DTP and Language Environments

Although Eclipse's Java tools have been around since the beginning, other languages have been supported as well. For example, C/C++ tools were an early addition, and today we find strong initiatives around many other languages. As DTP continues to evolve, one area we've been looking at is how its tools can be leveraged in various language environments.

For example, I have a talk at EclipseCon that concentrates on integrating DTP and JDT. Though the emphasis will be on Java, we will also talk about possibilities for integration with other language environments. A good example of why this is a compelling direction for DTP appears in a recent blog entry by Bill Beebe. Bill, who has just returned to evaluate 3.3M5, discusses the strengths of ROR tools in Eclipse. He finds a strong case for Eclipse and its ecosystem of plug-ins, but he also mentions that "SQL database integration still leaves something to be desired." I'm not sure whether the gaps are in the core tooling or integration with languages like Java and Ruby, but we at DTP are very interested in exploring these areas. The EclipseCon talk will be an attempt to drive this conversation, and of course there are many channels -- mailing lists, bugzilla, newsgroups -- where additional discussion can occur.

Living, breathing projects

Doug DeCarlo has argued that "Projects are living, breathing things. They are people."* Don't believe it? Want proof? Well, EclipseCon is a great place to find out! There's a huge number of interesting sessions this year, covering an amazing range.

There also is a variety of sessions related to DTP and I have listed them on Eclipse DTP wiki. I'm really looking forward to EclipseCon. If anyone would like to meet in person, please feel free to drop me a line.

* Extreme Project Management, p.33.