AS3 Syntax-Coloring Editor for Eclipse

Source: Daily Habit

Summary:
I use Aptana plugin to write Flash/Flex/AIR in Eclipse. For AIR in particular, Aptana's AIR app launcher is great. However, one key component missing from Aptana is ActionScript 3 (aka AS3) editor. I've been limping along by mapping .as files to Java editor but I just remembered an old Eclipse plugin that used a template to control syntax coloring. So I went looking and found it here: color editor. It was still being maintained. Woot.

It comes with AS2 support but not AS3 so I went searching again and found the mode file for AS3 here: actionscript 3 syntax hilighting for jEdit. The color editor reuses jEdit's syntax coloring mode files. Almost there.

Source: SDA-India

Summary:
Mark Dexter has put together a video tutorial 'Eclipse and Java for Total Beginners' to help newbies get started with writing Java programs using Eclipse version 3.3. The lessons are designed for you to work side-by-side, pausing and rewinding the video as needed. You don't need any prior experience with Eclipse or Java to learn through the tutorial. There are 16 lessons in all spanning 195 minutes. Each lesson guides you through a step-by-step process creating a simple 'personal lending library' application. All the code for the lessons is typed in 'real time', which allows the demonstration of many Eclipse Java editor features that speed up coding. Test-driven development is used throughout the lessons, using the JUnit testing facility in Eclipse.

Final Call for the Eclipse Community Survey

Source: Ian Skerrett: Marketing at Eclipse

Summary:

We will be closing down the Eclipse Community Survey on Friday, September 7, so if you haven’t taken the time to complete it, now is the time.

Here are 4 good reasons to do so:

1. You can help provide feedback to the Eclipse community, so we can improve the services we provide.
2. The entire Eclipse community will have access to the results of the survey.
3. You could win a Nokia N95 phone and some Eclipse SWAG.
4. It will only take 10-15 minutes of your time, so do it now.

Open AT software development kit now 'Eclipse Ready'

Source: http://dataweek.co.za

Summary:
Wavecom's Open AT Software Suite integrated development environment (IDE) tools are now designed to be 'Eclipse Ready', using tools from the popular open-source development community. Future application developments can be done with Wavecom's Open AT SDK (Software Development Kit) taking advantage of the Eclipse community.

Wavecom says that this access to the Eclipse community will be available to developers free of charge, without licence fees, NRE (non recurring engineering) costs or any additional fees for developer seats.

Visual Studio to Eclipse - get comfortable making a transition

Source: Michael Dolan Dot Com

Summary:
IBM DeveloperWorks is a goldmine for fabulous information - here’s a new Eclipse starter article for those coming from a Visual Studio .NET IDE environment.

Eclipse Fonts in Linux

Source: TronProg: Programming and Computers

Summary:
As you might have guessed I'm using Linux most of the times (Windows only seldom), but I noticed that the Eclipse font layout looked better in Windows: actually, the Eclipse font size in Windows permits fitting much more information in a view. This is even more crucial when I'm using my laptop with a resolution of 1280x800.

Of course, I had tried to adjust the font size using the Eclipse Preferences, and actually managed to reduce the size of the editors and view titles (also for dialogs), but not other fonts, such as menu fonts, and, more importantly, the size of tables and trees (e.g., the Java Package Explorer). That's actually due to the fact that under Linux Eclipse relies on Gtk, and thus inherits the preferences of the Gnome Desktop but I'm using KDE :-)

CoWare Expands into Software with Eclipse-Based IDE

Source: SYS-CON AUSTRALIA

Summary:
CoWare, which specializes in platform-driven electronic system-level (ESL) design software and services, has announced its new Virtual Platform product family.

CoWare Virtual Platform product family delivers new tools and technologies that support the creation, distribution, and use of virtual hardware platforms for device software development and validation. Virtual hardware platforms are models of the device hardware and the environment they evolve in, and are suitable for the development and validation of an entire device software stack up to the application level, the company says. They also enable electronics companies to engage more effectively with their customers and ecosystem partners. The solution is integrated with and supports the CoWare platform-driven ESL strategy.

