The Barnes & Noble Review

[Eric Clayberg]

Some folks use Eclipse as a great Java development IDE and leave it at that. But Eclipse is far more: It?s a platform that can be extended in virtually any direction, supporting an extraordinary range of new products. Of course, if you want to build extensions someone will actually pay for, you?d better pay attention to the details. Not just integration: user interfaces, change tracking, feature planning, product build, packaging, help systems, internationalization, maybe even branding. If you want to master everything that?s involved in building commercial-grade Eclipse extensions, Eric Clayberg and Dan Rubel are here to help.
You can start from scratch with this book. The authors carefully introduce the Eclipse development environment, architecture, and the structure of plug-ins and extension points. You?ll walk step-by-step through building your first plug-in: one that you?ll use throughout the book for experimentation. There?s also a detailed introduction to user interface construction with SWT and JFace. But, unlike some books, the advanced stuff's here, too. Clayberg and Rubel make all of it easier with plenty of sample code, diagrams, screen shots, and so forth.

Compatibility certifications simplify life for anyone who wants to market products based on a new platform. There?s no formal Eclipse certification. But there is ?Ready for WebSphere Studio,? which promises that your software will integrate with IBM?s Eclipse-based web development tools. This book?s authors wrote the very first commercial add-on for WebSphere Studio Application Developer v4.0. When they discuss certification -- or anything else related to Eclipse, for that matter -- they speak with singular authority. Bill Camarda

Bill Camarda is a consultant, writer, and web/multimedia content developer. His 15 books include Special Edition Using Word 2003 and Upgrading & Fixing Networks for Dummies, Second Edition.