When IBM donated the Eclipse code to the community three years ago, it was intended to be a common framework for deploying software development tools – not a framework for creating end-user applications. But Eclipse 3.0 is changing all that.
For example, by adding the IBM Cloudscape Java relational database and other enhancements, and by managing and supporting these clients with Lotus Groupware on the server-side, IBM has created a new cross-platform end-user offering called IBM Workplace Client Technology, Rich Client Edition. IBM is leveraging the client-side features of Eclipse in other ways as well.
To find out more about Eclipse, and how it can be used in cross-platform deployments we talked to Lee Nackman, IBM VP of Design, Construction, and Test Tools Development and CTO of Rational Software; and Jim Russell, IBM Lotus Software Director of Application Development Tools. Here’s what they had to say.
developerWorks: The Eclipse Foundation recently delivered the 3.0 release of Eclipse, which creates a new role for Eclipse. What’s new with Eclipse, and the Eclipse SDK 3.0?
Lee: There have been a number of major things that have happened. We've formed an independent, not-for-profit foundation, called The Eclipse Foundation, which has taken over the management of Eclipse from IBM. It’s now an organization that is run by its membership. And the Eclipse 3.0 release is the first release produced under that new structure. So that’s a significant milestone in the evolution of Eclipse.
In terms of the technology, there’s been a major revamping of the Eclipse user interface in the area of its look and feel. It now supports a larger number of plug-ins, and provides new ways of organizing the plug-in functionality so larger numbers of plug-ins won't be confusing for users. That’s been a significant step forward.
There’s been a new “background thread" capability added which makes Eclipse much more responsive when there are long-running tasks that need to be executed from the IDE.
There’s been a lot of hardening of the API’s for the plug-in mechanism, and a move to base plug-ins on OSGI standards. And there’s been the introduction of the Eclipse Rich Client Platform – an Eclipse-based platform for people to build real client applications – not just application development tools, but all kinds of client applications.
dW: There are several other developer tools available for cross-platform application development, and several open source projects. Why would a Linux or even a Windows developer want to use Eclipse, as opposed to one of the GUI widget toolboxes?
Lee: Eclipse is much more than just a GUI widget set. The SWT (Standard Widget Toolkit) is a portable GUI widget set, and one of the really nice things about that is that it has the platform’s native look and feel, which is very important for most users.
But in addition to the GUI, Eclipse provides a platform for extensibility. There’s a mechanism that allows people to plug function into Eclipse-based applications, and it’s been implemented in a way that’s completely cross-platform.
So if you want to build an application that can run across Linux, Windows and a variety of the UNIX platforms, Eclipse is really the strongest story.
dW: IBM has just released another Java-based product to the open source community, a relational database called “Derby." What effect do you think that Derby will have on the desktop application stack?
Lee: If you look at most applications, they need to manipulate data somehow, and one of the best ways of manipulating data is a relational database. Derby gives the open source community a very sophisticated Java relational database. The word Java is very important here, too, because when you're building Java applications, it’s much nicer to work with a database that was both designed for and implemented in Java.
Derby is also very lightweight, and as I said, comes with an open-source license. So I think it will open up new opportunities for Java applications on the desktop, opportunities that come from being able to build relational databases right into desktop applications, without incurring additional licensing costs.
dW: The commercial version of Derby, called IBM Cloudscape, is used in IBM Workplace Client Technology, Rich Client Edition. What is that all about, and how does it work?
Jim: Right. The IBM Workplace Client Technology, Rich Client Edition is basically an extension of the Workplace computing model to the client, to enable customers to build applications that can be centrally managed and automatically provisioned to the desktop. These desktops may be running a variety of operating systems, and they may even be devices.
The Workplace Client Technology is built on Eclipse. The enhanced Eclipse framework and SWT widget set are a key part of the new functionality, and by basing our client-side technology on them, I think we've clearly shown Eclipse has moved beyond its initial focus of developer tools. We're using it as the framework for the end-user applications themselves.
As Lee already pointed out, many, in fact most, applications have data associated with them. As part of building out the client technology platform, we needed to have a database that would integrate well with the Java-based platform. So we chose to use the Derby – or Cloudscape as we call it inside IBM – to be an embedded component of the Workplace client technology.
Not only does being a Java-based database make it very easy to integrate; it also means that it requires no administration. And it encrypts its data store, so I can actually keep information on my client that is securely held, and can't be viewed by unauthorized users.
IBM Workplace Client Technology is an extension of our server-side managed platform. And the Cloudscape-based database is an extension of both the data that is going to be stored for the applications to use, and data that will be stored and replicated back to the server. So Cloudscape forms the core data element of the technology platform. It provides us with a no-administration, secure, replicated store that we can use to deploy application data flexibly, to many different kinds of clients and devices.
dW: What other IBM client desktop projects have been based on Eclipse?
Lee: Well, there are many. The recently announced new products from Rational, the so-called “Atlantic Release," are all based on Eclipse 3.0. The Eclipse modeling framework as a meta-model facility is extremely important for what we're trying to do in the industry.
The “Help" systems for many different products have been based on Eclipse. There are elements of Eclipse in many of the server side products. WebSphere, for example, uses Eclipse for some of its capabilities. There are several plug-ins for the WebSphere Studio products that are based on Eclipse, and the tools for the WebSphere Voice Server are all based on Eclipse.
In fact, the vast majority of IBM’s tool products are now based on Eclipse. It the strategic platform for IBM’s tools aimed at developers and architects who will have an IDE on their desk.
Jim: But again, Eclipse 3.0 can now be used to develop applications for end users, not just tool users. The IBM Workplace Client Technologies version of Eclipse is the basis for end-user applications that are deployed to many end-users desktops, not just developer desktops. And in the case of IBM Workplace Client Technology, Micro Edition, some of the SWT technologies can even be deployed on mobile or “pervasive" devices.
Lee: Exactly. So the Eclipse reach has become extremely broad. It’s extended beyond design and coding tools, and into the end user desktops.
dW: I also wanted to ask you about the on again, off again effort to bring Sun and their NetBeans IDE into the Eclipse environment. Do you think that’s ever going to happen?
Lee: It’s up to Sun. Eclipse.org actively invited Sun to join and contribute to Eclipse. It’s really up to Sun to decide what their business needs are, and whether they should participate in the Eclipse movement.
The uptake of Eclipse has been phenomenal. It’s rapidly becoming both the dominant Java IDE in the industry, and the dominant tool platform in the industry. There’s a very capable C and C++ IDE that’s available as a part of Eclipse, and there are many other plug-ins available for other languages, tools, capabilities and roles.
If you look at the membership of the Eclipse Foundation, you'll find that it’s supported by some of the major players in the industry. Companies like Intel, for example. Intel has taken a leading role in the Eclipse Test and Performance Project, which extends the Hyades open-source platform for Automated Software Quality (ASQ), and will add focus areas for testing, tracing and profiling, and monitoring.
So the Eclipse ecosystem is just on a roll. But Sun has to decide what’s best for Sun and its customers.
dW: Thanks to both of you for taking the time to talk to us.
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