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[news.eclipse.platform.swt] Re: Using SWT/JFace to build Fat-Client App
Mark wrote: 
I don't know if I am posting to the right newsgroup or not.  If not,
please ignore this message.

We have an existing fat-client application that needs to be rewritten in
Java.  One of the biggest debate/concern is whether we should use Swing or
not(due to its poor reputation).

I have done some research and reading on Eclipse, SWT and JFace and they
seem to be a good alternative to Swing.  Architecturally, it seems to be
more well-thought also.  But I can not find any UI builder(not even in
WebSphere Studio) that is build around SWT and JFace (something that looks
like VA Smalltalk would be nice :-)).

Swing has a much better, richer API and thus is easier to develop with. However, performance wise, it sucks. SWT/JFace on the other hand, is more responsive to the user. You cannot compare both, especially when implementing a list. Swing's JList is soooo slow when scrolling. So I would use Swing for an application where minimizing development cost is imperative and the user base is small (like an internal project). But SWT/JFace is the way to go if you expect your application to be widely used, mostly by external customers.

So my first question is, is there any commercial quality SWT/JFace UI
builder available? 

As David Orme replied to your email, not yet.

Secondly, for building fat-client application, is
SWT/JFace the right choice or choose we just go straight to Swing(I know
this last question is highly debatable)?

Thanks 

Happy coding,
Hans Deragon
--
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