Traditional software development and validation solutions have either been non-representative of the device hardware, too slow, available too late, or have not provided enough hardware controllability and observability, CoWare says. Virtual hardware platforms provide fast execution speed, scalability, early availability, unprecedented hardware controllability, observability, determinism, and easy distribution.

LynuxWorks joins Eclipse Foundation: News from LynuxWorks

Source: ElectronicsTalk.com

Summary:
LynuxWorks will initially support the Eclipse open source community by helping increase an industry focus on Eclipse based embedded development products while evaluating how the company can leverage some of its own products into relevant Eclipse projects. Prior to officially joining the foundation, LynuxWorks was an early adopter of the Eclipse framework.

The company's Eclipse based product called Luminosity is a full-featured Java-based integrated development environment (IDE) and was released in 2005.

Designed to accelerate time to market for embedded system developers, Luminosity supports LynuxWorks comprehensive portfolio of open standards based operating systems including LynxOS 4.x, BlueCat Linux 5.x and LynxOS-178 solutions.

In addition to developing products based on the Eclipse framework, LynuxWorks' executive evangelism for the foundation has been gaining steady momentum.

LynuxWorks Chairman and CEO Dr Inder Singh has publicly supported the Eclipse ideology in various industry articles.

In addition, Robert Day, Vice President of Marketing for LynuxWorks, has been very active as Co-chair of the Eclipse Embedded Workgroup, has published several articles on the Eclipse framework and will also be presenting a paper titled: 'Eclipse: under the hood' at the Embedded Systems Conference in Silicon Valley.

SoftLanding Completes Transition to Eclipse-Based Technology

Source: ITJungle.com

Summary:
"It's clear that all iSeries development will move from PDM to WDSC," says Steve Gapp, CEO of SoftLanding Systems. That's confidence. And that's not in short supply when Gapp is talking about his company's embrace of WebSphere. SoftLanding has just put the wraps on TurnOver Change Management's transition to Eclipse-based technology. The move has put the company and its change management software in a sweet spot if WDSC becomes the development environment of choice for iSeries shops.

For those unfamiliar with change management software, it is used to establish and automate repeatable processes for software development, including issue tracking, project management, development, and deployment.

"Our early experiences with the Eclipse framework proved to us that this technology brings very tangible benefits to iSeries developers," Gapp says. "Now the entire TurnOver solution can be accessed through a stand-alone client or as a plug-in to any Eclipse-based IDE (integrated development environment). The consistency between the two interfaces makes it easier for TurnOver users to move to WDSC (WebSphere Development Studio Client for iSeries) or RAD. They're already familiar with the environment."

Eclipse IDE Gains More Members, Plug-ins

Source: Integration Developers News

Summary:
The Eclipse IDE received a wave of new members, plug-ins and core technology contributions. The latest Eclipse offerings offer support for debugging, business intelligence, build management, prototyping, and even plans to add modeling UIs and forms. IDN provides a shopping list and links to all the free downloads, where available.

The new Eclipse plug-ins and memberships were announced at last month’s EclipseCon2006.

Klocwork Teams up with QNX Softare Systems for IDE Integration

Source: TMCNET.com

Summary:
Alliance Will Provide Joint Customers with a Single Integrated Embedded Development Environment to Enable Top Quality and Design

Klocwork Inc., the proven leader in automated software solutions that improve software security and quality, today announced an alliance with QNX Software Systems to deliver joint customers with access to Klocwork's K7 static analysis tools from the QNX(R) Momentics(R) development suite. QNX Software Systems provides real-time operating system software, development tools, and services for building secure, reliable, high-performance embedded applications. Through its support for the Eclipse IDE environment, Klocwork K7 is designed to seamlessly integrate into industry-leading Eclipse-based integrated development environments (IDEs), like the QNX Momentics suite, as well as customers' existing software development processes.

The Pillars of Eclipse

Source: SD Times

Summary:
In the past four years Eclipse has enjoyed considerable success in the software industry. Most famous for its widely used open-source Java IDE, Eclipse also has become an important platform for building software development tools and general purpose applications. In fact, there are now more than 58 different open-source projects at Eclipse, and most of these have little to do with building Java development tools.

