Sven Efftinge

itemis

What do you do?
I work as a development and branch manager for itemis, a strategic member at Eclipse. I'm in a lucky position as I work with a very skilled and friendly team on Eclipse Xtext and Eclipse Xtend. Xtext is a framework for development of programming languages including Eclipse Support, while Xtend is a modern functional language we have built with it, that translates to Java source code. When I'm not working on new features and other improvements in these open-source projects, I often help customers using these technologies or talk about the technologies at conferences. It's the best job I could possibly find.
The rest of my life is dedicated to travelling, music, good food and my family. I'm also obsessed with kiteboarding.

How long have you been using Eclipse?
I switched from Netbeans a couple of months after Eclipse was first made available. I think it was 2002. I built my first plug-in in 2003. It was a text editor for a template language (the first version of Xpand, in case anybody knows it).

Name three plugins you use and recommend:

• JDT - Java Development Tools: Every Java developer uses JDT of course, at least when Eclipse is the IDE of choice. I list it here to emphasize how good it actually is. A lot of complaints are being made about Eclipse in general, but in fact the platform plug-ins like JDT are rarely the problem. JDT is fast and reliable and one of the best programming language tools on the planet.
• Oomph: Oomph is a new project at eclipse which automates the setup of a developer's environment. Whenever someone enters a new team and project, people usually start the first two days setting up everything. With a proper Oomph configuration it's one click. You can share workspace settings within your team and it updates your local installation automatically. Very helpful for any kind of project, but especially for open-source projects. If you want to get contributions make it easy to get started. I can only recommend to try it.
• FindBugs: FindBugs can be a helpful guide when used properly. I don't use it on a regular basis, but I tend to look at it before releases.

Of course, I use the tools we build a lot. "Eat your own dog food" is an important principle for me.

What's your favorite thing to do when you're not working?
At the moment that is definitely kiteboarding. It's just so nice to get out on the water - just me and the wind. With kiteboarding it seems like the learning curve never ends, I learn so much every time I get out and I get into the flow immediately. I think of nothing else when I'm doing it. There's a reason everyone who tried it is addicted. I live directly on the coast and the next spot is just 20 minutes from the office. :-)