Google Plugin for Eclipse and GWT 2.2 now available

Google Plugin for Eclipse and GWT 2.2 are now available with several new features that we’re excited to share with you. First, Google Plugin for Eclipse 2.2 directly integrates GWT Designer, a powerful WYSIWYG Ajax user interface (UI) designer that makes it much easier to quickly build UIs. Second, developers can take advantage of the modern web with the first round of HTML5 support within the GWT SDK. Additionally, GWT’s CellTable widget now offers new functionality, such as default column sorting and the ability to set column widths. These new features make it even easier to build best in breed web apps using Java-based tools and Eclipse. And while these apps can be run on any platform, Google Plugin for Eclipse makes it very easy to deploy, and run, on Google App Engine.

Instructions for installing this new release of the Google Plugin for Eclipse and GWT SDK can be found here: Getting Started with Google Plugin for Eclipse.

If you’re simply looking for the GWT 2.2 SDK, you can find it here: GWT SDK Download.

GWT Designer

Directly integrating GWT Designer into the Google Plugin for Eclipse has been a top priority for us over the past few months. We’ve had some very positive feedback from the community early on, and for this release we not only wanted to provide the best developer experience when using GWT Designer, we also wanted a seamless experience across GWT Designer and GPE.


HTML5 features

GWT 2.2 includes support for HTML5-specific features, such as the Canvas element, which allows for dynamic, scriptable rendering of 2D shapes and bitmap images, and the embedding of Audio/Video tags. These APIs are still experimental and may change a bit over the next couple releases, but we feel that they’re stable enough to deserve some real mileage (by you). Below is a demo that one of the GWT team members, Philip Rogers, put together to showcase the new Canvas support in the GWT SDK. You can find the code for this demo here: http://code.google.com/p/gwtcanvasdemo/.

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New CellTable APIs

With GWT 2.1, we found that developers were often times incorporating a CellTable widget into their project, and immediately adding the boilerplate code to add sorting, and then having to jump through hoops to set column widths. With the GWT SDK 2.2 release, this functionality is now part of the CellTable widget itself. Where we can, we want to improve the native GWT widgets, adding features and functionality that minimize the custom code that developers have to write.

If you would like to see these updates in action, checkout out the CellTable example with the GWT Showcase app.

A note about Java 1.5

GWT version 2.2 will only have deprecated support for Java 1.5, resulting in warnings when building applications. While Java 1.5 will still work for this release of GWT, developers should upgrade their version of Java to correct these warnings and ensure compatibility with future versions of GWT.

If you have questions or want to provide feedback, we’d love to hear it, and the best place to do so is in the Google Web Toolkit Group.

National Address Gazetteer (GeoPlace)

National Address Gazetteer (GeoPlace)

Press Release from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT)

The proposed joint venture combines the spatial address databases of Ordnance Survey and the Local Government Improvement and Development Agency (LGID), to create the National Address Gazetteer, a database of accurate geo-referenced addresses in England and Wales. This data is relied upon by the public and private sector to accurately locate addresses when delivering services such as public transport, road maintenance, utility management and emergency call-outs.

The OFT found that the parties provide the only two accurate geo-referenced addressing databases, and do not face competition from less frequently updated and geographically accurate databases, such as those used by satnavs. Consequently it found that the joint venture would create a monopoly in this market.

However, the OFT concluded that it was not proportionate to refer the market to the Competition Commission because:

  • the Government is the parties’ largest customer and will continue to enjoy substantial buyer power and influence over the joint venture
  • in practice there has been limited opportunity for the private sector customers of the two parties to trade one off against the other, and in any case the size of the affected private sector market is relatively small and
  • virtually all customers, both public- and private-sector, strongly supported the creation of the new database.

The plan is to be fully operational by April 2011, with the first data made available in summer or early autumn of 2011
Vector1Media

Full Press Release
http://www.oft.gov.uk/news-and-updates/press/2011/18-11

Ordnance Survey
http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/media/news/2011/feb/geoplaceapproval.html

GeoPlace™ Q&As
http://www.lga.gov.uk/lga/core/page.do?pageId=15377046

The workshop to model The Hague

Last month, we told you about an upcoming workshop to help model more The Hague, Netherlands in 3D. They were hoping for a solid turnout, and certainly got one with more than 60 people attending!

Prizes were awarded for the best models created that day and MILO Minderbinder, who isn’t old enough to drive and had to take a three-hour train ride each way in order to attend, was the clear winner. He built an excellent model of “De Bijenkorf Den Haag“, which can be seen here:

For his efforts, he was awared with a 3D print of the model, which was provided by i.materalise. Local firm Design8 organized and promoted the event.

With that many people excited about modeling buildings in The Hague, along with the obvious talent that some of them have, I expect to see quite a few buildings pop up there over the next few months.

For more about the event, be sure to check out this article in the SketchUp Blog.