Notice: This Wiki is now read only and edits are no longer possible. Please see: https://gitlab.eclipse.org/eclipsefdn/helpdesk/-/wikis/Wiki-shutdown-plan for the plan.
EDT:FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions for the EGL Development Tools project
General
What is EGL?
EGL is a programming language that uses familiar programming concepts while abstracting lower level constructs to make developing applications easier. The goal of EGL is to allow developers to focus on what needs to be developed, and not on all the underlying plumbing that typically slows down development and hinders innovation. EGL was originally developed by IBM, then donated to the Eclipse community to order to provide an open, non-properitary langages to use and extend for multi-platform development. EGL, and its predecessor technology, is used by thousands of customers around the world. , but until now has not been easily accessible to the general public. Although EGL helps you create cutting-edge applications, it has a long, rich history. By making EGL open, it is accessbility to the broadest posssible group of people with the intention of increasing adoption of this language that people love after they try it.
What is the EGL Development Tools (EDT) project?
The EGL Development Tools (EDT) progect, is an open source programming technology that simplifies modern application development using EGL. EDT includes the EGL language as well as IDE and other tools to allow developer to quickly create rich internet applications (RIAs). EDT contains Rich UI technology which simplifies HTML and JavaScript development, as well as the capability to create Java-based REST services.
Who is EDT for?
EDT is intended for anyone who wants to develop web applications and services quickly and efficiently. Since the EGL syntax is easy for people to learn and can integrate across different business tiers, people from all development backgrounds (Java, PHP, COBOL, etc) find they are very productive using EGL.
Why would I be interested?
Let's face it - RIA / Web 2.0 application development is not easy. With EDT, you can spend more time building cool apps, and less time digging through JavaScript and Java reference manuals.
What types of apps can I create with EDT?
EDT helps you create RIAs (rich Internet applications) that take advantage of popular widget toolkits, like Dojo, and REST web services; all without getting your hands too dirty with the complexities typically associated with developing these kinds of applications.
What's the best way to learn EGL? Are there samples I can follow?
Learning resources continue to be developed for EDT. See the EDT Documentation for information including development guides such as Getting Started Guide and Language Reference, Samples and Tutorials, presentations, and more.
Can I contribute to EDT?
Contributions to EDT are welcomed! You can contribute at lots of different levels - from feedback on the functionality and design to coding your own extensions. As an open source project, EDT is developed by contributors and committers using the Eclipse process.
What EGL tools are still available from IBM?
IBM will continue to sell Rational Business Developer (RBD) which provides additional enterprise-level functionality for EGL development. RBD adds support for additional deployment options, integration with more third-party vendor databases, and generation to COBOL. As a commercial product, RBD provides full support to its entitled customers. Rational Developer for System z and Rational Developer for IBM i for SOA Construction both include a copy of RBD. IBM also will continue to sell Rational Migration Extensions, which enables customers to migrate from languages like Natural and RPG.
Downloading and using EGL Development Tools
When will it be available and how do I get it?
EDT 0.7 is available now! You can download EDT v0.7.0 now. Future releases of EDT will follow.
How do I install EDT?
See the installation instructions on the EDT Download page.
What platforms are supported?
The requirements are similar to the Eclipse IDE that EDT is based on. See the Supported platforms page for system requirements and supporting software. EDT was tested mainly on Windows platforms and some on Linux. EDT may work on other platforms supported by Eclipse.
What application servers can I deploy my applications to?
Initially just Tomcat 6.0, but we are looking at other options as well (WebSphere Community Edition, for example).
What databases are supported?
Initially, Apache Derby will be supported. Other databases that support JDBC, like DB2 and MySQL will probably work and have be had limited testing. See the Supported platforms page for more information.
What if I have questions? What type of support is provided?
Although no official technical support is provided for this edition of EGL, an EDT forum has been setup for you to ask questions. Your questions will likely be answered by our development teams or by other community members using the technology. For more ideas, see the EDT Support page.
How do I report any bugs or suggest additional features?
After signing in with your Eclipse.org user ID and reviewing the list of open EDT bugs (to prevent duplicates), you can enter a bug in Bugzilla. You can also use Bugailla to open enhancement requests for EDT.
Can I run existing RBD apps with EDT?
There have been some changes to the EGL language that may require you to change your RBD-developed applications to be modified prior to running on EDT. See the EGL Language conversion page for more information about updates to EGL.