SWT or Swing GUI?

[Lee Chalupa <lchalupa@seelink.org>]

Hello.

I need to start development of a thick client for an application and I am 
debating whether to use SWT or Swing.  I presently use swing in the 
MagicDraw UML product and I use SWT in Eclipse so I have some significant 
experience as a user in each.

I'm very pleased with the MagicDraw application and have no complaints with 
it's interface.  Though I do appreciate what people describe as "spongy" 
swing controls.  This is a noticable problem but not a significant problem 
for me in the MagicDraw swing application but I can't speak for other 
users.

My application will be competing against other vendor's gui products that 
are best of breed so I really want to avoid any potential performance 
issues with the gui from the start. In this case, it's not so much an issue 
of Swing versus SWT it's one of these products versus VB or Delphi.

The application is designed for use in a small office so we will have the 
ability to control the deployment of the application thus using add-ons to 
the JDK like SWT would not be an issue.

As long as SWT still provides platform independence, what is the downside 
of using SWT?  One maybe the lack of gui tools?  One maybe the risk that 
Sun will improve swing in the future and eliminate the benefits SWT 
provides making the need obsolete?  One maybe lack of educational 
materials?  One maybe the limited variety of widgets offered in the 
toolkit.

I'm currently reading information on various web sites.

Does anyone have any other advice on managing this issue?

Thanks

lee


-- 
Lee Chalupa
Something Else Enterprises, Inc.
lchalupa@seelink.org
770 318 2377