raphw/limber

Limber is an experimental web framework written in Java that takes an unusual approach: it keeps track of the application's state on the server side, similar to how traditional desktop software works. Instead of building a web app where the browser and server constantly exchange data and the client manages what's on screen, the server holds onto the state and updates the user interface directly when something changes. At a high level, it works by manipulating the web page's structure (the DOM) from the server. When a user interacts with the app and something changes, the server figures out what needs updating and sends just that change to the browser using a behind-the-scenes request (XHR). This means the developer writes code more like they would for a desktop application, where components automatically re-render when their underlying state shifts, rather than manually wiring up the usual web request-and-response cycle. This approach would appeal to Java developers building internal tools or intranet applications that don't need to serve thousands of users at once. Think of a company dashboard, an admin panel, or an internal scheduling tool. The developer gets to use a familiar, event-driven programming style, similar to building a Java Swing desktop app, while still delivering something that runs in a browser. They wouldn't need to learn a separate frontend framework or manage state synchronization between client and server. The key tradeoff is right in the design: stateful servers don't scale easily. Because the server holds onto each user's session state, adding more users means adding more server resources. That's why it targets smaller-scale, internal applications rather than public-facing platforms with unpredictable traffic. It's also worth noting that this is a personal after-work project still in development, so it's more of a concept being explored than a production-ready tool.