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Project Plan For Eclipse Project, version Luna

Introduction

Last revised 04:15 EST December 5, 2013. ((new) marks interesting changes since the previous draft of August 20, 2013.)

Please send comments about this plan to the eclipse-dev@eclipse.org developer mailing list.

This document lays out the feature and API set for the next feature release of the Eclipse SDK after 4.3, designated release 4.4 and code-named Luna.

Plans do not materialize out of nowhere, nor are they entirely static. To ensure the planning process is transparent and open to the entire Eclipse community, we (the Eclipse Project PMC) post plans in an embryonic form and revise them throughout the release cycle.

The first part of the plan deals with the important matters of release deliverables, release milestones, target operating environments, and release-to-release compatibility. These are all things that need to be clear for any release, even if no features were to change.

The remainder of the plan consists of plan items for all of the sub-projects under the top level Eclipse Project. Each plan item covers a feature or API that is to be added to the Eclipse Project deliverables, or some aspect of the Eclipse Project that is to be improved. Each plan item has its own entry in the Eclipse bugzilla database, with a title and a concise summary (usually a single paragraph) that explains the work item at a suitably high enough level so that everyone can readily understand what the work item is without having to understand the nitty-gritty detail.

Not all plan items represent the same amount of work; some may be quite large, others, quite small. Some plan items may involve work that is localized to a single component; others may involve coordinated changes to several components; other may pervade the entire SDK. Although some plan items are for work that is more pressing than others, the plan items appear in no particular order.

With the previous release as the starting point, this is the plan for how we will enhance and improve it. Fixing bugs, improving test coverage, documentation, examples, performance tuning, usability, etc. are considered routine ongoing maintenance activities and are not included in this plan unless they would also involve a significant change to the API or feature set, or involve a significant amount of work. The intent of the plan is to account for all interesting feature work.

The current status of each plan item is noted:

  • Committed plan item - A committed plan item is one that we have decided to address for the release.
  • Proposed plan item - A proposed plan item is one that we are considering addressing for the release. Although we are actively investigating it, we are not yet in a position to commit to it, or to say that we won't be able to address it. After due consideration, a proposal will either be committed or deferred.
  • Deferred plan item - A reasonable proposal that will not make it in to this release for some reason is marked as deferred with a brief note as to why it was deferred. Deferred plan items may resurface as committed plan items at a later point.

Release Deliverables

The release deliverables have the same form as previous releases, namely:

  • Source code release for all Eclipse Project deliverables, available as versions tagged "R4_4" in the Eclipse Project Git repositories.
  • Eclipse SDK (runtime binary and SDK for Equinox[*], Platform, JDT, and PDE) (downloadable).
  • Eclipse Platform (runtime binary for Equinox[*] and Platform only) (downloadable).
  • Eclipse RCP (runtime and source repositories for the Rich Client Platform) (downloadable).
  • Eclipse JDT (runtime and source repositories for the Java Development Tooling) (downloadable).
  • Eclipse PDE (runtime and source repositories for the Plug-in Development Environment) (downloadable).
  • Eclipse SDK Examples (downloadable).
  • SWT distribution (downloadable).

* The Equinox Project is part of the top level RT Project. A significant portion of the Equinox deliverables are consumed and redistributed as part of the Eclipse Project's SDK, Platform, and RCP deliverables.

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Release Milestones

Release milestones will be occurring at roughly 6 week intervals, and will be aligned with the Luna Simultaneous Release train.

M12013-08-09
4.4M1
M22013-09-20
4.4M2
M32013-11-01
4.4M3
M42013-12-13
4.4M4
M52014-01-24
4.4M5
M62014-03-07
4.4M6 (API Freeze)
M72014-05-02
4.4M7 (Feature Freeze)

Individual, milestone level plans for the components that make up the Eclipse Project can be found on the Eclipse Project Luna Plan page on the Eclipse wiki.

Our target is to complete 4.4 in late June 2014, in alignment with Luna. All release deliverables will be available for download as soon as the release has been tested and validated in the target operating configurations listed below.