We also have a growing ecosystem of vendors and other open-source projects creating Eclipse-based products that span many different technology markets. Therefore, the answers to the questions “What is Eclipse?” and “Where is Eclipse going?” often depend on your point of view.

When we think of Eclipse, we often think of different user communities or technology groupings. Right now, we think of seven different pillars as a metaphor to explain the breadth and wealth of technology brought to developers by the Eclipse community. Over time we expect that these pillars will evolve and change.

Google Considers Joining Eclipse

Source: eWeek

Summary:
Google is contemplating a move to join the Eclipse Foundation in some capacity.

Greg Stein, an engineering manager in the open-source group at Google and chairman of the Apache Software Foundation, told eWEEK that Google has considered joining Eclipse and has talked with Eclipse's executive director, Mike Milinkovich, about the possibility.

In an interview following his keynote address at the EclipseCon 2006 conference here March 22, Stein said of the search giant's possible move toward Eclipse: "We're thinking about it. We've been talking to Eclipse. I've had some conversations with Mike, and we're either going to join in some capacity or we're going to donate money. But either way we want to help Eclipse."

Should Google join, it would be another major software-as-a-service provider in the Eclipse fold, as Salesforce.com announced its membership in Eclipse earlier this week.

"We've had conversations with Google about them becoming a member," said Milinkovich.

"We would love to have them. There's been discussion of them contributing in some way, but I'm not sure whether they'll join or not."

Microsoft And Eclipse: A Showdown For Ajax Leadership

Source: InformationWeek

Summary:
Web users are getting spoiled. Once they experience the Ajax-powered speed and interactivity of apps on Google or Flickr, click-and-wait Web interfaces won't cut it. Spurred by growing business interest, Microsoft and backers of Eclipse, the open source programmer's workbench, last week stepped up efforts to create Ajax-friendly tools for building interactive Web applications.

Unlike the mature technical standards for server-side software, tools and technologies for Web development are changing rapidly. Ajax is the symbol of emerging Web development, combining JavaScript and XML so that, instead of requiring round trips to a server each time a user wants new data, a browser's cache pre-fetches the information that might appear next. This leads to much faster interaction, with Google Maps among the star examples.

Eclipse leaders--which include IBM, Intel, Red Hat, and SAP--last week laid out the expansion of the developer's workbench into a platform that can compete with Microsoft in the enterprise. "Over the next three years, Microsoft will be very busy encouraging shops to move off of Win32 APIs and move to [Windows] Vista," said Mike Milinkovich, Eclipse Foundation's executive director, at the EclipseCon conference last week. Instead, he urged companies to consider adopting Eclipse's Rich Client Platform, a set of components that developers can use to put a highly interactive interface on enterprise desktop applications that, written once, can run on Windows, Linux, or Macintosh computers.

Jaluna joins Eclipse with embedded virtualization tools focus

Source: LinuxDevices.com

Summary:
aluna has joined the Eclipse Foundation, and will demonstrate an Eclipse-based tool suite for its platform virtualization software, at the Embedded Systems Conference (ESC) next week in San Jose. The company's OSware, Linux Edition, targets embedded systems requiring the full functionality of Linux, alongside pre-ported stacks and/or proprietary real-time kernels.

Jaluna describes OSware as a "high-performance" software virtualization platform for embedded systems." The company says OSware lowers BOM (bill-of-materials) and development costs, while providing enhanced intellectual property preservation. OSware was launched in May of 2004, and has since been used in embedded applications as diverse as carrier-class soft-switches, mobile phones, and set-top boxes (STBs), including DSP-based STBs.

Versions of OSware for Linux that are compatible with Nucleus and VxWorks are available off-the-shelf. Both Nucleus and VxWorks are supported by Eclipse tools.

Mark Milligan, VP of marketing at Jaluna, stated, "Eclipse has become the development platform of choice. In joining the Eclipse Foundation, Jaluna will continue ensuring interoperability with other Eclipse-based software components."

Web Services SOA Company XAware Joins IBM Eclipse and DB2 Viper Early Partner Community

Source: SYS-CON BELGIUM

Summary:
XAware, Inc., an enterprise software company specializing in Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) solutions, announced that it is working with IBM on its next generation SOA information management technologies. XAware was recently optimized for Insurance by IBM.

