Hello folks,
As part of the annual release review for the packaging project I am reviewing the state of much of our project and taking the opportunity to clean up some of the items that have become out of date.
The first one I would like to run by you all is the scope of the project.
The objectives of the Eclipse Packaging project are to:
* Create entry level downloads based on defined user profiles. The project will define an initial set of user profiles that will specify the requirements for a particular download package. It is expected that the initial user profiles will include Java Developer, Java EE Developer, C/C++ Developer and RCP Developer. Over time additional user profiles may be added or the initial set redefined.
* Provide an installer that improves the install experience of new users of Eclipse. In the Europa time-frame the installer will provide the users with a well known and easy to use mechanism for extracting the download to an adjustable location and provide the possibility to create a link to the executable. We intend to integrate an integrity check of the download archive for the Europa downloads.
* Provide a platform that allows the creation of packages (zip/tar downloads) from an update site. The core technology of the project will enable the creation of download packages that are created by bundling Eclipse features from one or multiple Eclipse update sites. The EPP platform will require a list of all features with version numbers be provided to the tooling. The tool platform will leverage existing technology. A discussion with the Eclipse Platform team indicates that the PDE build might be extended to serve the packaging project purposes. The EPP technology will be available to anyone, including other Eclipse projects, that want to create their own download package.
Only item 1 is somewhat relevant today. Item 2 is covered by Eclipse Oomph project and item 3 is covered by Tycho (with modifications to Eclipse Platform/PDE as needed to achieve).
I would like to update the scope to be:
The objective of the Eclipse Packaging project is to create entry level downloads based on profiles. The project will define a set of profiles that will specify the requirements for a particular download package. The profiles include Java Developer, Java Enterprise Developer, C/C++ Developer amongst others. Over time profiles may be added or removed.
Thanks,
Jonah