Dates for builds and test passes after M7 will be available in the Eclipse 4.4 Endgame Plan.

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Target Environments

In order to remain current, each Eclipse Project release targets reasonably current operating environments.

Most of the Eclipse SDK is "pure" Java code and has no direct dependence on the underlying operating system. The chief dependence is therefore on the Java Platform itself. Portions are targeted to specific classes of operating environments, requiring their source code to only reference facilities available in particular class libraries (e.g. J2ME Foundation 1.1, J2SE 1.4, Java 5, etc).

In general, the 4.4 release of the Eclipse Project is developed on a mix of Java SE 6 and Java SE 7 VMs. As such, the Eclipse SDK as a whole is targeted at all modern, desktop Java VMs. Most functionality is available for Java SE 6 level development everywhere, and extended development capabilities are made available on the VMs that support them.

Appendix 1 contains a table that indicates the class library level required for each bundle.

There are many different implementations of the Java Platform running atop a variety of operating systems. We focus our testing on a handful of popular combinations of operating system and Java Platform; these are our reference platforms. Eclipse undoubtedly runs fine in many operating environments beyond the reference platforms we test. However, since we do not systematically test them we cannot vouch for them. Problems encountered when running Eclipse on a non-reference platform that cannot be recreated on any reference platform will be given lower priority than problems with running Eclipse on a reference platform.

Eclipse 4.4 is tested and validated on the following reference platforms (this list is updated over the course of the release cycle):

Operating System Version Hardware JRE Windowing System
Windows 7 x86 32-bit Oracle Java 7u45
Oracle Java 6u45
IBM Java 6 SR15
Win32
x86 64-bit
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 x86 32-bit Oracle Java 7u45
Oracle Java 6u45
IBM Java 6 SR15
Open JDK 7u40
GTK
x86 64-bit
Power 64-bit IBM Java 6 SR15
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 x86 32-bit Oracle Java 6u45
IBM Java 6 SR15
GTK
x86 64-bit
Power 64-bit IBM Java 6 SR15
Ubuntu Long Term Support 12.04 x86 32-bit Oracle Java 6u45
IBM Java 6 SR15
GTK
x86 64-bit
Oracle Solaris 11 x86 32-bit Oracle Java 6u45 GTK
SPARC 32-bit
HP-UX 11i v3 ia64 64-bit HP-UX Java 6u20 GTK
IBM AIX 7.1 Power 64-bit IBM Java 6 SR15 GTK
Apple Mac OS X 10.8 Universal 32-bit Oracle Java 7u45 Cocoa
x86 64-bit

As stated above, we expect that Eclipse works fine on other current Java VM and OS versions but we cannot flag these as reference platforms without significant community support for testing them.

Internationalization

The Eclipse SDK is designed as the basis for internationalized products. The user interface elements provided by the Eclipse SDK components, including dialogs and error messages, are externalized. The English strings are provided as the default resource bundles.

Latin-1, DBCS, and BiDi locales are supported by the Eclipse SDK on all reference platforms.

The Eclipse SDK supports GB 18030 (level 1), the Chinese code page standard, on Windows, Linux and the Macintosh.

German and Japanese locales are tested.

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Compatibility with Previous Releases

Compatibility of Release 4.4 with 4.3

Eclipse 4.4 will be compatible with Eclipse 4.3 (and all earlier 3.x versions).

API Contract Compatibility: Eclipse SDK 4.4 will be upwards contract-compatible with Eclipse SDK 4.3 except in those areas noted in the Eclipse 4.4 Plug-in Migration Guide . Programs that use affected APIs and extension points will need to be ported to Eclipse SDK 4.4 APIs. Downward contract compatibility is not supported. There is no guarantee that compliance with Eclipse SDK 4.4 APIs would ensure compliance with Eclipse SDK 4.3 APIs. Refer to Evolving Java-based APIs for a discussion of the kinds of API changes that maintain contract compatibility.

