JasperSoft Launches Report Designer For Eclipse IDE
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TechWeb - The iReport Plug-In for Eclipse is a graphical designer used to add reporting functions to applications. The new tool, along with JasperSoft's reporting libraries, are available at no charge under open-source licenses.
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The first article for this new monthly column looks at eric3, a GUI-based IDE for Python.
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The Eclipse section of the Sys-con.com website has posted a review of Zend's latest offering for PHP developers - Zend Studio for Eclipse.   Zend saw that this was a great place to cozy up to and has been developing a professional version of its PDT environment (released earlier this year) for over a year now.  The PDT version is its open source free-ware version of an editor IDE that is based on the Eclipse foundation materials. This article will attempt to introduce you to the Professional version that will be released soon.   They take an overview look first and the install process and what kind of "feel" the interface has. They also dive a little deeper into some of the other aspects of the software like the code editor, the debugger, preferences and the code gallery.
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InfoWorld - JasperSoft's next upgrade of its open-source business intelligence suite, due out Nov. 1, will improve the ability for users to create their own customized reports.
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JasperReports, the market leading open source business intelligence and reporting engine. This project is being moved to http://www.jasperforge.org/. This project is the home for all things Jasper, Reports, Analysis, Server, and Intelligence.   JasperReports 2.0.4 Change Log ===================================  - support for Dotted and Double line style added;  - warning messages added to signal the use of deprecated pen and box  attributes and tags in JRXML; all samples refactored;  - minor bug fixes and improvements;
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The Grails 1.0 open source Web application development framework was announced this week by G2One, which specializes in Groovy and Grails technology, and the Grails development team.Grails is built on Java and the Groovy language. It leverages APIs from the Java enterprise sphere including Spring, Hibernate, and SiteMesh, G2One and the development team said. With Grails, Java and Ruby developers get convention-based rapid development while leveraging existing knowledge and capitalizing on APIs Java developers have used for years."What we?re trying to achieve is really to fundamentally simplify Java EE [Enterprise Edition] development," said Graeme Rocher, creater of the Grails project and CTO at G2One.Grails is different from other dynamic language frameworks because it embraces Java and leverages Spring at its core, Rocher said. Spring's role in Grails is akin to being an enterprise application toolkit that features ease of use, he said. Hibernate is used for object-relational mapping in Grails, he said.Used mainly for Web applications and available previously in point releases, Grails also can be used for desktop applications and Web tiers. AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) support is built in through a prototype library, Rocher said. Plug-ins enable Grails to work with technologies such as Adobe Flex, Google Web Toolkit, and the Yahoo UI library.The 1.0 version has been in the making for two years and eight months. New features including an ORM DSL (Object Relational Mapping Domain Specific Language) for advanced mappings, support for easy-to-use filters, and content negotiation. REST (Representational State Transfer) also is leveraged, as is JNDI (Java Naming and Directory Interface).ORM DSL allows Grails to support legacy databases in applications. "Essentially, it?s a declarative way to say that this object maps on to these tables," Rocher said.Filters apply cross-cutting behaviors to Web applications to apply capabilities such as security, tracing, and logging. With REST support, Grails allows for existing Web objects to be converted to XML or JSON (JavaScript Object Notation), with tasks being automated.With JNDI, Grails provides the ability through Spring to look up existing programming objects such as a data source.Grails 1.0 is downloadable here. The Grails project receives 5,000 to 10,000 downloads per month, Rocher said.
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Beehive Code Now Available in Apache; XMLBeans Officially Approved as Apache Project
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(InfoWorld) - Borland Software on Tuesday will refresh the Silk application testing product line it acquired last year. Available now, the R 2006 Release 2 versions of the Silk products include: SilkCentral Test Manager, which is a J2EE framework for managing processes; SilkPerformer for load testing, and SilkTest for test automation. "This release focuses a lot on improving the process of testing," with incremental enhancements, said Brad Johnson, Borland product marketing director for lifecycle quality management. The Silk line "provides a quality framework that looks at software quality in a very holistic view from the beginning of the development cycle to when the applications are delivered," Johnson said. Featured in Test Manager is an Eclipse-based client that allows for manual testing of applications. "It's a small Eclipse application that enables manual testers to be given the direction and steps theyâre supposed to execute, the pass-fail criteria," said Johnson.Â  With manual testing, the user validates each step rather than using automation. The new client in Test Manager allows for testing to be done offline and be reported back to the test management console. Previously, manual testing in Test Manager required a Web interface. Manual testing can account for nearly 85 percent of testing efforts, Borland said. But it often has required an inefficient process utilizing Word documents and e-mail. Borland is looking to streamline this form of testing. Test Manager also features code coverage capabilities that connect code to a specific test so that when code changes, testers know which tests to modify. Test Manager now ships with integrated support for the Borland Gauntlet product, providing visibility and control over the early stages of developer testing. By adding Eclipse support, Borland is taking a step toward moving the product to support industry standards, said Carey Schwaber, senior analyst at Forrester Research. "I think any support for Eclipse is a good thing," Schwaber said. However, the proprietary scripting environment in Test Manager does not yet go away, she said. SilkPerformer offers improved monitoring through use of Java Management Extensions technology. "It lets us deploy the common Java servers from [BEA Systems] WebLogic, [IBM] WebSphere, and so forth," Johnson said. "It gives us deeper visibility." A new Eclipse plugin in SilkPerformer allows performance test development to be done within the Eclipse IDE. SilkTest adds support for Windows Vista so users can test applications developed for Vista at the UI level. "Every single testing vendor really needs to have support for Vista because one of the things that Vista introduces is the need to retest your applications," when migrating from other platforms, Schwaber said. "Our data show that people will be doing these migrations for the next couple of years." Other environments supported by SilkTest include Windows XP 64-bit operating systems, Internet Explorer 7.0, and .Net. SilkCentral Test Manager starts in price at $1,700 per named user, while SilkTest pricing begins at $4,500 per named user. SilkPerformer prices begin at roughly $10,000 per user. Borland acquired the Silk product line when it bought Segue Software in 2006.
