Framework · 2006–2017 · Web Boom
Google Web Toolkit (GWT)
Write Java, compile to JavaScript. Enterprise AJAX before anyone admitted they hated JavaScript.
GWT faded because debugging compiled Java in Chrome DevTools was a morale event. JavaScript grew up; Java-in-the-browser became a migration project with no glory. The pattern repeated with Flash, Silverlight, and every "real language for the front" pitch.
Context
The browser ate the desktop
The web became the default delivery surface. LAMP and Rails made shipping cheap; Ajax made pages feel like apps; SOAP/SOA tried to enterprise-ify the wire. REST won by being debuggable with curl. This decade invented the modern product cadence — and the habit of treating every new framework as destiny.
Compare with
Related
Language · 1995–now
Java
Write once, run everywhere — then enterprise forever. Still the backbone of serious backend estates.
Architecture · 2005–now
Ajax SPAs (early)
Partial page updates without full reloads. Became the mental model for every modern front-end framework.
Framework · 2010–2021
AngularJS (1.x)
Two-way binding magic that became a migration tax. Angular 2+ was a rewrite; the 1.x apps lingered for years.