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Friday, Jan 28, 2005

Developer Collaboration in Java Studio Enterprise 7 Reviewed on Developer.com

Michael Klaene has a nice review of Sun Java Studio Enterprise 7 over at Developer.com. In particular, he had several good things to say about JSE's developer collaboration features:

"The most interesting new feature to Java Studio Enterprise 7 is a team collaboration tool. This tool is essentially a code-aware Instant Messaging application within the IDE. After launching Collaboration Server (I used the server bundled with the development platform, but typically this would be a centralized server within an organization), I created a few accounts and practiced trading code and files between two users I created. When its time to share code, you select a button to let the tool know the type of code you are using (Java, XML, JSP), then enter it. The tool color codes and numbers the text according to the specified format, just as if you were using the IDE's main editor (it even completes code and provides JavaDoc links). It is also possible to share a file in which two team members can edit its contents simultaneously.

"The collaboration tool worked as promised during my tests. How relevant will this tool really be? For lone developers, the tool won't mean much. But I can certainly see a benefit when a team of developers is actively working with the same code base. I predict there will be many attempts by other vendors to duplicate this concept." [emphasis mine]

I have to agree with his final statement; I'm sure the developer collaboration space is bound to get more crowded over time, but the JSE group is not waiting around. Keep an eye on my blog for the scoop on some quite significant developments in developer collaboration over the next month. We're also planning some very interesting announcements and sessions for JavaOne 2005. Stay tuned!

[Find more about Collaboration at Technorati]
[Find more about Developer Collaboration at Technorati]