

history

The development initially began as an adapter, based on the open source web framework Millstone 3 , which was released in 2002. It introduced an ajax-based client communication and rendering engine. In 2006 this concept was developed separately as a commercial product. This means that large parts of the server-side Vaadin API are still compatible with the swing-like APIs from Millstone.

At the beginning of 2007 the product name was changed to IT Mill Toolkit and version 4 was released. It used a proprietary Ajax implementation for client-side rendering, which made it complicated to implement new widgets. At the end of 2007, the proprietary implementation on the client side was abandoned. Instead, the Google Web Toolkit was integrated to display the client-side components. At the same time, the product license was changed to version 2.0 of the free Apache license. A production-ready version of IT Mill Toolkit 5 was first released on March 4, 2009 after a beta period of more than a year .

On September 11th, 2008 it was publicly announced that Michael Widenius , the main developer of the original version of MySQL , invested an undisclosed sum in IT Mill, which developed the toolkit. On May 20, 2009 the IT Mill Toolkit was renamed Vaadin ; the name comes from the Finnish word for a female reindeer , which can also be translated as “I persevere”. In addition to the name change, version 6 was approved in advance together with the community.

On March 30, 2010 the Vaadin Directory was opened, a portal for the distribution of commercial and open source extensions for Vaadin. The commercial and free extensions of the Vaadin team have also been distributed via the Vaadin Directory since then. A commercial support model, the so-called Vaadin Pro Accounts, has existed since February 25, 2011.

On March 4, 2013, Vaadin 7, the first major version since it was renamed Vaadin 2009, was released.

Version 10 was released on June 25, 2018, with which the transition from GWT to Web Components as the central client technology took place.

competitor

Historically, Vaadin has been compared with the frameworks wingS, Echo / Echo2 and ThinWire, which use a similar, server-side programming model. The server-side APIs are quite similar, but the client-side interactions (e.g. in the web browser) up to version 10 differ in that Vaadin uses GWT widgets programmed in Java, in contrast to the components implemented in JavaScript by Echo and Thinwire. From version 10 this difference is smaller, as Vaadin now also uses components implemented in JavaScript (via WebComponents).

The frameworks most used for comparison are currently Remote Application Platform (RAP), Apache Flex , Google Web Toolkit , Apache Wicket and ICEfaces . A comparison matrix can be found on the Vaadin website.

PhoneGap , a framework also based on Apache Cordova, can be seen as a competitor to Vaadin TouchKit. However, PhoneGap's programming is based on HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript.

literature

  • Joachim Baumann, Daniel Arndt, Frank Engelen, Frank Hardy, Carsten Mjartan: Vaadin: The compact entry point for Java developers . dpunkt, 2015, ISBN 978-3-86490-206-2 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Vaadin January 14, 2017 . February 10, 2020 (accessed February 20, 2020).
  2. ↑ The Vaadin Open Source Project on Open Hub: Languages Page . In: Open Hub . (accessed October 18, 2018).
  3. ↑ FAQ. Vaadin Ltd., accessed January 6, 2016 .
  4. ^ Vaadin extensions
  5. ↑ Vaadin TouchKit
  6. ↑ Vaadin testbench
  7. ^ Vaadin Charts
  8. ^ Vaadin Directory
  9. ↑ Comparison matrix