Multiple Suggest Box with GWT

When we was creating user interface in GWT, we needed some text fields that suggest word completion to the user based on previously filled list or from database.
This feature is called SuggestBox and is already implemented in GWT. Otherwise, it is limited to only one suggestion and its user interface is very poor comparing to commonly used suggest box like Facebook search panel or Gmail destination address.

Therefore we designed a custom suggest box in GWT that allows user to type words, select a suggestion and continue with other words. It also allows the user to delete previously selected suggestions using the x button or by selecting the suggestion and deleting it.

Custom Notification Popup in GWT and Liferay

We needed once to have a notification popup like Facebook or Gmail notification to show for a few seconds in the right bottom corner of our GWT application within a liferay portal. A Notification is an info bubble displayed for few seconds in bottom right corner of the screen.

While this component can be found in third-party libraries (based on GWT) such as SmartGWT, GXT, GQuery and Vaadin, using one of those libraries will also add a load of code and resources that we never need. Also using native GWT widget is greater in terms of performance. So as long as customization of GWT widget is possible, we prefer avoiding 3rd party gwt libraries. I talked more about the benefits of using native GWT widget rather than GXT & SmartGWT in this article (in french). And for a comparison between plain GWT widget performance Vs. GXT performance, please check this previous article where it shows how fast are native GWT widget comparing with 3rd party libraries.