Eclipse Helios Release Leaves Java Developers Spoilt for Choice

Yesterday's release of Helios shows how Java developers are now truly spoilt for choice when it comes to IDEs. Following on the NetBeans 6.9 release last week, Eclipse 3.6 is the most complete release so far, incorporating 39 projects.

As well as that standard Eclipse IDE packages for Java, C++ and PHP developers, a welcome addition is the Eclipse IDE for JavaScript Web Developers. As JavaScript continues to enjoy adoption across the board, it's important that more complete tooling is available for developers. As I've been writing web applications with Appcelerator recently, I've been looking for a solid JavaScript IDE. This could be it.

Here are some of the other headline items that will interest Java developers:

• Support for Git with the EGit and JGit projects.
• Easier to find plug-ins through the new Eclipse Marketplace client. This really looks fantastic, and is a much needed feature in Eclipse.
  
• General Java IDE improvements for formatting, debugging and applying patche

A large percentage of the Eclipse community is comprised of people developing plug-ins for Eclipse, or using Eclipse as their application platform. This release contains a lot that will interest these developers, not least:

• Create full featured editors for your own DSL using Xtext 1.0 [http://eclipse.dzone.com/articles/xtext]
• p2 API for self update and installation of your Eclipse application 
• Improvements in RAP to provide even richer web versions of your Eclipse application. Most notable for me is that there is now support for a Graphics context in your RAP applications.  
• The Help UI is now more extendable, allowing you to add in new buttons or frames.

 
There's lots more to see, Chris Aniszczyk has a great overview of what's included, but nothing compares with downloading it yourself and seeing it in action on your own machine.

If you want to find out more about what's available, make sure to join the Helios in Action virtual conference happening today. Congratulations to everyone behind the Eclipse release train, proving once again that software can be delivered on target.