Archive for March 2021
Open VSX: A Vendor-Neutral Home for VS Code Extensions
With the transition of the Open VSX Registry from TypeFox to the Eclipse Foundation, the industry now has a vendor-neutral and publicly hosted open source alternative to the Microsoft Visual Studio Marketplace for VS Code extensions. The move increases transparency and flexibility for extension users, extension publishers, and tool developers.
Overcoming Single-Vendor Marketplace Restrictions
While the Microsoft Visual Studio Marketplace is a great resource for developers that use Microsoft VS products, its terms of use states that extensions can’t be used with the increasing number of open source tools and technologies that support the VS Code extension API.
In addition, because Microsoft doesn’t provide access to the source code for the Visual Studio Marketplace, there’s no opportunity to contribute new features and enhancements, or to reuse the source code to create an internal extension registry for in-house developers.
The Open VSX Registry is built on the Eclipse Open VSX project. It’s visually and functionally similar to the Microsoft VS Marketplace, but the extensions can be used with any editor that supports VS Code extensions — from VS Code and forks of VS Code like VSCodium, to Eclipse Theia, Eclipse Che, Gitpod, Coder, and SAP Business Application Studio.
The Eclipse Open VSX source code is open to all, so anyone can reuse and enhance the marketplace technology to meet their specific needs. They can even create an internal, private extension repository that’s connected to the upstream public Open VSX Registry.
Providing a Level Playing Field for All
Following a true open source model, all aspects of the Open VSX Registry are guided by the community based on our proven governance framework and processes for entrepreneurial collaboration. These vendor-neutral processes bring important benefits. For example:
- No single company or vendor owns the Open VSX Registry servers, operates the service, or has more control over the service than any other participant.
- Any individual or organization can influence how the Open VSX Registry evolves by participating in design discussions and contributing code to the Eclipse Open VSX project.
- There’s a public record of all extension ownership claims by extension publishers to avoid conflicts over ownership.
Driving Open VSX Registry Innovation and Collaboration
The Eclipse Cloud DevTools (ECD Tools) Working Group will manage the Open VSX Registry, driving further platform growth and marketplace adoption. With members that include Broadcom, EclipseSource, Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Red Hat, SAP, and Typefox among others, the ECD Tools ecosystem is very well positioned to support and advance the Open VSX Registry over the long term.
I want to thank all of the ECD Tools ecosystem members and Eclipse Foundation staff who worked so tirelessly to enable the smooth transition of the Open VSX Registry to the Eclipse Foundation. And a special word of appreciation to the TypeFox team who built and nurtured the Open VSX Registry from the ground up. Your contribution reflects the true spirit and values of open source communities and will benefit all.
Read the Open VSX Registry White Paper and Get Involved
To help everyone with an interest in the Open VSX Registry fully understand its benefits and potential, the ECD Tools Working Group has created a free white paper you can download here.
I also encourage you to:
- Visit the Open VSX Registry.
- Check out the Eclipse Open VSX project.
Eclipse Jetty 11 Supports the Big Bang
I’m happy to share the news that Eclipse Jetty 11 has been released and certified as compatible with the Jakarta Servlet v5.0 specification. Released as part of Jakarta EE 9, this new version of the Servlet specification uses the new jakarta.* namespace. Often referred to as the “Big Bang”, this new namespace is a shift that will enable future cloud native Java innovations for the enterprise Java ecosystem. By supporting Servlet 5.0 and the new namespace Jetty is helping accelerate the adoption of Jakarta EE across the ecosystem.
Jetty is an open source web server and servlet container that is used extensively in production environments around the world. The software’s small footprint, high performance, and scalability have made it the choice of millions of enterprise application developers and open source project contributors, whether they’re using Java, Scala, Kotlin, or another JVM-based programming language.
Today, numerous well-known products and projects include Eclipse Jetty: Apache Hadoop, Apache Maven, Google App Engine, Twitter’s Streaming API, Zimbra, and the Eclipse IDE are just a few examples that demonstrate the depth and breadth of Jetty’s role and value in the Java ecosystem and broader industry.
Developers Helping Developers
Implementing the namespace change from javax.* to jakarta.* in a single Jetty release required a huge effort by many community members. I want to thank everyone involved!
The fact that the Jetty community felt it was important to implement the new namespace as soon as possible after the Jakarta EE 9 release confirms the importance of Jakarta EE as a solid foundation for the evolution of enterprise Java. The move perfectly reflects the Jetty team’s ethos of “by developers, for developers.”
Lowering the Barrier to Entry
Jakarta EE provides the complete set of specifications that define enterprise Java today. But more importantly, it provides the ecosystem a path to innovate for new cloud native APIs, platforms, services, and business models.
Each Jakarta EE specification includes an open source Technology Compatibility Kit (TCK) that allows organizations to self-certify their software with the specification. This straightforward, open process dramatically lowers the barrier to entry for vendors to provide fully certified compatible implementations of Jakarta EE specifications.
