Eclipse 3.1 Released

Jeff Myers writes "Eclipse version 3.1 was just released and is available for download. There are quite a few new and noteworthy features added in this release - including full support for Java 5.0 and improved support for developing rich client applications based on the Eclipse platform." Update: 06/28 21:03 GMT by Z : Denis emailed to request we use mirrors, as they're already getting hammered pretty hard.

Comments

Is it just me, or couldn't posts about Dev things

[WillAffleckUW]

maybe include:

1. a short description of what it is [a better browser, a sliced bread device, a program for counting sheep]; and

2. a link to a resource page on what it is [like the basic description in detail for geeks] ...

Seriously, I haven't the faintest idea what Eclipse is - is it a device to crash the moon into the earth to make a [evil laugh] MILLION DOLLARS!!! - or is it the latest hamster-management software program for hamster farming?

ok, i'll be quiet ... but seriously, you only post a short two line post on something and no details and the frickin web site is /. already so who the heck knows what it is ...

Eclipse?

[Txiasaeia]

For those of us not in the know and who might possibly be interested in this application, would it be possible from now on for submitters to include a brief description of what the program actually does, and maybe what OSes you can use it on? I think this is fair considering anytime I want to R the FA it's already been pounded into glue by the slashdot hordes.

Re:Eclipse?

[Txiasaeia]

Reasonable for who? I'm not a programmer (I gave up and googled it) and therefore wouldn't have come across the term in the course of my everyday life. It's "News for Nerds," not "News for Programmers." Anyway, would it really be so difficult to include a brief description of what the program does? We're talking about *one sentence*, not a doctoral dissertation.

Bit Torrent

[amembleton]

Are there any .torrent links for this new version of Eclipse?

Re:Is Java dead ?

[swilver]

Is java suffering from the same problems that every other previous attempt to make an interpreted language work suffered from? Is it just too slow?

No, because the "bytecode" is not actually interpreted all the time, it is in fact interpreted and then compiled into native code and re-used from then on. The code thus produced is specific to your platform, so it can produce code specifically for your Pentium 4 (or whatever you are using) while normal binaries for your platform are often compiled for 80386 (for example).

The price you pay is a slightly increased startup time when new code gets loaded because it still needs to finish compilation.

Remember when Java was once a viable "plugin" for your browser? When was the last time you used it?

Today I think. My bank uses it for secure authentication.

Remember when Java was supposed to be next foundation for desk top applications? Where are they?

I don't ever remember hearing that, I believe Java was to be the next foundation for server side applications. It certainly delivered on that promise.

However, there are a few desktop applications written in Java that are very useable and very nice. Azureus and Eclipse are excellent examples. Most people don't even realize they're written in Java because they look and feel just like normal Windows applications thanks to SWT.

Java's not the new C++ , it's the new Pascal.

I think Java is neither. The programming model is a lot less complex than either of those, yet very powerful. C++/Pascal programmers often have problems letting go of the concept of pointers and have trouble accomplishing things in Java without them. Takes a bit of getting used to.

Re:Mirror/Torrent anywhere?

[ClamChwdrMan]

Set up a torrent next time, and promote using that. I know I would, even if it's slower initially.

Re:Stupid "features"

[rimu guy]

Java 5.0 support means that it will run faster, and help you make programs faster, that run faster, too, in a nutshell.

Incorrect. Eclipse 3.0 has always run just fine on a java5 jvm. And it gets the small speed increase that VM imparts.

JDK 5 support means that the editor 'knows' about the new java5 langauage features. And moreover the editor can refactor code using that knowledge.

--
Tomcat Hosting

Re:mirror list

[natet]

I'd like to recommend a couple of things to the Eclipse project folks...

1. Don't announce the latest and greatest version of your project until all your mirrors are up to date and have said version. It's just annoying to start clicking on links, only to get a 404 error.

2. Please list the mirror sites somewhere prominantly on your site, and don't make us go through some dynamic scripting just to go to a mirror site to get the software. When I did finally get to a list of mirror sites, the links were completely useless because I had to go through your massively overburdened servers to access them. I started copying the link url and copying out the real url to the mirror site (of course, none of the mirrors I tried actually had the drop, so that was pointless).

Recipe for /.ing

[dtfinch]

1) Release 100mb download, with stated goal of reaching a million downloads.
2) Post link on slashdot _before_ the download has been mirrored.
3) Watch in horror as tens of thousands of users try to download from the main server because it's not on the mirrors because the mirrors can't reach the main server.

Re:mirror list

[Anonymous Coward]

Your first point is not the fault of the Eclipse folks - they didn't let the cat out of the bag. When the story was posted on Slashdot nothing was posted yet on the Eclipse site about the 3.1 release. There isn't much the Eclipse folks can do if people make posts such as this story before all the mirrors get synched up.