Binary (plug-in) Compatibility: Eclipse SDK 4.4 will be upwards binary-compatible with Eclipse SDK 4.3 except in those areas noted in the Eclipse 4.4 Plug-in Migration Guide . Downward plug-in compatibility is not supported. Plug-ins for Eclipse SDK 4.4 will not be usable in Eclipse SDK 4.3. Refer to Evolving Java-based APIs for a discussion of the kinds of API changes that maintain binary compatibility.

Source Compatibility: Eclipse SDK 4.4 will be upwards source-compatible with Eclipse SDK 4.3 except in the areas noted in the Eclipse 4.4 Plug-in Migration Guide . This means that source files written to use Eclipse SDK 4.3 APIs might successfully compile and run against Eclipse SDK 4.4 APIs, although this is not guaranteed. Downward source compatibility is not supported. If source files use new Eclipse SDK APIs, they will not be usable with an earlier version of the Eclipse SDK.

Workspace Compatibility: Eclipse SDK 4.4 will be upwards workspace-compatible with earlier 3.x and 4.x versions of the Eclipse SDK unless noted. This means that workspaces and projects created with Eclipse SDK 4.3, 4.1, .. 3.0 can be successfully opened by Eclipse SDK 4.4 and upgraded to a 4.4 workspace. This includes both hidden metadata, which is localized to a particular workspace, as well as metadata files found within a workspace project (e.g., the .project file), which may propagate between workspaces via file copying or team repositories. Individual plug-ins developed for Eclipse SDK 4.4 should provide similar upwards compatibility for their hidden and visible workspace metadata created by earlier versions; 4.4 plug-in developers are responsible for ensuring that their plug-ins recognize metadata from earlier versions and process it appropriately. User interface session state may be discarded when a workspace is upgraded. Downward workspace compatibility is not supported. A workspace created (or opened) by a product based on Eclipse 4.4 will be unusable with a product based on an earlier version of Eclipse. Visible metadata files created (or overwritten) by Eclipse 4.4 will generally be unusable with earlier versions of Eclipse.

Non-compliant usage of API's: All non-API methods and classes, and certainly everything in a package with "internal" in its name or x-internal in the bundle manifest entry, are considered implementation details which may vary between operating environment and are subject to change without notice. Client plug-ins that directly depend on anything other than what is specified in the Eclipse SDK API are inherently unsupportable and receive no guarantees about compatibility within a single release much less with earlier releases. Refer to How to Use the Eclipse API for information about how to write compliant plug-ins.

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Themes and Priorities

The plan items listed below were defined according to contributor requirements and the Eclipse Themes and Priorities set forth by the Eclipse Requirements Council. Each plan item covers a feature or API that is to be added to the Eclipse Project deliverables, or some aspect of the Eclipse Project that is to be improved. Each plan item has its own entry in the Eclipse bugzilla database, with a title and a concise summary (usually a single paragraph) that explains the work item at a suitably high enough level so that everyone can readily understand what the work item entails.

Although there are three mature projects under the top-level Eclipse Project, there is a significant amount of commonality and shared effort between them. In general, many plan items involve coordinated changes to multiple components, and thus attempting to separate the items into sections based on sub-project leads to artificial distinctions between them (e.g., Platform Text vs. JDT Text, Platform Debug vs. JDT Debug, etc.). As such, this plan covers the work of all mature projects under the top level Eclipse Project.

Not all plan items represent the same amount of work; some may be quite large, others, quite small. Although some plan items are for work that is more pressing than others, the plan items appear in no particular order. See the corresponding bugzilla items for up-to-date status information on ongoing work and planned delivery milestones.

The current status of each plan item is noted:

  • Committed plan item - A committed plan item is one that we have decided to address for the release. In bugzilla, this is reflected by having a concrete target milestone assigned.
  • Proposed plan item - A proposed plan item is one that we are considering addressing for the release. Although we are actively investigating it, we are not yet in a position to commit to it, or to say that we won't be able to address it. After due consideration, a proposal will either be committed or deferred. In bugzilla, such items are reflected by having a target milestone "4.4" or "---" assigned.
  • Deferred plan item - A reasonable proposal that will not make it in to this release for some reason is marked as deferred with a brief note as to why it was deferred. Deferred plan items may resurface as committed plan items at a later point. In bugzilla, such items are reflected by having a target milestone "---" assigned.

