Apache Wicket VS core

Sort of sounds like Apache Wicket (https://wicket.apache.org/). I used it for a few projects in the mid-late 2000s. I really liked it being server side and the concept of having object-oriented HTML (code paired with HTML snippets). I haven't had a need to use it since 2014, so haven't kept up with the project.

You can use Java for Backend and Frontend. A relative new kid on the block for Frontend is Qute. The general keyword you are searching for is Java Templating Engine. Specific examples would be Thymeleaf or FreeMarker. There are some framework, which offer a lot more than templating like Vaadin or Wicket. Some are just specifications like Jakarta Faces with some of their implementations MyFaces or Mojarra.

Perhaps, a good competitor for JSF is Apache Wicket.

I have used https://wicket.apache.org/ in the past and I think it matches your needs. It's a simple mvc that focuses on the actual java code writing and uses html only on the layout of your components in your page.

Is this the Wicket you're referring to? https://wicket.apache.org/

What's the best intro you know to how it's components work, and the benefits and tradeoffs over other approaches?

You should consider Apache Wicket. It is widely used for business apps.

I think Apache Wicket takes a similar approach for Java? https://wicket.apache.org/

I like the approach, and it's good to see more projects in this space.

I believe Wicket is somewhat similar (and still actively developed).

https://wicket.apache.org/

Reasonable people can disagree on licensing issues, and obviously they can give out grants under whatever conditions they like, but telling developers that JetBrains knows what license is best for your project's users seems intrusive to me. My project has almost 900 github stars, it's under the LGPL and in almost 7 years no user has ever asked for a less restrictive license.

Anyone interested could create a plugin for tailwind similar to this one for another CSS framework.

Kweb - A Kotlin web framework built on SSR (server side rendering)

User Manual: https://docs.kweb.io/book

Kweb is a novel web framework that acts as a remote interface to the web browser's DOM (Document Object Model). With Kweb, you can create and manipulate DOM elements and listen for and handle events, all using an intuitive Kotlin DSL that mirrors the structure of the HTML being created.

Kweb manages state through observable mutable values called kvars:

    import kweb.*

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