XAware, an IBM partner specializing in complex XML and SOA solutions has recently joined the IBM DB2 Viper early partner program and announced that their applications will be optimized for the next version of DB2 - code-named "Viper."

These optimizations are part of XAware's release of its complex XML and SOA business Service XCelerators (bSX) for insurance and its ability to continue developing leading-edge, insurance-focused SOA enterprise technology. The XAware bSX are comprised of pre-configured, appreciable SOA assets optimized by vertical industry. Building on this, XAware will also be sponsoring a panel, "SOA and the Future of the Collaborative Enterprise", at IBM's PartnerWorld conference in Las Vegas.

Free AppExchange Toolkit for Eclipse

Source: Irish Developer Network

Summary:
Salesforce.com Joins Eclipse Foundation, Delivers Free AppExchange Toolkit for Eclipse.

The Toolkit Helps Corporate and ISV Developers Create On-Demand Applications for The Business Web Dublin; Wednesday, 22 March 2006: Salesforce.com, the technology and market leader in on-demand customer relationship management (CRM), has announced it has joined the Eclipse Foundation and released a new AppExchange Toolkit for Eclipse. Available as a free download from the AppExchange Developer Network (http://developer.appexchange.com), the Toolkit provides developers with tools to customize, integrate and build on-demand applications on the AppExchange platform.

ISVs and corporate IT organisation developers alike can use the AppExchange Toolkit for Eclipse to create applications for use in existing Salesforce deployments or for sharing and distribution via the AppExchange.

Built on the popular Eclipse development platform framework, the Toolkit extends Eclipse beyond traditional software development and provides developers with a robust development, debugging and testing environment to create on-demand applications and mashups for the AppExchange. With the Toolkit, developers can directly access and explore the AppExchange data model and objects, extend the AppExchange's native Web presentation capabilities, and build and debug applications and mashups that use the popular AppExchange AJAX toolkit. Because the Toolkit is built on the Eclipse Web Tools Project (WTP), developers get code editing, source control and project management features out of the box, for free.

NetBeans Adds Features, Helps Eclipse with GUI

Source: OETrends.Com

Summary:
Sun Microsystems continues to push capabilities for its Open Source NetBeans IDE, expanding web services support, and adding support C, C++ and Mac devs. Far from feeling crunched by Eclipse’s continuing progress, NetBeans execs claim Eclipse’ success is just making NetBeans better. In fact, Sun is working with an Eclipse member to optimize Project Matisse for Eclipse.

Geeks speak at Eclipse conference

Source: SearchWebServices

Summary:
Santa Clara - Doing his best to bust the myth of the introverted geek pounding out code in a darkened room, Ward Cunningham, self-described programmer and infectiously social extrovert, took the stage yesterday at EclipseCon 2006.

He's now director of committer community development for the Eclipse Foundation and perhaps most famous for inventing one of the hottest collaborative tools on the Web, the Wiki. Since Eclipse development is done by teams of programmers working without the project management overseers usually found in private enterprise, all the projects in Eclipse require a commitment to being part of a community working in collaboration.

"What we produce is ideas, which some people define as intellectual property," Cunningham told his programmer audience. "It's done through collaboration based on a community."

In the absence of a manager who can crack the whip over reluctant workers, the Eclipse Way, as it's known, requires one thing that Cunningham put into a single word: Collaboration.

Innoopract Introduces First Eclipse-Based AJAX Platform

Source: SYS-CON AUSTRALIA

Summary:
Innoopract, a founding member of the Eclipse Foundation and a provider of products and services for Eclipse introduced the Eclipse proposed project "Rich Ajax Platform"(RAP). RAP aims to provide an Eclipse-based development environment with the capabilities to create so-called "Rich Internet Applications." RAP enables programmers to develop desktop applications and web applications following the same programming model, resulting in negligible extra work.

RAP offers an architecture and usage similar to the Rich Client Platform (RCP) and includes a library of components built in the Java programming language and Ajax. Developers can use these components to develop dynamic user interfaces in a fraction of the time compared to traditional methods.