Platforms

This work is focused on ensuring that Eclipse takes full advantage of all capabilities of the underlying technologies that it is based on, be they operating system, window system, Java or other. This includes support for native accessibility, internationalization and localization capabilities.

  • Committed
    • (new) (committed) Continue work on Java SE 8 features. The next Java SE release is version 8, which is currently scheduled for March 18, 2014. This release will contain extensions to the Java language, including support for lambda expressions, default methods, annotations on types and minor language changes. In the Luna release we will provide complete support for compiling, editing and launching applications for Java 8. Work in progress will be made available as feature patches for early adopters while we work towards the official Java SE 8 release. [JDT Core, JDT UI] (380190)
    • (new) (new) Full support for GTK+ 3. Kepler provided early access for GTK+ 3 with GTK+ 2 being the recommended version. With this release we will provide full support for GTK+ 3 and ship that as our default version. [SWT] (340067)
  • Proposed
    • (new) (new) SWT browser currency. Significant work is required in the SWT browser widget to support the latest browser runtimes. As part of this effort we will add browser support for XULRunner 24. [SWT] (422561)
    • (new) (new) Introduce Java annotations to express API rules. Currently, PDE API Tools API rules are defined in Javadoc using pre-defined Javadoc tags. These days, such additional information is usually expressed using Java annotations. With Luna we plan to define a set of annotations to express API rules and adjust PDE API Tools to recognized those annotations. [PDE API Tools] (415607)
  • Deferred

    None at this time.

Robustness

As the basis for the entire Eclipse eco-system, the Eclipse SDK must be robust, flexible and secure. This work will address those issues by providing API for missing or currently internal functionality, and focusing on the issues that affect the stability of the platform.

  • Committed

    None at this time.

  • Proposed
    • (new) (new) Performance and stability of Platform user interface. Version 4.3 of the Eclipse Platform still has some performance and functional shortcomings compared to the old 3.x generation of the platform. We will work to root out and eliminate these remaining bugs to increase the overall quality and performance of the 4.x generation platform. [Platform UI] (422467)
    • (new) (new) Revive performance tests. After the migration to CBI and build.eclipse.org, our performance tests stopped working. With this release we want to create a stable performance test infrastructure and bring back to live at least the most relevant performance tests. [Platform Releng] (374441)
    • (new) (new) Common build infrastructure. The Eclipse Foundation has established a common build infrastructure to be used by Eclipse projects. The aim is to simplify the build process, and establish a common set of build technology and hardware across Eclipse projects. We made most of the transition during Kepler but are not complete yet. This will make it easier for anyone to fetch, build and test the Eclipse Platform on any machine, and lower the long term maintenance cost of building older versions of Eclipse projects. [Platform Releng] (372792)
    • (new) (new) Recruit and train new contributors. While adoption and use of the Eclipse Platform increases every year, there has been a steadily declining rate of contribution back to the platform's development. We will work to reduce any real or perceived barriers to contribution, and increase efforts on reviewing patches and mentoring new contributors, with the goal that they become active committers. [All components] (422762)
  • Deferred

    None at this time.

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Appendix Execution Environment by Bundle

In the table below, the "4.4 minimum execution environment" column indicates the minimum Java class library requirements of each bundle for the 4.4 release, where the value is one of:

Entry Meaning
F1.0
J2ME Foundation 1.0 - indicates that the bundle can only be run on Foundation 1.0 or greater. Note that with the exception of some MicroEdition IO classes, Foundation 1.0 is a subset of J2SE 1.3.
F1.1
J2ME Foundation 1.1 - indicates that the bundle can only be run on Foundation 1.1 or greater. Note that with the exception of some MicroEdition IO classes, Foundation 1.1 is a subset of J2SE 1.4.
1.3
J2SE 1.3 - indicates that the bundle can only be run on JSE 1.3 or greater.
1.4
J2SE 1.4 - indicates that the bundle can only be run on JSE 1.4 or greater.
1.5
Java SE 5 - indicates that the bundle can only be run on Java SE 5 or greater.
1.6
Java SE 6 - indicates that the bundle can only be run on Java SE 6 or greater.
n/a Unknown at the time of this revision.

