Java 8+ Required

Starting with Wicket 8 the minimum required version of Java is Java 8. All Wicket supplied projects have been upgraded to Java 8 and Wicket 8, and shortly all active community projects, such as Wicket Stuff, will follow suit.

With the adoption of Java 8 we were able to provide support for Lambdas.

Servlet 3.1 Required

As of Wicket 8 we only support the Java Servlet API 3.1 (or newer). This means that to run applications built using Wicket 8 you have to run your application in a modern server like Tomcat 8.x, Jetty 9.1+ or a Java EE 7 compatible server.

Java Date/Time API

Wicket 8 provides out-of-the-box support for the new types for handling dates in Java 8. These can be converted, validated and bound to components.

The new Optional type in Java 8 is intended for places in your API where things can be null. In Wicket’s case we have adopted Optional in just those places to clarify the API.

For example the AjaxFallbackLink, a link that works using both with and without AJAX, now uses Optional to signify whether the link was clicked utilizing AJAX or normal request processing: the AJAX request is wrapped in an Optional. Previous versions of Wicket would provide a null value for the AJAX request.

Because we have modified the API to utilize Optional, you will get compile errors when you start migrating to Wicket 8. This gives you the exact positions where these improvements have occurred and you can start working with the Optional API.

// WICKET 7:
add(new AjaxFallbackLink<Void>("wicket7") {
    @Override
    public void onClick(AjaxRequestTarget target) {
        if(target != null) {
            // ...
        }
    }
});
// WICKET 8:
add(new AjaxFallbackLink<Void>("wicket8") {
    @Override
    public void onClick(Optional<AjaxRequestTarget> target) {
        if(target.isPresent()) {
            // ...
        }
    }
});

Just Java & HTML

Leverage what you know about Java or your favourite HTML editor to write Wicket applications. With pure Java code and HTML markup Wicket is the go-to web framework for purists.

Secure by Default

URLs do not expose sensitive information and all component paths are session-relative. Wicket keeps your model private except those parts you explicitly expose.

AJAX Components

Write Ajax applications without having to write a single line of JavaScript code. Wicket's Ajax functionality makes it trivial to update selected parts of a UI, and comes with a great selection of basic Ajax components.

Open Source with Apache License

Since its inception in 2004 Wicket has been an open source project and remains available under one of the most permissive licenses: the Apache Software License.

Maintainable code

Pages and Components in Wicket are real Java objects that support encapsulation, inheritance and events. Create high level components with ease and bundle its stylesheets, JavaScript and other resources into one reusable package.

Internationalized to take on the world

With support of over 25 languages out-of-the-box, Wicket let's you get started in your own language, or a second language with no effort. You can provide alternative languages on the application, page, or even component level.

Multi-tab and window support

No more pain while keeping taps on multiple tabs and windows. Wicket's automatic state storage ensures that your users can open pages in new tabs and windows without causing problems.

Test your pages and components

With WicketTester you can achieve testing coverage your QA department can only dream of. Test your pages without having to run inside a browser, or start a container. Test your components directly, check their rendered markup tags, attributes and contents with ease.

Injection support

Inject your services into your pages and components with the technology of your choosing: Wicket provides integration with CDI (JSR-305), Spring and Guice.

JavaEE integration

If you are using the Web profile of JavaEE 6 or newer, you can leverage JPA, EJBs, Bean Validation and CDI with Wicket's integrations for these specifications.