2. February 2010
Last week the Eclipse Foundation published the proposal for the Remus project. In the following I will show you what the goals of the project are and how simple it is to build Eclipse based applications with this technology. We highly appreciate your feedback, suggestions, discussion at the Eclipse Community forums, see http://www.eclipse.org/forums/index.php?t=thread&frm_id=166
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15. December 2009
Since today we’ve bundled in Remus a connector to the new Eclipse Marketplace platform which allows you to browse and checkout the content of Eclipse Marketplace. So you can browse through the checked out elements and use the Remus Search to find the plug-in you need. (more…)
23. November 2009
Collecting data and information in an information management system is only half the story. An important aspect is also the ability to create visualization or printable documents based on the data in such a system, in other words, reporting. Since a few builds we’re shipping the runtime of the Reporting engine BIRT with the initial download. Since BIRT allows an easy integration of custom data sources we decided to write our own ODA driver (which is part of the Eclipse DTP Connectivity Framework) which lets you build queries that are executed against your local workspace. In the following I’ll show you how to use the integrated BIRT capabilities and two showcases how Reporting can fit into an information management system. (more…)
1. September 2009
I must admit I’m a big fan of all EMF derivations, so also Xtext, the new framework for developing textual DSLs. Today I want to show you how to use RIM for managing your textual models, consuming the features of both frameworks, RIM and Xtext. (more…)
8. July 2009
Yesterday I was in Ettlingen at the Eclipse Application Developer Day and listened to Benjamin Muskallas track on Singlesourcing the RCP Mail Example. He explained that it needs 2 modifications of the generated RCP application to get the example running with RAP. The first was modifying some declarative data of the bundle, which is understandable; the second change required a direct edit within the RCP Code because the ActionFactory.ABOUT workbench action is (yet) not supported by RAP. The fact of editing RCP code directly is IMHO a critical point in enabling (probably already delivered) RCP applications. I want to show a way how to avoid such modifications with an aspect orientated approach, I’ve learnt on the EclipseDemo Camp in Leipzig, 3 weeks ago, from the team of ObjectTeam. They provide an extension which is compiled with a modified Eclipse Java Compiler and enables some features for modifying call hierarchies; see the website for details. (more…)
9. June 2008
A common usecase for a RCP is to request data from a remote repository for viewing, editing, etc. You’ll find that there are many ways to do this, but have you ever thought about requesting your domain specific data via a Team implementation and store that data in your workspace? - The following article will explain how this could work and provides a very simple example how you can use the mighty functionalities of a Team implementation under the hood, without exposing the complexity to the user. (more…)
13. March 2008
Let’s see, has anybody ever delved into what RCP application actually means? In most cases you might find a rather cut-down definition reduced to its Components. This impression is bolstered by the naming conventions of Eclipse Bundles and Features, for instance Eclipse SDK ships with a feature named org.eclipse.rcp, suggesting that it serves to define the RCP’s scope. Defining the RCP by means of the installed bundles simply goes beyond my understanding. Personally, I think the graphic in the Eclipse help pages is better for demonstrating the Eclipse Component Model. In my opinion there is no difference in quality between an Eclipse SDK application and an Eclipse RCP Mail Template application. These components, specifically the Workspace model and the features that come with the org.eclipse.ui.ide package (whatever the Id is meant to imply
, can easily be integrated in a more ‘minimalist’ RCP application. When you are dealing with larger business applications, there is simply no way you can avoid using these Eclipse Platform or Eclipse Tools bundles. This seems a good time to demonstrate how to put these components to work for you in a context that is completely different from the usual JDT environment. (more…)
7. March 2008
If we want to provide a data structure, we need to create
- a meta model using the EMF
- an extension point schema.
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5. March 2008
The platform approach has been a major boost for the success of Eclipse. This is mainly due to two key attributes: (more…)
4. March 2008
Eclipse-based applications targeted at developers’ tasks and needs are proliferating. But what does Eclipse have to offer to other user groups, to be more precise non-technical user groups in particular in combination with Rich Client Platform applications?
Just take a closer look at your daily work, and you may probably realize that the greater part of your working routine is spent doing the research and gathering information required for your job - no matter how this information is structured. (more…)