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An open-source java accounting application that embeds OpenOffice and utilizes MySQL or OpenOffice's HSQLDB to create and administrate invoices, credit memos, delivery notes, bills etc.   This release is an overhaul which removes some old things which should have gone long ago (e.g. a way to book called "continuations") and introduces some features which should have been introduced long ago. It's now based on SWT 3.3 (Eclipse Europa) and NOA 2.0.9.  Code cleanups(bugs 1756730,1762621,1781961,1781967,1790963), now using SWT 3.3 (1762622) and NOA 2.0.9 (1762623), datepicker in balancewindow(1757811), dropped recordswindow and 'continuations'(1735535), credit memos are now automatically booked(1781964)  By default, this will install a new database file due to changes in the internal structure.  Download the new release at:  http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=130483&package_id=143018
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Microsoft late Tuesday released the first beta of its new Web design tool that will compete with the likes of Adobe Dreamweaver. The program is part of Microsoft's forthcoming Expression lineup, which also includes a graphical design tool and an interface designer.
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Open-source BI software vendor JasperSoft is set to unveil the final piece in its BI suite, JasperETL, after signing its first full-blown OEM deal with French vendor Talend. At the same time, the U.S. company will commit to complete internationalization of its entire BI suite.
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Eclipse Trader is a set of plugins for the Eclipse RCP (Rich Client Platform) dedicated to the building of an online stock trading system. This release add a context menu for customizing the history charts and two additional technical indicators.  To facilitate the installation process, we have also made available bundled packages for win32, linux and macosx systems.  Download from: http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=116488&package_id=132930
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Looking to make Web development easier for Java developers, the Apache Software Foundation began offering this week Apache Wicket 1.3, an open source component-based Web framework.Formerly housed at SourceForge, the Wicket project moved over to Apache last year; version 1.3 is the first release bearing the Apache nameplate, said Martijn Dashorst, chairman of the project and a senior software developer at Web application development firm Topicus. Enhancements have been made in areas such as AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) and portal support."The purpose [of Apache Wicket] is to make development for Java developers simple as a possible," Dashorst said. "We use a component model for that."Developers can create components with plain old Java and HTML, Dashorst said. Apache Wicket 1.3 is downloadable here.Developing Web applications in Java has been a problem; Apache looks to address this with Wicket, according to Dashorst. "In JSF (JavaServer Faces), for instance, it's fairly hard to create your custom components. You need to have almost a graduate degree to create custom components with JSF," he said.Apache Wicket's lack of reliance on XML is hailed on the project's Web site."With proper mark-up/logic separation, a POJO [Plain Old Java Objects] data model, and a refreshing lack of XML, Apache Wicket makes developing Web apps simple and enjoyable again. Swap the boilerplate, complex debugging and brittle code for powerful, reusable components written with plain Java and HTML," the site said. Wicket emphasizes a logical separation of design and code.A key improvement in version 1.3 is enhanced AJAX support. "Pages can be a lot more dynamic than previously," Dashorst said.Google Guice capability has been added as an alternative to using the Spring Framework with Wicket. Developers also can use Wicket pages directly in a portal without changing a line of code.Also new is the switch to the Apache license over from the Lesser GPL (GNU General Public License). "It's more business friendly," because it allows companies to create closed-source products from Wicket, Dashorst said.A user of Apache Wicket, Nicholas Heudecker, principal at software development firm System Mobile, said his company migrated to Wicket and away from Struts."With Wicket, it's just a lot easier. There's no extraneous configuration. Everything is controlled within the Java code," Heudecker said. "Once people have an opportunity to take a look at it, they'll really like it.?Although pleased with the extra AJAX support and development features in version 1.3, Heudecker added he wished there were better tools support for IDEs. Heudecker said he uses the JetBrains IntelliJ Idea IDE with Wicket but would like more tools.Version 1.3 can scale to very large numbers of users with stateless pages and components. An Apache Velocity template engine in version 1.3 allows for user-generated macros in applications such as a content management system.The logging API in Apache Wicket 1.3 switches from commons-logging to SLF4J (Simple Logging Fa?ade for Java). This bolsters debugging and makes application deployment safer.Although the current version of Wicket is anchored on Java Development Kit 4, the next release in a couple months will be based on Java 5, gaining benefits such as generics to improve safety, Dashorst said.Wicket has been downloaded about 120,000 times since it began three years ago. It was moved over to Apache because of infrastructure issues such as spam and sustaining outages in the Subversion repository at SourceForge, Dashorst said.SourceForge representatives could not be reached for a response.
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InfoWorld - An Eclipse IDE plug-in that would provide search capabilities specifically for developers is being readied by a University of California, Berkeley computer science professor.
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InfoWorld - Casting the open-source Eclipse platform as a linchpin of product uniformity efforts, BEA Systems plans to reconfigure several middleware clients so they can be plugged into the Eclipse IDE, a company official said on Monday.
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New plug-ins enable the IDE to accommodate newly popular dynamic languages.  Features include visual tools, test support and refactoring.
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Eclipse beater? NetBeans and Ruby, part 1 Let's be honest, the rise of the Eclipse development platform is the best thing to ever happen to Sun Microsystems' NetBeans integrated development environment (IDE).â¦