ONLY OPEN SOURCE TOOLS PLATFORM -- NETBEANS.ORG -- EXPANDS FUNCTIONALITY WITH MORE THAN A DOZEN MAJOR COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTIONS
ONLY OPEN SOURCE TOOLS PLATFORM -- NETBEANS.ORG -- EXPANDS FUNCTIONALITY WITH MORE THAN A DOZEN MAJOR COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTIONS
Additional Modules Help Streamline
Development of Web Applications and
Services
PALO ALTO, CA -- May 21, 2001 -- Sun
Microsystems, Inc. today announced that
the NetBeans open source project
(www.netbeans.org) has added more than a
dozen additional modules into its open
source code base. These modules make
the standards-based integrated
development environment (IDE) platform
more complete and expand its appeal to a
broader audience of Java technology
developers. The modules will streamline
Java application development and address
a range of issues, including integration
with Apache's "Ant" XML scriptable build
tool, improved application server
deployment support and SOAP-based Web
services generation and deployment.
"The developer tools arena needs to
evolve at a faster pace than any single
vendor can support," said Stans
Kleijnen, vice president, Forte Tools,
Sun Microsystems. "Contributions by the
open source community are significantly
advancing the functionality of the
NetBeans platform. We are glad to be
part of the groundswell of developers
who value the benefits of building
software without fear of being locked
into proprietary technology."
The NetBeans tools platform reflects
input from the development community
that uses and supports it. Due to its
modular architecture, tool developers
can add new functionality to the
environment, independent of conventional
release cycles. Because the platform is
built on a common, publicly available
code base, users benefit from the
continuing enhancements and reliability
inherent in the open source model.
Sun's Forte for Java product is
the company's commercial distribution of
the NetBeans IDE, encompassing the
NetBeans code plus additional modules.
"NetBeans is the foundation for my
development environment," said Casey
Kochmer, president, Amberjack Software,
which maintains the JSP Insider
(www.jspinsider.com) Web site. "I can
count on the high quality of its
capabilities to make my coding job easy.
The open source nature of NetBeans is
important since this means that the
product is easily available to anyone
whom we assist in learning JSP
technology. All this means that
NetBeans is the yard stick I use for
comparing all other development
environments."
The New NetBeans Modules Following are
the new NetBeans modules, which have
been contributed by members of the open
source community and have been accepted
for inclusion into the NetBeans code
base. They are available now at
www.netbeans.org:
- Ant Module -- Seamlessly integrates Ant,
a Java technology- and XML-based
automated build tool from Apache's
Jakarta project
(http://jakarta.apache.org/ant/). This
module allows the creation of legible
and customizable XML scripts that can
build, test and deploy Java technology
and other applications.
- CPPLite -- This module provides
lightweight support for the C and C++
languages, including syntax
highlighting, compilation and execution.
- ExtBrowser Module -- While the NetBeans
platform includes an internal Web
browser written in the Java language,
the ExtBrowser module allows developers
to use their browser of choice to easily
view documentation, test Web
applications or develop HTML documents.
- JASM -- The Java Assembler module
supports the viewing and editing of Java
bytecode. This module enables
developers to see precisely what the
Java Virtual Machine (JVM) is doing
when it is executing their code.
- Java CVS Module -- This CVS client is
fast, 100 percent pure Java technology
and is seamlessly integrated into the
NetBeans platform. Using the popular
CVS source code control system,
repository files are transparently
presented in the NetBeans platform,
eliminating the overhead of using an
external program for source control.
- J2EE Server Module -- This module
gives developers significant freedom of
choice by implementing generic
application server deployment support,
providing a Service Provider Interface
(SPI) for the special features of
individual application servers. Any
developer or vendor can use this SPI to
build seamless, powerful support for an
application server within the
development environment.
- Jini Network Technology Module --
This module provides support for
development of Jini services, Jini
clients, whole Jini applications and
easy management of the Jini
infrastructure.
- Java Naming and Directory Interface
Module (JNDI) -- This module helps
developers write applications that use
JNDI to access various naming services.
It features a JNDI browser for viewing
the contents of naming services.
Developers may select a named item in
the browser and generate binding or
lookup code.
- Macintosh OS X Support -- With new
launchers for Mac OS X, the NetBeans
software is now available to developers
on the Macintosh platform.
- MDI Windowing Support -- With this
capability, the NetBeans platform now
supports both the traditional multiple
window interface and a new Multiple
Document Interface (MDI) mode, in which
all components of the IDE appear in a
single window, or combinations of both
modes.
- Multi-Session Debugger Module -- This
module extends the capabilities of the
NetBeans debugger. It allows developers
to debug distributed network
applications, such as client/server
applications based on Enterprise
JavaBeans components.
- OpenVMS Support -- This capability
provides launchers and patches enabling
the IDE to run on the OpenVMS operating
system.
- RemoteFS -- Developers can use this
module to easily gain transparent access
to files on remote servers using the FTP
protocol. This enables developers to
interact with remote files as if they
were stored locally and enables all
other extensions to the IDE to also
interact with these remote files through
this transparent interface.
- RMI (Remote Method Invocation) Module --
RMI is a standard Java technology
extension that enables objects to
communicate with each other across JVM
platforms and computers. This module
provides support for development of RMI
applications that span multiple JVM
platforms. It includes an RMI Wizard,
RMI specific compilation and execution,
RMI Registry Browser and Activation
Browser.
- Scripting Module -- This module provides
support for both editing and running
user application files written in a
scripting language, as well as
automating IDE functions with that
language. The module is built with
support for the DynamicJava, BeanShell
and JPython open source projects and
provides a Service Provider Interface
for integrating additional languages.
- VCS Generic Support Module -- This
module enables developers to integrate
any version control system that has a
command-line interface into the IDE.
The module comes with configurations for
several popular version control systems,
which developers can use as is or
customize.
- WASP Tools -- This module brings SOAP
Web services to the open source world,
allowing developers to generate Java
code from WSDL or turn a Java class into
a Web-based service that can be
immediately tested in the IDE. The
generated code can be deployed using the
WASP (Web Applications and Services
Platform) from Idoox (www.idoox.com).
The netbeans.org community site serves
as the coordination point for the
development and testing of the NetBeans
tools platform by providing discussion
forums, software engineering tools,
certified releases, mailing lists, issue
tracking and version control.
CollabNet, a leading provider of
collaborative software development
solutions based on open source concepts,
is providing the infrastructure for
netbeans.org.
For more information on the NetBeans
modules, developers and contributors,
visit
http://www.netbeans.org.
About Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision -- "The
Network Is The Computer" -- has propelled Sun
Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW), to its position as a
leading provider of industrial-strength hardware, software
and services that power the Internet and allow companies
worldwide to take their businesses to the nth. With $19.2
billion in annual revenues, Sun can be found in more than
170 countries and on the World Wide Web at http://sun.com.
Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun
logo, The Network Is The Computer,
Forte, Java, Java Naming and Directory
Interface, Jini, JSP, JVM, J2EE and
NetBeans are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in
the United States and in other
countries.
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