Rich Ajax Platform is an open-source software project for developers to build rich, AJAX-enabled Web applications using the Eclipse development model, plug-ins and a Java-only API.

Now, 1.4 M1 is available which include a couple of new features. Some of the new features include faster, more flexible implementation of the SWT Tree widget and there is Servlet 3.0 support making deploying RAP on application servers like Tomcat 7 or Glassfish 3 possible. To read about all the new features, go to the release notes.

To download, click on this link: Eclipse RAP.

I've always had a pet peeve that introductory Java books teach developers the bad habit of using the static keyword and executing business logic code in the main method.  I believe this is done in part out of a misguided intention of avoiding confusion, but also out of laziness.

 I've seen lots of bugs and unmaintainable architectural choices (some subtle, some not)  introduced by overuse of static references and methods, and find myself wondering how much of this is attributable to the failure of Java teachers to make the distinction between class and object clearer from the outset. 

 I'm very pleased to see BlueJ (which I first learned of here on JTraining) as an effort to remedy this general failure in Java and OO programming training. 

Eclipse 3.5 (Galileo) was released just over a month ago. Time to see how it is received. A number of people have written down their experiences so far.  Check the article by Zviki Cohen about a number of cool new features that are available. For instance:

• The Eclipse platform
  • Mac Cocoa Support
  • Plugin Installation
  • Open Resource: "Open With" Options
  • Better Toolbar & Menu Customization
  • Block Selection
• Java Development Tools
  • Debug View as Breadcrumbs
  • toString() Generator
  • Outline in Compare Editor
• Plug-in Development Environment
• Targets Management
• Plug-in Spy for Menu Items
• The P2 Publisher

For a complete overview of all the features go the the  Eclipse Galileo homepage.  

For another perspective and an overview of some of the (new) projects in Galileo check out the post by Peter Hendriks about his experiences. He talks about the following projects:

• Jetty/Eclipselink/Swordfish/Riena
• Swordfish
• Memory Analyzer/TPTP
• Process Framework
• Eclipse Web tools
• Mylyn

Eclipse Galileo 3.5 has been out for about 2 weeks. This is the annual release of Eclipse projects; this year it includes 33 projects. It can be downloaded here.

So, time to install some plugins! Zviki Cohen, founder of nWire Software has gone through the process and discusses the issues, pitfalls and tips of the completely refactored plugin installation process. 

While the process itself is simpler in the newest release, there are still some issues you should be aware of. A lot goes on in the background and there are a number of performance tips. It is an interesting article and gives a good overview of the way plugins are now handled in Galileo. Read more in his article.

Join Frank Ableson on his quest to find out whether in fact one can develop iPhone applications in Eclipse and the Java programming language. After all, who wants to learn a new language if they can get the job done with an old and trusted friend, namely Java. 

A definitive answer (either yes or no) would come in handy, however, like so many things in life, the answer is a bit of a shade of gray. The answer is more no, than yes at present, but the topic is worth exploring and perhaps some folks will be inspired enough to lend a hand and take this open source iPhone thing from a “sort-of” to a “yes”.

Dave Syer tried out both the Eclipse performance monitoring tool and Yourkit to track down a memory leak.  The requirement is that the tool should work well in STS (SpringSource Tool Suite, which is based on Eclipse). Yourkit came out well on top.

Some people have mentioned using Eclipse Memory Analysis Toolkit rather than TPTP, it would be interesting to see a comparison from people who have used both.