Credit: Dreamstime
The Eclipse Foundation has formed a working group to ensure the continued evolution and sustainability of the popular Eclipse IDE suite of technologies. In conjunction, a new quarterly release of the IDE, supporting the latest version of standard Java, has been published.
Called the Eclipse IDE Working Group, the panel will provide governance, guidance, and funding for communities that support delivery and maintenance of Eclipse IDE products.
Formally unveiled on June 17, the group will hone in on the desktop IDE and underlying technologies to meet market requirements. Members of the group include IBM, SAP, EclipseSource, and Yatta Solutions. The working group’s charter cites these specific tasks, among others:
- Oversee the development of the release plan
- Set criteria by which final products become “official”
- Provide a framework to guide the production of intermediate products required in the development of the IDE
- Act in coordination with the Eclipse Management Organization to administer the services hosted
- Assist in the growth of the ecosystem, including Eclipse Marketplace
Inquiries about participation in the working group can be made to Eclipse. Renowned particularly in the Java space, the open source Eclipse IDE has been around for 20 years and is used by millions of developers, according to Eclipse. The foundation also launched the 2021-06 release of the IDE on June 17, accessible at eclipse.org. Capabilities include:
- Support for Java 16, which was published in March.
- Improved Java development tools, with new cleanups and improved debug hovering.
- Support for Mac AArch64 (Arm64) architecture, leveraged in Apple M1 systems.
- An improved embedded terminal, supporting the opening of files and links with Ctrl+Click.
