Eclipse and the Rich Client Platform (RCP) together form a leading development platform. It provides a lightweight software component framework based on plug–ins. In addition to allowing Eclipse to be extended using other programming languages, it provides the key to the seamless integration of tools with Eclipse. The RCP gives Eclipse its modularity: Eclipse employs plug–ins in order to provide all of its functionality on top of (and including) the RCP, in contrast to some other applications where functionality is typically hard–coded. RCP apps are platform independent: they can be built for all major operating systems such as Windows, Linux, and Mac from a single code base. And the RCP provides a professional look and feel for applications.

Practical Eclipse Rich Client Platform Projects is a clear and technical guide for Eclipse developers to help them enhance their knowledge and achieve their goals quickly.

• The book explains the technical concepts easily and in an engaging way.
• The text provides plenty of source code and images as learning aids.
• Several practical projects and case studies are included.

What you’ll learn

• Understand RCP basics, architecture, and foundations.
• Use and incorporate plug–ins with Eclipse.
• Design and develop user interface components and work with the Eclipse Forms APIs.
• Add and integrate 2D graphics using the Graphical Editing Framework.
• Build professional–looking and functional reports with Eclipse Business Intelligence and Reporting Tools (BIRT).
• Create visually more dynamic 3D graphics by incorporating OpenGL into Eclipse.
• Add help support and automated updates via the Update Manager.

Who this book is for

The primary audience of this book is developers and software engineers involved in user interface development with the Eclipse platform. Also, this book will be valuable to scientists, students, practitioners, and all those interested in multi-platform user interface development.