Why Wicket looks cool
I like the looks of Wicket for a couple of reasons - without even using the framework yet.
- Its project homepage looks good. If you're using a Java web framework, chances are you're developing UIs too. If you don't know how to make sites look good - it's time to find a new line of work IMO. Of course, learning how to make good-looking UIs is another option.
- Its Wicket Stuff project. It provides Hibernate, fValidate and Spring integration. It also appears to provide an option to use Velocity for your templates. I'm not sure what the Velocity integration provides - since HTML templates (ala Tapestry) should do everything that's needed.
What I don't like about the project:
- The Buzz page has a quote that's (apparently) from this site. Unfortunately, it looks like I said it - which I didn't.
- There's no books being written about it. If it's really that good - where's the books? Ruby on Rails will have 3 by the end of this year. Any good framework should inspire books to be written about it.
- The Wicket Stuff project has no documentation. Javadocs don't cut it. Tutorials are king.
I hope this project succeeds - Tapestry needs some competition and I don't think JSF is providing it. If JSF adds HTML Templates (or I figure out how to use Java Studio Creator to manage an AppFuse+JSF project), that's a different story.