Get Involved in the Future of Open Source Java
Over the last few years, the Eclipse Foundation has cemented our role as the vendor-neutral and open source center of gravity for the Java community. We welcome everyone with an interest in the future of open source Java to get involved in Jetty, Jakarta EE, and the other enterprise Java open source projects hosted at the Eclipse Foundation such as MicroProfile, Eclipse GlassFish, Eclipse Vert.x, Eclipse Adoptium, and many more.
Here are a few quick links to help you get started:
- To download Eclipse Jetty 11 or previous versions, visit the downloads page.
- To get involved in Jetty, visit the project website.
- To learn more about the benefits of joining the Jakarta EE Working Group, visit the membership page.
Meet Adoptium: Open Source Java Runtimes for Enterprises
Today we announced the creation of the Adoptium Working Group, whose mission is to bring high-quality, open source Java runtimes to millions of developers building the next generation of enterprise applications.
Adoptium was created in collaboration with the AdoptOpenJDK Technical Steering Committee, and supports the Eclipse Adoptium top-level project. The working group provides the vendor-neutral governance, infrastructure, marketing, community building, and developer advocacy work needed to ensure timely releases of Java runtimes and strengthen the project’s community.
The Adoptium project continues the work initiated by the AdoptOpenJDK community. The project gives developers a trusted location where they can download fully compatible, high-quality distributions of Java runtimes based on OpenJDK source code. In a few short years AdoptOpenJDK became the leading provider of OpenJDK-based binaries used to power production workloads in embedded systems, desktops, traditional servers, modern cloud platforms, and mainframes. Adoptium will continue that mission as a vendor-neutral, multi-vendor initiative hosted at the Eclipse Foundation. We appreciate the trust that the AdoptOpenJDK TSC has placed in us as we become the new stewards of this amazing community.
The founding members of the working group include numerous Java developers, as well as vendors such as Alibaba Cloud, Huawei, IBM, iJUG, Karakun AG, Microsoft, New Relic, and Red Hat. This strong participation clearly shows the value the industry sees in transitioning the widely adopted AdoptOpenJDK technologies and community to the Eclipse ecosystem. I would also like to recognize the efforts of Oracle in negotiating a TCK license agreement with us in support of this initiative.
Benefits for the Global Java Ecosystem
Developers and enterprises need a dependable source of open source, compatible Java runtimes that are fully supported with timely patches and updates. AdoptOpenJDK was created in 2017 to provide a community-based solution to this requirement, delivering open build and test systems for OpenJDK across multiple platforms, and delivering high quality binaries for use. Developers responded enthusiastically, downloading more than 240 million Java binaries from AdoptOpenJDK.
Moving the AdoptOpenJDK technologies and community to the Eclipse Foundation benefits the AdoptOpenJDK community and the many members of the global Java ecosystem:
- The AdoptOpenJDK community can leverage our governance framework and intellectual property services, as well as our developer advocacy, marketing, legal, and hosting capabilities, to help ensure the AdoptOpenJDK initiative and community continue to flourish. The community can strengthen its vendor independence, while maintaining a strong relationship with existing sponsors and the Java community as a whole.
- Developers and enterprises in the Java ecosystem have reliable access to fully compatible Java runtimes for hybrid cloud and multi-cloud enterprise development.
Adoptium complements the other Java-based projects already hosted at the Eclipse Foundation, including the Jakarta EE and MicroProfile specification communities, and open source projects such as Eclipse GlassFish, Eclipse Jetty, and Eclipse Vert.x.
I want to thank everyone who was involved in establishing the Adoptium Working Group. I also want to welcome everyone from the AdoptOpenJDK community to the Eclipse Foundation, and encourage you to continue building on the character and spirit of your great community.
Get Involved in Adoptium
There are a few different ways to get involved in the Adoptium community at the Eclipse Foundation:
- Join the Adoptium Working Group. For details about working group governance and membership, read the Adoptium Working Group Charter and Participation Agreement.
- Explore the Eclipse Adoptium top-level project, and its sub-projects, Eclipse AQAvit and Eclipse Temurin.
- Join the Eclipse Adoptium project mailing list.
Support for Asian Communities from the Eclipse Foundation
We at the Eclipse Foundation have watched with mounting concern the recent violent attacks on people of Asian descent. We condemn these actions and the bigotry that has driven them in the strongest possible terms. As an organization we stand in support of Asian people.
Overcoming racism represents arguably the greatest challenge of our era. In addition to the pain of its victims, this scourge and the barriers it creates serve only to hinder the advancement of us as a global community; socially, technologically, and economically. The lives of every human are improved when we treat each other with trust, empathy, and respect.
I welcome suggestions from foundation staff and community members on how we can become a more inclusive and welcoming place for everyone.
Life at Eclipse 