Gunnar Wagenknecht

Jochen Hiller

Simon Kaegi

Server-Side Eclipse is the latest effort to use the Eclipse architecture and the OSGi platform to develop modular web applications. Two short tutorials will introduce the technology, concepts and tools to develop Eclipse based web applications. The tutorials are split in two parts:

• Part 1: Core technology and integration with embedded HTTP servers and external application servers
• Part 2: Development of web based user interfaces (JavaEE, Rich Ajax Platform, Google Web Toolkit)

These short tutorials are in general self-contained. For a complete overview it would make sense to attend both tutorials.

Audience

This tutorial targets developers and architects who want to develop a better understanding of what's required to build Eclipse-based web applications. They should be familiar with developing Eclipse RCP applications and standard JavaEE web applications.

Contents of tutorial

2.1 Introduction to Server-Side Eclipse User Interfaces

• Overview of frameworks for UI development
• Comparison of UI concepts
• Special requirements for Server-Side applications

2.2 Server-Side Eclipse and JavaEE based user interfaces

• Using JSP's
• Using Tag-Libraries
• Integration of struts based applications

2.3 Server-Side Eclipse and Rich AJAX Platform (RAP)

• Short introduction to RAP and RWT
• A Hello World example using RAP
• A more sophisticated example using RAP

2.4 Server-Side Eclipse and Google Web Toolkit (GWT)

• Short introduction to GWT
• A sample "Hello World application"
• GWT Modules and OSGi bundles
• A composite application of multiple bundles

2.5 Summary

• Comparison of different UI approaches
• Current state of UI related development
• What will be supported in Eclipse 3.3 and Equinox 3.3
• Outlook

Gunnar Wagenknecht is a software architect at Truition focusing on OSGi/Equinox based server and application platforms. He is an Eclipse friend since 2001, started Planet Eclipse and is a committer.

Jochen Hiller is working as principle architect for Business Operation Systems, Germany. He has been using Object technology since 1989, using C++, Smalltalk and Java. He is using Eclipse from the beginning, including plugin and RCP development. Jochen has been the architect for the component architecture of a commercial collaboration development platform. This platform will just be migrated to server side Eclipse technologies, where he contributed code to server-side bridge. His interests are additionally embedded Java technologies and massively scalable architectures. He can be reached at jo.hiller(at)googlemail(dot)com.

Simon Kaegi works at the IBM Ottawa Lab as a developer looking at componentization and the run-time provisioning of enterprise software. A committer on the Eclipse Equinox project his current focus is on ensuring the framework can support the many use-cases for OSGi in server-side environments.