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I'm pretty new to web development, so I had some basic questions to get me pointed in the right direction.

For the last week I've been learning the rails framework, and from what I understand, this framework is great for building a website, but you still need javascript to build nice front-end interface/apps that run in the browser. Is this understanding correct? If not, why does javascript appear to be so essential to almost al websites? In other words, what can you do with js?

Also, I was wondering if it is necessary for me to learn javascript now that there are tools like GWT that compile Java into js. I ask because, I am proficient in Java but have no knowledge when it comes to javascript. How far can GWT take me before I need to learn javascript, or do I have to learn javascript at all?

If someone could point me int he right direction by answering these questions, I'd be very grateful.

Thanks

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GWT compiles Java to JavaScript, but you still will need to learn about web development. I have seen many projects going wrong with GWT because people just started writing Java code and did not care about the underlying platform (the browser) at all.

If you don`t want to care about the browser use some plugin technology (if you are an app inside a controlled environment), otherwise first learn about how to build apps with HTML + JS + CSS.

Eventually you will discover that GWT is a great toolkit for writing fast JavaScript apps in Java, that packs many best practices for building web apps inside the toolkit. It has good abstractions, but every abstractions leaks so you will need to have good knowledge of the browser. You will save on things like keeping away from the bad parts of JavaScript.

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I'm working with GWT now, and I haven't had to use Javascript at all yet. I'd say for most websites, GWT should be fine.

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