Click here to receive your FREE subscription to Campus Technology
News
Eclipse RAP Integrates Java Tools for RIA Development
10/17/2007
The Eclipse Foundation released version 1.0 of the Eclipse Rich AJAX Platform (RAP). The organization is billing this toolset as the first AJAX platform that allows developers to create rich Internet applications (RIAs) using the Eclipse component model.
RAP 1.0 is based on the OSGi standard of the OSGi Alliance. OSGi is a service-oriented, component-based environment designed to promote the interoperability of applications and services. Organizations can use RAP to create AJAX and RIA applications that are component-based and that integrate into existing enterprise systems, according to Jochen Krause, leader of Eclipse RAP project and CEO of Germany-based Innoopract Informationssysteme.
"It's basically an AJAX runtime that allows developers to build RIAs and programs entirely in Java," Krause said. "They can use the Eclipse plug-ins to modularize their applications, and so they get very powerful and extensible applications."
Eclipse RAP is based on the Eclipse Rich Client Platform (RCP), a well known and established framework for RIAs. The applications built with RAP can be run with RCP, Krause said, proving a single source for rich desktop and rich Internet applications.
Innoopract has been the driving force behind the 15-month-old Eclipse RAP project. A software and services company with offices in Karlsruhe, Germany, and Portland, OR, Innoopract is a founding member of the Eclipse Foundation. The company bases its products and services on the Eclipse development platform. It is probably best known as the creator of the Yoxos Eclipse distribution, which bundles dozens of popular open source plug-ins and an easy-to-use installation tool.
"The RAP is infrastructure," Krause said. "And we came to the conclusion that if you want to establish infrastructure, the only way you can do that--if you're not Microsoft--is through open source." The RAP release is the first middleware delivered by the Eclipse Foundation, Krause added.
Eclipse Foundation Marketing Manager Ian Skerrett noted the importance of RAP for enterprise developers in a recent blog posting.
"The neat thing about RAP is that you write AJAX applications in Java and use the Eclipse component model based on OSGi," Skerrett wrote. "Think of it something like [Google Web Toolkit] but using Eclipse plugins. This means you can now architect your AJAX applications as extensible components. For large companies this is a big deal since they typically like to create architectures that help them reuse code in different applications."
RAP 1.0 includes features designed for enterprises that are building a large number of new applications based on AJAX and RIA technologies. A list of those features includes:
Recommended Reading
- Microsoft Changes Virtualization Licensing Rules
Microsoft has made substantial changes to its virtualization licensing program, changes that will lower the cost of using virtualization for many customers.
- Vorex Upgrades Web-based Data Collection Tool for Schools
Vorex has released an update to its Vorex Online Survey, a Web-based data collection tool designed to allow schools to collect information and gather feedback from education stakeholders.
- Georgia Virtual Tech Moves to Angel LMS for Web-based Instruction
Georgia Virtual Technical College has selected the Angel Learning Management Suite (LMS) as the platform for its portal to deliver Web-based instruction to Georgia's 33 technical colleges and one Board of Regents college.
- Video Spotlight: Campus Technology 2008 Keynote Address
Adrian Sannier, technology officer for Arizona State University, discusses strategies for putting in place ground-breaking plans that will serve the next generation of students. These are actionable visions that include strategic technology choices--advancements that may be unfamiliar or even unpopular at first, but which carry enormous potential.
- Report Finds Dip in Microsoft's Browser Share
Microsoft lost browser market share over the last year, and the company's Windows Vista operating system has had "slow" market adoption among individuals and enterprises, according to a report issued by management consulting firm Janco Associates Inc.
- AT&T 'Big Mobile' Grant Extended
AT&T has extended the deadline for its first-ever Big Mobile On Campus Challenge, a competition that calls on college and university faculty and students to develop apps for mobile devices. The top prize includes $10,000 and a trip to the October Educause 2008 conference for the winning individual or team.
