Success stories of Eclipse as an application framework (RCP)

Question

I keep reading about Eclipse as an application framework (i.e. about Eclipse Rich Client Platform). I am unable to find comprehensive list of success stories of Eclipse as an application framework (RCP) other than Eclipse as an IDE which is extremely popular. I have seen customer testimonials of Netbeans platform, but not for Eclipse Rich Client platform.

What are the case-studies or success stories of Eclipse as an application framework (Rich Client Platform) in commercial and open source world?

Answer 1

My company was quite sucessful creating an aircraft mission planning system using the Eclipse RCP framework. It was not without it's hassles ( mostly the fact that the new interfaces you are supposed to use are not well documented much of the time ), but it did give us a huge leg up and provided a lot of useful archetecture.

In many respects we are just an editor, but instead of a text file you are modifying a database describing a mission with an aircraft, and many of the interactions are through a 3D globe displayed in a view. Databinding helps keep the various views and editors in sync all the time ( although the threading issues between the SWT application and a third-party AWT widget through data-binding calls was a nightmare I'd rather not revisit )

It was a complex program that basically took three developers who didn't know Eclipse going in about a year to write. Today we are extending it for other customers by adding more plugins.

Answer 2

I can add my own humble success story using RCP as a client platform. In has a slow learning curve, but once mastered, there are huge benefits. In particular :

• Platform neutral. It runs well on windows and linuxes, there are little surprises here and there, but overall it's being great so far.
• Built in update management, fantastic for version releases and fixes.
• It scales up great, adding new features is almost painless.
• Being a platform and not just a GUI library, it gives lots of perks.

Cons :

• Not every application fits the eclipse philosophy and view/editor paradigm.
• It's relatively tough for beginners
• It can be way too cumbersome for achieving simple tasks
• Documentation is not the best, community is rather small, comparing to other alternatives..

Overall, I don't regret by choosing it. I personally hate web based clumsy and slow performing interfaces. Here you've got native, fast and responsive GUI naturally integrated with the desktop.

Answer 3

Take a look at XMind. It's a mind mapping application on top of RCP. I know some seasoned users who didn't realize it was a Java application at all. It just looks good.

Answer 4

Here is a list of open source products built on the Eclipse Rich Client Platform: http://www.eclipse.org/community/rcpos.php

Commercial products: http://www.eclipse.org/community/rcpcp.php