Darin,
I think it may be easier to understand the goal of the ALMIIF project by
seeing it as ?middleware? for the Application Life Cycle process tools.
It?s true, by design Eclipse is a platform where tools can ?sit side by
side and play well together?, but in the application life cycle space, the
tools need to be able to share information at a deeper level. For
example, a common feature request for Openmake is to include a bug issue
number or an enhancement request number in the footprint and build audit
report that Openmake generates. The specific request is to show the
corresponding number listed next to the actual dependent source code that
was updated and used in the build. While we can easily identify the
source dependencies, and even grab Version Control item history from SCM
repositories, going all the way back to a issue number or an enhancement
request stored in a different location is a bit of a challenge; however,
if we could rely on the Eclipse ALMIIF middleware to help us get that
information, it would be a huge win for everyone involved. At minimum,
the ALMIIF project would define the vocabulary and data elements that are
common between the tools and provide a set of APIs that all tools can
interface with to provide easy sharing of information. So, in some ways
we need to go beyond sitting ?side by side? but actually ?shake hands?.
Personally, I believe this project is an important step for the Eclipse
platform. It elevates Eclipse from being a developer centric IDE to an
IDE that addresses software development as a business process -and that is
precisely what global 2000 companies are looking for.
Tracy Ragan
CEO - Catalyst Systems Corporation
Openmake