The talk on Eclipse 4.0 (e4) made it clear from the outset that discussions were just starting. Details were sketchy, but one theme that emerged was web-enabling the Eclipse platform. There was talk of being able to implement plug-ins using Javascript, supporting CSS styling rules for all user interface elements and even supporting server-side deployment of the platform runtime to enable web applications. This ambitious effort will provide an Flash/HTML/AJAX port of SWT, allowing graphical Eclipse applications to run within a web-browser.

The presenters stressed however that they were still in the brainstorming phase and aim to produce more concrete plans and demos for EclipseCon 2009. They also tried to dispell any compatability fears by saying that Eclipse 3.x would be maintained and enhanced for many years to come.

Posted by Daniel Selman in Conferences, Software Development. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.