Angry Birds' Cross-compiled Java Versus Native JavaScript
css.dzone.com
css.dzone.com
Quite amazing!
If they could add conversion to run on apple devices then this could well be a glimpse of the future.
Target Flex, Android, iOS, maemo... in a visual "block" environment.
I haven't tried it myself, but could be useful for you. It's available in the ubuntu software centre as well.
GWT compiles to "native JavaScript". There is no "versus" to be found - using GWT is just one development tool/style.
It would be better to tell people to explore the Google IO session videos. All the information is there, in a form that is actually informative.
See, for example the instructions: http://code.google.com/p/forplay/wiki/GettingStarted (note how it's the GWT toolchain)
Issues like https://code.google.com/p/forplay/issues/detail?id=12 show how the GWT is used to build the Flash version
Still not convinced?
flash.gwt package: https://code.google.com/p/forplay/source/browse/#svn%2Ftrunk...
or
https://code.google.com/p/forplay/source/browse/trunk/core/s... uses om.google.gwt.core.client.JavaScriptObject
same class: private native String get(JavaScriptObject data, String key) /-{ // TODO Auto-generated method stub return data[key]; }-/;
(Note the GWT convention for "native" code to be used by the Javascript/Actionscript runtime)
Edit: also Joel Webber & Ray Cromwell are both on the GWT team at Google so it makes sense they'd use that toolchain.