Monday, December 31, 2007

Eclipse Startup Options: showlocation

If you are like me, then you probably have multiple installations of Eclipse installed on your computer. For example, I have one install for all of my JEE development, and another for my RCP development. One of the hardest things that I have found is distinguishing between which instance I am currently running.

Recently, I learned about the Running Eclipse startup option called "showlocation". By leveraging this startup option, you will always know which version of eclipse you are running because it will show you your workspace in the Eclipse title bar. Even better, if you are using at least Eclipse 3.2 - which was last year's Callisto's release, you can pass a String to describe the instance that you are currently running, and that will be shown in the Eclipse Title bar instead of the workspace.

Here is how I have my shortcuts currently configured:

JEE version
C:\myPrograms\Eclipse\eclipse-jee-europa-win32\eclipse\eclipse.exe -showlocation JEE -refresh -vmargs -Xms256M -Xmx256M

RCP version
C:\myPrograms\Eclipse\eclipse-rcp-europa-fall2-win32\eclipse\eclipse.exe -showlocation RCP -refresh -vmargs -Xms256M -Xmx256M

Share and enjoy...

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Is Mac redefining PC?

Apple may be well on the path to redefine the term PC. For years now, PC has been synonymous with Windows machines - instead of it's true definition of Personal Computer. With the current advertisements from Apple, we may have to adjust our definition of PC.

Don't you just love the new Apple commercials, comparing Windows and the Mac? Whoever is heading up this marketing campaign is earning every dollar of their salary and then some. I am curious to how many people will be receiving their first Mac this year for Christmas. I am pretty sure that I will be part of the crowd.

For years now, I have wondered why so many of my software developer friends prefer Macs to Window machines. I have had the stereotype that Macs were used by people who enjoy web development and graphic design. I always assumed that these types of people was the crowd that Macs were appealing to. My perception changed when I found some hard core Java developers who prefer the Mac environment to Windows. Then, I watched the demo of the latest release of OSX, Leopard, and I was hooked. The features and functionality that comes standard with this OS is simply amazing, and it appeals to everyone, not just software developers.

What does this mean to me? If I am right, and more people start switching from Windows to Mac, then that means that the overall Windows community is going to decline over time - windows specific languages, may not be the best investment of time and effort in learning. The current perception is the .NET should be used to develop desktop applications on the desktop while Java is more suited on the server. In the long run, maybe Java will not only reign supreme on the server side, but also on the desktop.

What are your thoughts?

Thursday, December 13, 2007

OSGi on Software Engineering Radio Podcast

The Software Engineering Radio Podcast if featuring an interview with Peter Kreins and B.J. Hardgrave on the subject of OSGi. For many people who ask me what OSGi is and why would someone want to use it, this is a great place to start. Enjoy.