Enterprise Pack for Eclipse 11gR1 Gets Application Wizard, ADF Debugger

• By Leila Meyer
• 10/06/11

Oracle has released a new version of Oracle Enterprise Pack for Eclipse, its free set of Eclipse-based plugins for developers building Java EE, Java Web, Web Service, Spring, and Oracle ADF applications for the Oracle Fusion Middleware platform. Oracle Enterprise Pack for Eclipse 11gR1 builds on existing support for the Oracle Application Development Framework (ADF), provides major enhancements to Eclipse refactoring, and introduces new tools for Oracle Coherence.

Oracle Enterprise Pack for Eclipse 11gR1 features support for Oracle ADF Task Flow development, a new ADF Debugger for troubleshooting applications at runtime, advanced refactoring capabilities that update changes across all dependencies, and a visual editor for the Oracle Coherence Cache Configuration.

New features in Oracle Enterprise Pack for Eclipse 11gR1 include:

• ADF application support to help develop and debug Oracle ADF applications without switching Integrated Development Environments (IDEs);
• An Application Project Wizard with new project templates to help users get started with Oracle ADF and Oracle WebLogic Server;
• Task Flow Support to help separate user interface (UI) navigation code from business logic for improved debugging and maintainability;
• Simplified development with the ADF Controller through new ADF Task Flow wizards, an ADF Task Editor, and support for drag-and-drop page creation with ADF Task Flows;
• Library Creation to enable developers to export an ADF application as a library for easy reuse in other ADF applications;
• Lifecycle Debugging to help developers to debug ADF pages, Java classes, Task Flow Definitions, and general ADF Lifecycle events;
• New variable and data views to make ADF application logic easier to understand at runtime;
• An ADF Expression Builder to enable developers to dynamically construct and run Expression Language statements;
• Data Model generation code generation templates for basic Create, Read, Update, and Delete capabilities using standard Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE) technologies, including JPA, EJB, and Managed Beans;
• New refactoring tools when updating existing code for Java Server Pages, Java Standard Tag Library, Java Server Faces, EJB, and JPA;
• Coherence Cache Configuration editor;
• Form-based Editor to reduce typing errors, malformed XML, or invalid values and to help with looking up reference material;
• Defaults to provide better understanding of default values of the Cache Configuration schema and default behavior;
• Sensitive Help Integration for quick access to Oracle Coherence documentation for specific form elements; and
• Completion for faster and more accurate data entry when not in design view and to reduce time spent in reference material.

Further information about Oracle Enterprise Pack for Eclipse 11gR1 can be found on the Oracle Eclipse portal.

Oracle also previewed the next generation of its Application Development Framework (ADF) Mobile, which is part of Oracle Fusion Middleware and an extension of the Oracle Application Development Framework. Oracle ADF Mobile enables native and Web functionality within a single mobile application, so developers can deploy the same application to multiple device platforms, include Apple iOS mobile devices.

Key features of Oracle ADF Mobile include:

• Simplified mobile application development for multiple device platforms;
• Strong native device services integration for developing applications that make use of calendars, cameras, GPS, and other smart phone capabilities; and
• Integration with Oracle Fusion Middleware and Oracle Applications.

Further information about Oracle ADF Mobile and availability updates can be found on the Oracle ADF portal.