"With RAP we expand Eclipse with the features of Web 2.0," says Jochen Krause, CEO of Innoopract. In the pursuit of this goal, the German-based company will release the core of its W4T technology as open source into the RAP project and will support a supplier-independent development strategy for the RAP technology. "We are pleased to have this new proposal from Innoopract," said Mike Milinkovich, Executive Director of Eclipse Foundation. "It is great example of the technical innovation that is occurring in the Eclipse community."

Support grows for Eclipse

Source: IT Week

Summary:

Support for the Eclipse open-source development tool project is growing from strength to strength following news of increased investment in the platform by IBM.

The moves were announced at the EclipseCon conference in America, and should help IT directors considering Eclipse-based development tools instead of purely commercial alternatives such as Microsoft Visual Studio.

Computing giant IBM announced new Eclipse services and tools, and said it was piloting a new support offering for firms using the Eclipse platform. The support offering is aimed at firms that want developers to use the open-source Eclipse development environment with proprietary Eclipse based tools such as IBM's Rational branded tools.

Eclipse woos Windows Vista developers

Source: Channel Register

Summary:
The Eclipse Foundation is making a play for Microsoft's ISV partners deciding whether to port their applications to Windows Vista with a cross-platform alternative that expands their market reach.

The open source tools consortium has announced four new application frameworks under the umbrella Rich Client Platform (RCP) project. These are intended to help ISVs build client applications and interfaces using Java and XML.

Mike Milinkovich, Eclipse executive director, yesterday urged the legions of Microsoft ISVs to "look at RCP", warning that applications moved to Vista would not be backwards-compatible with older versions of Windows.

"Microsoft will be very busy trying to convince [ISVs] that now is the time to step away from Win32 to WinFX," he said. "In RCP, you find the framework lets you build Vista applications but ship product on Mac and Linux. If you are going to move off Win32 you should also look at RCP."

He added: "If you move your application to WinFX you are in a position to not be backwards compatible with Win32. "He was speaking at the annual EclipseCon show in Santa Clara, California.

Ajax all the buzz at Eclipse conference

Source: SearchWebServices

Summary:
Santa Clara - Ajax isn't the most prominent technology on display at EclipseCon 2006 this week but it's there sort of sneaking around the corners of the Santa Clara Convention Center like an unexpected guest at a party.

t may seem odd for a conference drawing upwards of 1,500 mostly Java coders talking mostly about Web service applications to not be focusing more openly on the hottest technology idea of the past year, but the Eclipse Foundation is just getting to know Ajax as it mulls over proposals for bringing it into the framework.

One of those proposals comes from IBM, the Eclipse progenitor and major contributor of expertise and money. When John Kellerman, IBM strategy manager for Eclipse Initiatives, is asked if there is room for Ajax in Eclipse, he says, "The answer is yes, most definitively yes." But having worked with Eclipse since 1999 when it was just a gleam in Big Blue's eye, he explains that the Ajax proposals now being considered are very new, dating back only to the first of this year.

The main IBM proposal is the Ajax Tools Framework, which Kellerman said has drawn interest from other vendors including BEA Systems Inc. and Oracle Corp.

Eclipse: Sun still welcome to join

Source: Computerworld

Summary:
With enterprise application development largely dividing into two camps -- the Java-derived Eclipse faction on one side, and Microsoft's .Net on the other -- it would seem that Java founder Sun Microsystems Inc. would align itself with the Eclipse Foundation. But Sun remains outside Eclipse, although an open invitation remains to participate in the open-source tools organization.

Sun remains committed to its own NetBeans open-source platform, announcing new initiatives pertaining to it while Eclipse sells out its annual EclipseCon technical conference here this week. Attendance is at 1,400 people, according to Eclipse.

Negotiations to have Sun join Eclipse in 2003 fell apart. Sun at the time said it was not offered "an equitable share in mutual development."

"There's no conversations going on, but they are always welcome to join Eclipse," said Eclipse Foundation Executive Director Mike Milinkovich on Tuesday.

Innoopract Introduces First Eclipse-Based AJAX Platform

Source: MarketWire.com

Summary:
Today Innoopract, a founding member of the Eclipse Foundation and a leading provider of products and services for Eclipse introduced the Eclipse proposed project "Rich Ajax Platform"(RAP). RAP aims to provide an Eclipse-based development environment with the capabilities to create so-called "Rich Internet Applications." RAP enables programmers to develop desktop applications and web applications following the same programming model, resulting in negligible extra work.

