# web apps



## Braveheart (Apr 6, 2009)

ok so as i was reading the latest Maximum PC there was a small article about the possible future of web apps and "cloud computing" and was very intrigued so i went home and researched it a little...and there are some AMAZING web applications, such as 

peacekeeper benchmark, browser based app that can detect and output your internet speed, hardware, software config

widgetop, allows you to take data and widgets from your own desktop and put it into a virtual desktop of your own the the site.

game-o-meter, can detect and compare computer specs. (virtual mark is very similar)

screencast-o-matic, desktop video recording without installing software!

you convert it, allows you to upload any file from your PC and convert it to (i think) every file type every made and than you can just download the file again in the format you just selected.

so my question is: how were these apps made? what language (i know some are java...but is it javascript?, visual java?) did they use dreamweaver? just give me info  i really want to get into this.


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## Kreij (Apr 6, 2009)

Basically, when you use a web based application to do something, you are sending the information that it needs to perform its function and it either sends back the results or it stores them so you can retrieve it.

That being said, I am holding out my opinion on "cloud" computing as in the event of connection failure to the hosting app, you have nothing.


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## 3870x2 (Apr 6, 2009)

Ive heard about cloud computing somewhere, could someone refresh my memory please?


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## Braveheart (Apr 6, 2009)

3870x2 said:


> Ive heard about cloud computing somewhere, could someone refresh my memory please?



thats what im getting at...i really want to make super websites


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## Oliver_FF (Apr 8, 2009)

A lot of those applications are written using GWT (Google Web Toolkit)

In a nutshell, you write some Java code using a subset of the Java API and the GWT API for creating "windows", you build and run your project and it will get compiled down to javascript and servlets and will run in a web browser with -NO NEED- for java. It gets compiled entirely javascript and AJAX.

You can do remote procedure calls as if you have the classes on the client side, GWT handles all of the asynchronous AJAX-y stuff for you. It's very cool.


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## Braveheart (Apr 9, 2009)

thanks for pointing me at google tool kit, never heard of it before. i now know what i want to get into: Silverlight C# and GWT Java.


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## Oliver_FF (Apr 10, 2009)

The GWT stuff will run on any browser that supports javascript. There's no java involvement once it's been compiled.

Silverlight is only going to work for the people that have a Silverlight plugin and use a browser that supports it.


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## Braveheart (Apr 10, 2009)

Oliver_FF said:


> The GWT stuff will run on any browser that supports javascript. There's no java involvement once it's been compiled.
> 
> Silverlight is only going to work for the people that have a Silverlight plugin and use a browser that supports it.



silverlight plugin takes 10 secs to install and is supported and works on chrome, safari, firefox and of course, IE


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## Oliver_FF (Apr 11, 2009)

Does it work on other platforms? Is the performance adequate over all platforms? Will it work on an iPhone? Or a PSP/PS3? How vast is the API? Does it allow for totally transparent RPC calls?

GWT(...raw javascript...) - Definitely, Definitely, Definitely, You're only limited by your imagination (GWT lets you use some of the big javascript libraries out there such as Ext google "gwt-ext"), Yes.


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## Braveheart (Apr 11, 2009)

Oliver_FF said:


> Does it work on other platforms? Is the performance adequate over all platforms? Will it work on an iPhone? Or a PSP/PS3? How vast is the API? Does it allow for totally transparent RPC calls?
> 
> GWT(...raw javascript...) - Definitely, Definitely, Definitely, You're only limited by your imagination (GWT lets you use some of the big javascript libraries out there such as Ext google "gwt-ext"), Yes.



yep, thats why im going to do mostly Javascript  i just like C# too...i have learned it for desktop app development.


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## Kweku (Apr 12, 2009)

Had no idea there was such a thing as gwt... Ima scope it out


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