For kicks last night, I decided to see how well Apache Harmony could run Eclipse. The answer is “pretty well”.

The Eclipse platform itself runs very well. I edited a bunch of files, manipulated a bunch of resources, dabbled a bit with some properties and preferences, and just generally kicked things about. It all seemed to run rock solid.

I turned my attention to Java development. I made a Java project with a couple of classes and everything compiled just fine (so the JDT seems to work). I can run the application, but so far, I haven’t been able to get the debugger to work.

From what I can tell (and I am no expert in this area), it seems that JDWP—which Eclipse needs to debug a JVM—hasn’t been implemented yet; though there is a contribution in the bug tracking system that will hopefully resolve this soon (if I read the bug correctly, the contribution has been accepted, but hasn’t made it into their build system yet).

I can debug a Java application running on a different JVM from Eclipse running on Harmony. The debugger running on Harmony works just fine.

There’s no point in being subtle. You must try Mylar. Do it now. Today.

I have to admit that I’ve been meaning to look at Mylar for a long time, but haven’t gotten much further than the demos. I finally took the time to load it in and start getting really familiar.

You have got to look at this.

Mik Kersten did a webinar on the topic last month. I recommend that you watch the webinar, but stop after Mik covers each topic and go and try it out. You won’t be disappointed.

It does require that you change your development style just a little. You have to define and activate a task before you can feel the full benefit. It’s worth it. Plus, it integrates with Bugzilla (and JIRA and Trac) so you can pull tasks right out of there. I’ve been using the Bugzilla integration to guide me through some fixes to the PHP code on the website.

I’ve been using Mylar for about a week now and I still catch myself giggling gleefully every once in a while. Especially when I’m working in that workspace that has 100+ projects in it…

A recent poster eclipse.newcomer asked about customizing the look and feel of an Eclipse application. This is something that I’ve been meaning to try out for a long time, so I’ve started my journey down the path of customizing the look and feel of some of my sample applications.

Eclipse provides a mechanism for changing the presentation of an application. This works for any RCP application and can be applied to the Eclipse SDK itself.

The first question is simple: what do you mean customize? It’s pretty common knowledge by now that–through SWT–Eclipse uses native widgets. So how do you customize native widgets? The simple is answer is that you don’t. However, there are many aspects to the Eclipse workbench that are not native, like the tabs that appear above views, the trim around windows and so forth. Also, the manner in which widgets are laid out is not dictated by any native influence.

How to you get started customizing the appearance of your application? A good starting point is (oddly enough) found in the Eclipse Wiki; specifically, the RCP Custom Look and Feel page. On this page, you’ll find a short example. More interesting (IMHO) is a presentation titled “Changing the Look and Feel of Eclipse Applications” by Stefan Xenos and Jean-Michel Lemieux from EclipseCon 2005.

If you’re looking for more, chapter 19 of “Eclipse Rich Client Platform” by Jeff McAffer and Jean-Michel Lemieux discusses customizing the presentation in some depth.

I decided to take a look at the OpenJDK today.

I directed my attention to the OpenJDK load instructions. There’s an omission in the instructions. They specify that the user name required to access the code is “$USER”. After several unsuccessful guesses at what this meant, I turned to the mailing lists and discovered that a valid java.net user id and password is required.

The repository doesn’t contain Eclipse project information, so some configuration was necessary (the Subversive plug-in has a handy feature that allows you to check out the code as a Java Project which saves us from having to mess with the .project file). I did have to determine which folders contain Java source and mark them as such so that Eclipse could compile them.

Eclipse JDT managed to compile javac with no additional configuration (using Java 5.0). Curiously, I haven’t yet been able to get the provided Ant build script to run (even more strange, I can get the Ant build to progress further in Eclipse than in NetBeans). I find it more than a little bit cool that I’m using the Eclipse compiler to build javac.

There are many tests included with the code. Unfortunately, the tests do not seem well organized (and after some preliminary tinkering, it doesn’t appear that many of them even work). The build file tests the compilation by having the results recompile itself. I love the metacircular stuff, but JUnit tests would be nice to have as well. Perhaps this will come in time.

Anyway, I have the javac code loaded and compiled and it seems to be working. I’m going to submit my .project and .classpath files as patches so that other Eclipse users can just load it and start playing immediately.

The topic of Eclipse SWAG (Souvenirs, Wearables, Accessories and Gifts) up every once in a while. There are a bunch of Eclipse shirts and hats out there already, but is there enough? Do you need Eclipse SWAG? What would you like to see: hats, shirts, monogramed undies? Are you willing to pay for it?

Add your comments to this bugzilla entry.

I’ll be honest. I’ve never had much time for certification. Personally, I am blissfully uncertified with an exception: by virtue of authoring an IBM Smalltalk certification test, am considered certified (actually, there were two tests). Well, that’s not totally true: I am also an “IBM Senior Certified I/T Specialist”. Though this certification is a lot more involved than the typical “pass a test and you’re certified” approach to certification.

I’ve never found certification interesting. I’ve known some extremely talented software developers who miserably failed language certification tests; I’ve worked with a few “aces” who passed the test, but are about as smart as a sack of hammers when it comes to writing software. Whenever I look at a resume, I just gloss over certifications, because my experience tells me that they’re just not all that valuable and really tell me nothing about the individual.

It seems that, according to research reported in eWeek, others out there agree.

The Eclipse Training working group has been discussing such things which is why I bring it up. Does the Eclipse community need certification?

I’m a pretty interactive guy, so these webinars are pretty hard for me. I thrive on feedback from the audience. Not just questions, but the looks on faces. This sort of information can tell you if you’re reaching them or not. In the webinar format, you just have to hope you’re reaching them and not boring them to death. That said, it’s a learning process and I think that I’m starting to understand it.

Since I know that Gunnar loves the pictures, here’a picture of Ian and I setting up for the webinar:The webinar presentation (PowerPoint) is here (you may have to wait until the mirrors finish replicating). The version that features my soothing voice will be available in the next day or two. If you’re interested in the code, the instructions for getting access to it are here.