RAP offers an architecture and usage similar to the Rich Client Platform (RCP) and includes a library of components built in the JavaTM programming language and AJAX. Developers can use these components to develop dynamic user interfaces in a fraction of the time compared to traditional methods.

"With RAP we expand Eclipse with the features of Web 2.0," says Jochen Krause, CEO of Innoopract GmbH. In the pursuit of this goal, the German-based company will release the core of its W4T technology as open source into the RAP project and will support a supplier-independent development strategy for the RAP technology.

"We are pleased to have this new proposal from Innoopract," said Mike Milinkovich, Executive Director of Eclipse Foundation. "It is great example of the technical innovation that is occurring in the Eclipse community."

Web-based business applications often fall short of the expectations. With web applications, the inclusion of a multitude of different technologies leads to substantially higher development and administration costs when compared to client-server applications. Furthermore, the user experience of web applications is still a big step behind the established standards in desktop applications.

Exadel Submits ''Enterprise Component Framework Project'' to Eclipse Foundation

Source: TMCNet

Summary:
Exadel, Inc., a leading provider of software, services, and support that enable companies to create mission-critical business applications based on open source and Java(TM) technologies, today announced its proposal to the Eclipse Foundation for an Enterprise Component Framework project, which would create an end-to-end business application development platform based on Eclipse.

Lombardi Software Honored with Eclipse Community Award; TeamWorks(R) Software Awarded Best Commercial Eclipse Applicati

Source: Chron.com

Summary:
Lombardi Software(R), the leader in Business Process Management (BPM) software for Global 2000 companies, today announced that its TeamWorks(R) BPM platform has been awarded "Best commercial Eclipse Rich Client Platform (RCP) application" in the inaugural Eclipse Community Awards. The Lombardi TeamWorks BPM software was honored at an awards ceremony last night on the opening day of EclipseCon 2006.

IBM mulls support charges for Eclipse developers

Source: Channel Register

Summary:
IBM, which helped create the open source platform in 2001, is to pilot a support program for developers using the organization's tools plus commercial offerings running on Eclipse, such as IBM's Rational suite.

Details are yet to be finalized, but IBM told The Register that the services offered are likely to differ from IBM's support for Linux and Geronimo in the run-time world.

IBM's decision to offer support for Eclipse reflects the open source environment's growing presence among businesses - 30 per cent of enterprises and 25 per cent or so of small and medium businesses (SMBs) use Eclipse, analyst Evans Data Corp (EDC) estimates.

But it will have an interesting challenge in tackling price objections. This week at EclipseCon in Santa Clara, California, EDC said it had found little appetite for paid support from Eclipse users. Just over 30 per cent expect support to be free while a third said if they would pay anything at all, it must be less than $100.

Eclipse Expands, Urges Shift Away From Windows User Interface

Source: InformationWeek | EclipseCon 2006

Summary:
The Eclipse Foundation is expanding its core, developer's workbench into a broader platform that competes more directly with Microsoft Windows, at least within the enterprise.

The workbench, which started out integrating dissimilar Java tools inside IBM in the mid-1990s, was brought into the public arena as open source code in 1998 and became a runaway success as a unifying platform for third party tools. The fact that different design, coding, and debugging tools could work together under Eclipse made Java tools more competitive with the tightly integrated Visual Studio tool set from Microsoft.

Now Eclipse is looking to extend its success into new areas, including the user interface previously conceded to Microsoft Windows. It is moving rapidly, for example, to adopt Ajax-type technologies, now widely used in Web applications that interact with users in the way Google Maps does. And it is offering a standard client interface, the Eclipse Rich Client Platform, that can serve as a front end to enterprise applications running on Linux-based desktop computers or Apple Macintoshes, as well as PCs running Windows. While Macintosh and Linux users represent a small fraction of the total users in large corporations, the Eclipse foundation and its members think that picture could eventually change.

