Dojo as a framework for building webapps

[Andy Daykin]

How well do you think Dojo performs as a full blown framework for webapps? I've seen some interesting features in it such as the editor, and mail app on the demo page of the main site, that make it comparable to some desktop apps like outlook, or express. Does it have the potential to be able to emulate the success of AJAX heavy apps that are designed to replace desktop apps, such as Google's Docs and Calendar?

[Frank Zammetti]

I think it's a good framework for building such applications. Whether it's the best or not is a far more difficult question, but it's certainly capable of it and is a good choice, even a very good choice, in some cases.

Dojo isn't without it's warts, but what it does well it tends to do quite well indeed. And as I've said a couple of times, it definitely covers pretty much all the bases you'd need covered to build a complex RIA. There's definitely some success stories out there that prove it's capable, so it's absolutely worth considering.

[Chris Boldon]

I agree with Frank. Dojo is IMHO one of the three 'heavyweight' frameworks worth considering for full blown development. The three heavyweights that come to mind are Dojo, GWT, and MS AJAX (If you're a .NET shop).

[Frank Zammetti]

I don't think I'd limit it to just those three frankly... Ext JS is extremely capable, as is jQuery these days, and there's others that I'm not as familiar with but which look completely viable. There's lots of choices these days... sometimes too many, but many are viable.