System and method to interact with an Eclipse based application from an external system

Publication Summary

Eclipse is an open development platform comprising of extensible frameworks, tools and runtimes for building, deploying and managing software across the lifecycle. With the help of Eclipse Rich Client Platform (RCP) it is now possible to build and deploy rich client applications which are extensible and also work on a lot of platforms. Such applications need not necessarily pertain to software development. Eclipse, RCP applications, SWT applications and extensions to Eclipse or RCP applications via plugins qualify as Eclipse based applications. We have another stream of advancement where applications are being made available via a simple Web browser interface. Such applications are called Rich Internet Applications. A lot of applications like word processors and spread-sheet applications are available. These embody the Web 2.0 concepts and technologies. Most of these Rich Internet Applications are developed specially for the browser. Making a desktop application available as a web application requires a lot of thought and re-work. This invention relates to using the extensible platform of Eclipse and bringing Eclipse services to the web browser without requiring any modification to the original application. However, using the same concepts described in this invention, it is possible to interact with the Eclipse services using any User Interface like command line, messaging, mobile devices etc. Also the services need not necessarily be Graphical services. Here are a list of features: Technical features: 1. Making available Eclipse based applications for external modes of interaction. One mode of interaction is via the browser. This provides the Eclipse user interface on the browser for user interaction. This also applies to any SWT application that allows extensibility via plug-ins. 2. Include a plug-in within Eclipse thus converting it to an Eclipse server. Using this server, interacting with the Eclipse process during runtime using simple protocols like HTTP. Using this server to fetch User Interface definitions from Eclipse and also to simulate events in Eclipse. Defining this content fetched using an Abstract definition and then using it in various ways - displaying it on the browser, mobile devices, command line etc. 3. Making available any Eclipse based application on the web with no separate design or development effort. Software providers can web enable their application or provide other modes of interaction by installing a plug-in in Eclipse that provides these capabilities. Henceforth, this plugin is called the Eclifox plugin. 4. Any extension to the Eclipse based application via the Eclipse plugin model is immediately available for other modes of interaction provided by the Eclifox plugin without requiring any extra effort by the software developer. No significant changes to the Eclifox plugin is required. 5. The Eclipse server can serve multiple clients. Clients are users of browsers, command line, etc. 6. Running one Eclipse server and multiple instances of Eclipse on the client with different workspaces. 7. The clients can be kept in sync if multiple clients are accessing the same workspace in Eclipse. This allows users to work together and immediately view changes made by the other. 8. Users are able to share their application by sharing the URL of the Eclipse server with others. Business uses: 1. Anytime, anywhere software development using Eclipse based development environment as an on demand service. 2. Providing Eclipse based services on a 'pay per user, per use basis'. 3. Try and buy Eclipse based applications - Software providers can host their application so that users of the application can try the application first before downloading the desktop equivalent of the application. 4. Eclipse based service as an appliance.

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System and method to interact with an Eclipse based application from an external system

Authors -- Gautham B Pai, Kiran Subbaraman, Shrinivas S Kulkarni

The core idea of the invention is to make available, any Eclipse based application for other modes of interaction without the application developer writing any code for it. Examples for such modes of interaction are: a web interface, command line interface etc.

This is achieved by including a server within the Eclipse based application using the plug-in development model and then using this server to interact with the Eclipse process during runtime. Interaction with Eclipse involves fetching data from and feeding data to the Eclipse

process.

Sample interactions include:
fetching user interface definition from the running Eclipse process as an Abstract User Interface definition,
simulating the click of a mouse on a particular button in a view of Eclipse by generating the corresponding event etc. This also applies to any other application that has the above mentioned capabilities.

There have been efforts to web-enable desktop applications. These can be broadly categorized as follows:

Efforts where custom code is written to web-enable the applications. This involves a lot of effort.

Efforts where AJAX applications are built using an Eclipse programming model. This requires some effort on behalf of application developers. Ex: Rich Ajax Platform - RAP[1]. Efforts similar to J2S [2] where code-generators are used to convert entire desktop applications to web-based applications.

This invention solves the problem by tackling the problem at the level of SWT widgets in Eclipse. The basic controls provided by Eclipse are mapped to corresponding controls in a browser. Any new widget composed in Eclipse using the basic controls are thus automatically mapped in the browser.

The main advantages of this invention are:

Users don't need to install resource hungry applications. Users can remotely connect to the

1.

Eclipse process using various interfaces like Web Browsers, Mobile devices, Command shells etc.

Try and buy - Software providers can host their application so that users of the application

2.

can try the application first before downloading the desktop equivalent of the application. Users are able to access these applications anytime, anywhere since they are web-enabled.

3.

Multiple users working on the same project can collaborate using the web-based interface

4.

(also applies to other modes of interaction).

The application can be bundled as an appliance (a hardware/software combination) and

5.

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hosted by an enterprise to be accessible to all its employees.

Software configuration is centralized because a single install of the application can be shared

6.

by all the users of a team or project.

Software licensing issues can become easier by making the Eclipse s...

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