I need to write an rcp program which uses a database to store some data and then later show the data to the user as a report.
For the reporting part I was thinking of using BIRT. However for the DB access part am confused which solution to use. What is the difference between EclipseLink and DataToolsPlatform (DTP)? Are they kind of doing the same?
EclipseLink is an object-relational mapper that is used to retrieve and save java objects into a relational database. It is based on the former TopLink persistence framework. DTP is a platform that provides tools to access and manage databases. It enables you to connect to databases edit and fire sql, stored procs etc.
So both could be interesting for you. If you want to write a plugin that stores and retrieves data to and from a database go for EclipseLink. If you already have your data in a database and you need to maintain it on SQL Level while using BIRT for reporting, than DTP is probably the right.