Table of minimum execution environments by bundle. (See also the Equinox Project plan for the execution environment requirements of bundles contributed via that project.)

Bundle

4.4
minimum
execution
environment

com.ibm.icu
1.5
com.jcraft.jsch
1.4
com.sun.el
1.5
javax.annotation
1.5
javax.el
1.5
javax.inject
1.5
javax.servlet
1.6
javax.servlet.jsp
1.6
javax.xml
J2SE-1.2
org.apache.ant
1.5
org.apache.batik.css
1.3
org.apache.batik.util
1.3
org.apache.batik.util.gui
1.3
org.apache.commons.codec
1.5
org.apache.commons.logging
F1.0
org.apache.felix.gogo.command
not specified
org.apache.felix.gogo.runtime
not specified
org.apache.felix.gogo.shell
not specified
org.apache.httpcomponents.httpclient
1.5
org.apache.httpcomponents.httpcore
1.5
org.apache.jasper.glassfish
1.6
org.apache.lucene.analysis
1.5
org.apache.lucene.core
1.5
org.eclipse.ant.core
1.6
org.eclipse.ant.launching
1.6
org.eclipse.ant.ui
1.6
org.eclipse.compare
1.4
org.eclipse.compare.core
1.4
org.eclipse.compare.win32
1.4
org.eclipse.core.commands
F1.0
org.eclipse.core.contenttype
F1.0
org.eclipse.core.databinding
F1.1
org.eclipse.core.databinding.beans
1.4
org.eclipse.core.databinding.observable
F1.1
org.eclipse.core.databinding.property
F1.1
org.eclipse.core.expressions
F1.0
org.eclipse.core.externaltools
1.6
org.eclipse.core.filebuffers
1.4
org.eclipse.core.filesystem
1.4
org.eclipse.core.jobs
F1.1
org.eclipse.core.net
F1.1
org.eclipse.core.resources
1.5
org.eclipse.core.runtime
1.5
org.eclipse.core.runtime.compatibility
F1.0
org.eclipse.core.runtime.compatibility.registry
F1.0
org.eclipse.core.variables
1.6
org.eclipse.cvs
not specified
org.eclipse.debug.core
1.6
org.eclipse.debug.ui
1.6
org.eclipse.e4.core.commands
1.5
org.eclipse.e4.core.contexts
1.5
org.eclipse.e4.core.di
1.5
org.eclipse.e4.core.di.extensions
1.5
org.eclipse.e4.core.services
1.6
org.eclipse.e4.ui.bindings
1.5
org.eclipse.e4.ui.css.core
1.5
org.eclipse.e4.ui.css.swt
1.5
org.eclipse.e4.ui.css.swt.theme
1.5
org.eclipse.e4.ui.di
1.5
org.eclipse.e4.ui.model.workbench
1.5
org.eclipse.e4.ui.services
1.5
org.eclipse.e4.ui.widgets
1.5
org.eclipse.e4.ui.workbench
1.5
org.eclipse.e4.ui.workbench.addons.swt
1.5
org.eclipse.e4.ui.workbench.renderers.swt
1.5
org.eclipse.e4.ui.workbench.swt
1.5
org.eclipse.e4.ui.workbench3
1.5
org.eclipse.emf.common
1.5
org.eclipse.emf.ecore
1.5
org.eclipse.emf.ecore.change
1.5
org.eclipse.emf.ecore.xmi
1.5
org.eclipse.help
F1.0
org.eclipse.help.base
1.5
org.eclipse.help.ui
1.4
org.eclipse.help.webapp
1.4
org.eclipse.jdt
