RIM Releases New Developer Tools
It looks like RIM decided to not wait until the start of WES to release their latest developer tools. There are 4 key items in the new tools:
- Java Plugin 1.1 for Eclipse - The BlackBerry Java Plugin 1.1 for Eclipse supports Eclipse 3.5 and is a marked improvement over the previous 1.0 plugin. The new plugin has been redesigned to fit more naturally into the Eclipse platform's working model and paradigm so the new plugin will be inline with what Eclipse user's expect from Eclipse plugins.
- Java Development Environment 5.0 - The classic development tool for BlackBerry applications has finally been released with official support for OS 5.0. We recently discussed the seemingly endless beta process this tool was going through and now it has finally been released to the public. This new 5.0 version includes new APIs for:
- OpenGL ES 3D graphics
- Audio and video multimedia support
- New user interface components like spin boxes and screen transitions
- Storing application data in a SQLite database
- Location based service APIs for geocoding, reverse geocoding, and cell tower based geolocation.
- A hot swap simulator - This means developers no longer have to stop and restart the device simulator each time they want to test some new code in an application they are working on. The updated application is deployed to the device and it replaces the existing previous version of the application on the simulator. This is definitely going to make my life a lot easier and save me some time! When this was teased at DevCon 2009 the crowd exploded with cheers and clapping when this was demonstrated during the General Session/Keynote Address.
- Widget and web development tools are combined together - Both the widget and web development tools have been combined into a single convenient plugin.
The release of these tools is great news for developers who have been waiting for some of them for a long time. I'm already downloading all the new tools as I'm writing this news post. So much for my plans for today, I'll definitely be playing with these fantastic new tools instead.