"The Rich Client Platform is pretty mature," said Mike Milinkovich, executive director of the Eclipse Foundation, which oversees the open-source projects that add to Eclipse's capabilities.

"Over the next three years, Microsoft will be very busy encouraging shops to move off of Win32 APIs and move to [Windows] Vista. If a company is considering moving off Win32, they should look at Rich Client Platform" as a more robust, long-term answer for their application user interface needs, Milinkovich said Tuesday at an Eclipse Foundation press conference at the EclipseCon 2006 conference in Santa Clara, Calif.

Actuate launches Eclipse-based BI reporting tool

Source: Application Development Trends

Summary:

Actuate announced the general availability of Actuate BIRT 2.0, a business intelligence and reporting tool, based upon Eclipse BIRT, an open-source reporting project. BIRT 2.0 uses a Web page design metaphor and allows report developers to import styles from existing Web site CSS files, according to the company. The reporting tool was designed to deliver ease-of-use and flexibility to report developers, who are typically not Java coders.

"Many business intelligence tools are too expensive and don't have the flexibility that developers want," says Wayne Eckerson, director of research and services at The Data Warehousing Institute. "There will be a strong market for low-cost, highly flexible BI tools and open-source BI tools are part of that trend."

IBM Continues Its Support for Eclipse

Source: eWeek

Summary:
SANTA CLARA, Calif.—IBM on March 21 announced that it is starting a support offering for developers using Eclipse as their primary development environment.

Officials said the pilot program is aimed at customers who want their development teams using both open-source Eclipse and commercial Eclipse-based tools such as IBM Rational software. IBM's services and support team will assist developers and their managers working in mixed software development environments. IBM made the announcement at the EclipseCon 2006 conference here.

In 2001, IBM launched Eclipse as an open-source project after contributing more than $40 million in technology. Then at the first EclipseCon in February 2004, Eclipse became an independent entity, with Mike Milinkovich as executive director.

However, IBM continues to wield a great deal of power within the Eclipse organization. For instance, reinforcing its commitment to PHP, IBM and Zend Technologies are contributing code to the newly created PHP IDE subproject of the Eclipse Tools project. IBM and Zend have jointly developed a fully extensible PHP Development Environment framework.

"By maintaining a strong commitment to open source, encouraging innovation and engendering community growth, IBM's strategy of investing in open source has planted seeds that will continue to positively impact growth and pay future dividends," John Kellerman, manager of Eclipse Strategy at IBM, said in a statement.

Eclipse casts a giant shadow in Silicon Valley

Source: SearchWebServices

Summary:
EclipseCon 2006, which opens today at the Santa Clara Convention Center, has come a long way in two years, both as an open source development platform and as a conference. Now Eclipse attracts a mix as widespread as applications vendors like Salesforce.com and PHP developers.

Two years ago, the first EclipseCon was held at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, Calif., which seemed an odd venue as hardcore Java coders were invited to have breakfast with Goofy and technical sessions had Disney's greatest hits for background music. Last year, EclipseCon 2005 moved up to a hotel in the more sophisticated San Francisco Bay area and attendees were promised that they would not have to listen to "It's a Small World."

The Silicon Valley location for this week's event perhaps reflects the maturity of Eclipse. Having expanded from a hotel-based show to a convention center with three nearby hotels sold out, this year's version features 140 technical presentations in three days.

The sold out show will feature 45 software vendors hocking their wares, many of whom have become Eclipse members since the organization declared it's independence from its IBM parent in 2004.

Salesforce plugs into Eclipse

Source: Computer Business Review

Summary:
Adding another option for developers, Salesforce.com Inc has joined the Eclipse Foundation as a voting member and releasing a new AppExchange toolkit as a plug-in.

According to Adam Gross, vice president of developer marketing, the goal is to provide developers better tools for building Ajax-style rich web clients or mashups using Salesforce's AppExchange services marketplace.

Under the arrangement, Salesforce becomes an add-in member, meaning that it contributes tooling, gains voting rights, but is not part of the board. Furthermore, the tie-in with Eclipse does not mean that Salesforce.com is becoming a Java shop.

Instead, said Gross, it is to provide access to better tooling, much as its agreement with Microsoft provides that part of Salesforce's customer and developer base access to the Microsoft Office toolkit.

