- Big Blue's Business Partners
- Developing in Linux and Windows Alike
- Sun, BEA and Microsoft Say "No"
- Intel, Fujitsu, and SAS Say "Yes"
- Universities Join with Industry
- FEAT and Hipikat
- The Future Looks Bright
Developing in Linux and Windows Alike
Noncommercial developers are deploying Eclipse as well. University researchers, in particular, are now being targeted through the IBM-funded Eclipse Innovation Grant Program.
"Many university researchers had been working in isolation on boutique-type projects that had little impact on industry. By targeting their work into Eclipse, we're helping researchers to deal with the demand side," Erickson says.
"With Eclipse, we now have a development platform that lots of people are using. So, development costs are coming down," maintains Gail Murphy, who teaches computer science at the University of British Columbia (UBC), one of the 2003 award recipients.
"Before Eclipse, developers had to create each tool in different versions. Also, the degree to which you could integrate was not as flexible," according to Murphy.
At some schoolsincluding Purdue University in the U.S. and York University (Canada)programming students are using Eclipse across mixed environments encompassing both Linux and Windows.
"Until now, the application market for Linux has been smaller, so Linux developers have been more limited in scope. Eclipse helps to change the ecosystem. Eclipse shows that Linux is bring viewed as an important part of the development market," according to IBM's rep to Eclipse.
In February 2003, IBM acquired Rational Software, another key founding partner of Eclipse. Rational was then established as a separate division within IBM, along the same lines as divisions previously set up for Lotus and Tivoli after IBM bought those two companies.
In September 2003, however, Eclipse began to reorganize into an entity envisioned as less closely connected to IBM.