Nathan,
> The thing is, there IS a framework for what you are trying to do (i.e.
> represent a data structure without being tied to implementation). It's
> called Java. If you're looking for the ability to quickly add fields
> to customer's data structures, that's dependent on low coupling and
> other good programming /techniques/ not a given framework. As far as
> persisting the data goes, you can look at Hibernate or JPA, for which
> there is much information about integrating with GWT.
>
> I'm sorry if this isn't what you're looking for. Anytime I see someone
> with an class that models "classes" or "types" or "objects" in anyway,
> I start to think, "Hey, Java's already done this for me". If you
> really want to go down that route, maybe you should look at
> reflection? Though there's very little support for reflection in GWT.
>
> Sorry this is getting so long, but I'm just saying that you face a
> trade-off:
>
> A - have a dynamic/meta-data structure or
> B - have a domain specific data structure
>
> A - represents huge upfront development and design costs to ensure
> future usability in your domain. Also, runtime efficiency will, of
> necessity, take a hit, as the processor first tries to "understand"
> the structure, then does the actual processing.
> B - more risk of getting too specific, increasing coupling, and making
> maintainability/rapidly adjusting to customer's ever-changing
> requirements more time consuming. A lot of good OOA/D will go a long
> way to getting you out of these messes though.
Thanks a lot, that answers my question. You put it quite accurately
("It's called Java") and I am glad I have asked. I'll look more into
the supporting frameworks like JPA, Acegi, etc.
Kaspar
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