Closer to the metal: Clojure, Noir, and plain old Javascript
I am wrapping up a long term engagement over the next five to six weeks that uses Java EE 6 on the backend, and SmartGWT (like GWT, but with very nice commercially supported components) clients. As I have time, I am starting up some new work that uses Clojure and Noir, and it is like a breath of fresh air: I keep a repl open on the lein project and also separately run the web app so any file changes (including the Javascript in the project) are immediately reflected in the app. Such a nice development environment that I don't even think about it while I am working, and maybe that is the point! As I have mentioned in previous blog posts, I really like the Clojure Noir web framework that builds on several other excellent projects. Developing in Noir is a lot like using the Ruby Sinatra framework: handles routes, template support options, but it is largely roll your own environment .