not specified
org.eclipse.jdt.annotation
1.5
org.eclipse.jdt.apt.core
1.5
org.eclipse.jdt.apt.pluggable.core
1.6
org.eclipse.jdt.apt.ui
1.5
org.eclipse.jdt.compiler.apt
1.6
org.eclipse.jdt.compiler.tool
1.6
org.eclipse.jdt.core
1.6
org.eclipse.jdt.core.manipulation
1.4
org.eclipse.jdt.debug
1.5
org.eclipse.jdt.debug.ui
1.5
org.eclipse.jdt.doc.isv
not specified
org.eclipse.jdt.doc.user
not specified
org.eclipse.jdt.junit
1.5
org.eclipse.jdt.junit.core
1.4
org.eclipse.jdt.junit.runtime
1.4
org.eclipse.jdt.junit4.runtime
1.5
org.eclipse.jdt.launching
1.5
org.eclipse.jdt.ui
1.5
org.eclipse.jface
1.5
org.eclipse.jface.databinding
F1.0
org.eclipse.jface.text
1.4
org.eclipse.jsch.core
1.4
org.eclipse.jsch.ui
1.4
org.eclipse.ltk.core.refactoring
1.4
org.eclipse.ltk.ui.refactoring
1.4
org.eclipse.pde
1.4
org.eclipse.pde.api.tools
1.6
org.eclipse.pde.api.tools.annotations
1.5
org.eclipse.pde.api.tools.ui
1.6
org.eclipse.pde.build
1.6
org.eclipse.pde.core
1.5
org.eclipse.pde.doc.user
not specified
org.eclipse.pde.ds.core
1.4
org.eclipse.pde.ds.ui
1.4
org.eclipse.pde.junit.runtime
1.4
org.eclipse.pde.launching
1.5
org.eclipse.pde.runtime
1.4
org.eclipse.pde.ua.core
1.4
org.eclipse.pde.ua.ui
1.4
org.eclipse.pde.ui
1.5
org.eclipse.pde.ui.templates
1.4
org.eclipse.platform
F1.0
org.eclipse.platform.doc.isv
not specified
org.eclipse.platform.doc.user
not specified
org.eclipse.rcp
not specified
org.eclipse.sdk
not specified
org.eclipse.search
1.4
org.eclipse.swt
1.5
org.eclipse.team.core
1.4
org.eclipse.team.cvs.core
1.4
org.eclipse.team.cvs.ssh2
1.4
org.eclipse.team.cvs.ui
1.4
org.eclipse.team.ui
1.4
org.eclipse.text
1.4
org.eclipse.ui
F1.0
org.eclipse.ui.browser
1.5
org.eclipse.ui.cheatsheets
1.4
org.eclipse.ui.console
1.6
org.eclipse.ui.editors
1.4
org.eclipse.ui.externaltools
1.6
org.eclipse.ui.forms
1.4
org.eclipse.ui.ide
1.4
org.eclipse.ui.ide.application
1.4
org.eclipse.ui.intro
1.4
org.eclipse.ui.intro.universal
1.4
org.eclipse.ui.navigator
1.4
org.eclipse.ui.navigator.resources
1.4
org.eclipse.ui.net
F1.1
org.eclipse.ui.trace
1.5
org.eclipse.ui.views
1.4
org.eclipse.ui.views.log
1.4
org.eclipse.ui.views.properties.tabbed
F1.0
org.eclipse.ui.win32
1.4
org.eclipse.ui.workbench
1.5
org.eclipse.ui.workbench.texteditor
1.4
org.eclipse.update.configurator
F1.0
org.hamcrest.core
1.5
org.junit
1.5
org.objectweb.asm
1.3
org.sat4j.core
1.5
org.sat4j.pb
1.5
org.w3c.css.sac
F1.0
org.w3c.dom.events
1.3
org.w3c.dom.smil
F1.0
org.w3c.dom.svg
F1.0

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