NetBeans adds ties to devices, ALM

18.01.2007
Sun Microsystems will advance the NetBeans open-source tools platform on devices and the application lifecycle management (ALM) front on Thursday.

Sun and the are announcing the availability of NetBeans Mobility Pack for Connected Device Configuration (CDC) 5.5 for developing applications for devices such as full-featured smart phones. NetBeans also is being fitted with a plug-in for ALM, which could be a precursor to a full-scale NetBeans ALM initiative.

Featuring code contributions from Ricoh, the CDC pack provides for visual design and development of Java ME (Java Platform Micro Edition) applications for devices using CDC. The CDC technology features an embedded Java solution for smart phones, set-top boxes, and multifunction peripherals.

"[CDC is] designed to run on systems with a more powerful processor and additional memory" than standard phones used for voice calls, said Dan Roberts, Sun's director of developer tools marketing. A smart phone can feature applications such as e-mail and calendaring.

"The CDC market is relatively small, but it's a growing market," Roberts said.

NetBeans offers support for CDC that is lacking in the rival Eclipse open source tools initiative, Roberts claimed. "Eclipse doesn't really have support at all for CDC, so this isn't an area that they're investing significant resources in," he said.