SOAFaces = RIA + SOA

Here's something promising for the Javascript RIA developer, who works constantly with SOAP/REST Web Services as back-ends and is also in touch with his inner GWT :)

SOAFaces allows GWT developers to bring SOA and RIA together. It also gets rid of the RPC involvement, which is a negative when ocnsidering GWT for realworld applications.

"Specifically, the goals of the SOAFaces project include the following:

1. No need to write GWT RPC code anymore. Use the UniversalClient
   API to talk with POJO services that are packaged in your application
   server and/or talk with Mule accessible services/endpoints all across
   your enterprise and internet. Your GWT application will have convenient
   access to messaging services (SOAP, JMS, ESB ...etc) that can return
   JavaBeans or JSON objects back to the GWT client. All marshaling is
   handled by the framework.
2. A framework for building SOA GUI
   applications using modular components. Build anything from a simple
   AJAX type applet all the way to a full blown web application.
3. Package your code as a component and deploy your code as a component.
4. SOAFaces components are packaged into a simple JAR formatted archive and easily shared, deployed, and executed.
5. Create
   back-end workflow powered jobs and services that can be scheduled and
   run on the back-end with easy access to web services. Workflow
   properties and configuration rules can be configured using a web GUI."