Chapter 1. Getting Started with ZK

The world of web application development grows and grows. We can read many articles and books that explain how to develop a web application. Nearly every week a new framework emerges in the sphere of development. However, each new technology and framework means that we have to learn it. Without learning, it's not possible to leverage the complete power of the chosen technique. There are some reasons for the emergence of such a wide range of possibilities for developing a web application. The evolution of technology is one reason, and another is the demand for a faster and more efficient way to develop a web application. Each developer has his or her own preference for the way of development. However, not only issues in development demand new ways of building a web application. The big picture is about Web 2.0 and the underlying techniques AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) also need new ways.

With ZK the developer gets a new alternative for solving the daily problems that occur in web projects and for building Web 2.0 applications. Through the chapters of this book, we show how to develop applications with ZK. After reading it and trying the framework there should be no need for more convincing.