IBM Wants To Eclipse Unix Developers

Source: WebProNews

Summary:
The command line is a wonderful thing, and a developer skilled in the ways of vi (or emacs if you must) can build great applications; IBM thinks developers can do even better with its Eclipse IDE.

For developers new to the ways of Unix, the command line editor can be at best daunting and at worst an obstacle to accomplishing one's tasks. Freelancer Chris Herborth writing on IBM's DeveloperWorks website thinks the multi-platform Eclipse IDE offers enough usefulness that developers who switch may never type :wq in vi again.

SugarCRM Joins Eclipse Foundation

Source: TMCNet

Summary:

Open source CRM provider SugarCRM announced it has joined software development community, the Eclipse Foundation as an Add-In-Provider member.

SugarCRM’s participation promotes the foundation’s dedication to improving open source collaboration globally. As an Integrated Development Environment (IDE), Eclipse offers a development platform for both large-scale development projects and smaller open source initiatives.

"SugarCRM is delighted to be an Add-In Provider member of the Eclipse Foundation, as we will help collaboration efforts between both Eclipse and SugarCRM's open source communities," states John Roberts, co-founder, chairman and CEO of SugarCRM in a press release.

Eclipse AJAX project proposed, MySQL joins Eclipse

Source: InfoWorld Tech Watch | By Paul Krill

Summary:
A project to enable developers to build AJAX-enabled Web applications using Eclipse technology has been proposed by Innoopract, according to Eclipse, which is holding its annual technical conference, EclipseCon 2006, in Santa Clara, Calif. this week.

The Proposal for Rich AJAX Platform (RAP), currently is in the review stage at Eclipse.

"RAP will offer the ease of development of Eclipse, Eclipse extensibility and user experience by reusing Eclipse technology for distributed applications and by encapsulating AJAX technologies into simple-to-use Java components (as SWT encapsulates native widgets)," Eclipse said.

Also, open source database provider MySQL on Monday announced it has joined Eclipse as an Add-in Provider member. MySQL plans to contribute to the Eclipse Data Tools Platform project and collaborate with Zend Technologies and others on the proposed Eclipse PHP IDE project.

Innoopract Proposes New AJAX Project for Eclipse

Source: eWeek

Summary:
Innoopract Informationssysteme is proposing this week at EclipseCon a new project to the Eclipse Foundation to help developers create AJAX-enabled applications using Eclipse technology and methodology.

The Karlsruhe, Germany, company is proposing the Rich AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) Platform, or RAP, Project, an open-source project that aims to enable developers to build rich, AJAX-enabled Web applications by using the Eclipse development model, plug-ins and a Java-only API.

According to the proposal, Innoopract will contribute code from its W4Toolkit to the project to enable user interface development based on a Java component library. The component library offers a mechanism for browser detection and can adapt to the capabilities of browsers by using rendering kits, the proposal said.

Innoopract's contribution will encompass some of the core functionality for a Rich AJAX Platform, including a rich set of UI components with a Java API, event-driven program control, a generic mechanism for updating arbitrary UI elements of a Web UI based on AJAX, a lifecycle handling comparable to the one used in JavaServer Faces, a mechanism for browser detection, and rendering kits that enable applications to adapt to browser capabilities, the proposal said.

Wind River wins large US Army software contract

Source: LinuxDevices

Summary:
In a deal estimated between $14M and $20M, Wind River's Workbench developer toolsuite has been selected by Boeing for the US Army's "Future Combat System" (FCS) program. Wind River says its tools will enable the program to standardize on a single development environment across multiple sub-projects involving multiple operating systems. The deal also validates the open source "Eclipse" platform that underpins the Workbench tools, Wind River says.
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Wind River's WorkBench is based on Eclipse 3.1. Eclipse is an open source framework for cross-vendor tools integration that was originally donated to the open source community by IBM. It has since been widely adopted by the device development community, with TimeSys, Wind River, MontaVista, LynuxWorks, Sysgo, Enea, and possibly others offering Eclipse-based toolsuites. Additionally, Eclipse tools are offered by chip companies such as Intel and Texas Instruments, and by software companies such as Devicescape, to name a few