Rewrite samples to move away from Ant

[niloc132]

Samples use DevMode rather than CodeServer, and rather than updating ant templates/examples, it probably makes more sense to just move to maven. Existing reactor archetypes can be used to split server from client process, and encourage that for all new "getting started" projects. Projects that don't need a server can either use devmode with the static server, or just use the codeserver and serve the html file via public/. An example (Hello might be a good fit) that just uses CodeServer standalone also would need updated documentation (rather than the current WebAppCreator template readme).

WebAppCreator's behavior may be left alone, but the deprecation warnings should perhaps direct to a better "getting started with maven" location.

Gradle could be encouraged as well, but that's its own topic, see #10028.

[FrankHossfeld]

Should we also add examples based on Maven and Spring Boot?

[niloc132]

Should we also add examples based on Maven and Spring Boot?

I think that would make sense, probably as a tutorial first? I suspect more users find tutorials on the website than those that just download the sdk zip to find the samples dir inside.

[tbroyer]

Samples might possibly be better in their own repository (that would complexify the CI run though) if you want discoverability.

[niloc132]

Agreed - at the very least if they remained in the gwt repo, they should be buildable without running the entire build. It does have the advantage this way of ensuring the WebAppCreator still works... but it seems better to have a CI task that re-runs the project generation tool periodically.

They do serve a useful purpose in the gwt repo too, ensuring that some extra "integration test" cases get covered.