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| <title>NetBeans Interviews - Ludovic Champenois</title> |
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| <h1>Interview with Ludovic Champenois</h1> |
| |
| <h1>I. Introduction</h1> |
| |
| <br><img src="../../../images_www/articles/interviews/Ludovic_Champenois.jpg" title="Ludovic Champenois" alt="Photo of Ludovic Champenois" width="341" height="256" style="float:left; margin-right:10px; padding-bottom:5px; padding-top:5px;"></div> |
| |
| <p><i>NOTE:</i> The interview below was done before the decision to use 5.0 as the version number of |
| the release of NetBeans that is scheduled for December, 2005. At the time of the interview, |
| the plan had been to use 4.2 as the version number.</p> |
| |
| <p> |
| Ludovic Champenois is the architect and technical leader for J2EE modules in NetBeans. |
| He is also the co-author of the <a href="http://www.bookpool.com/sm/0131876201">NetBeans IDE Field Guide</a>, |
| soon to be published by Prentice Hall. |
| On 8th May 2005, Vincent Brabant <a href="ludovic_champenois_fr.html">interviewed him in French</a> for the |
| <a href="http://fr.netbeans.org/index.html">french NetBeans community</a>. |
| Below is the english translation of that interview. |
| |
| <p> |
| <div class="question">1. When did you join the NetBeans team ?</div> |
| |
| <div class="answer"><b>Ludovic</b>: |
| Wow, that question is really strange for me: |
| I never joined the NetBeans team. |
| In 1999, I already was at Sun, Calofornia, |
| and I participated with a little team managed by Jonathan Schwartz |
| to the technical evaluation of possibles acquisitions in the domain of Tools, |
| especially NetBeans and Forté... |
| In fact, it's the NetBeans team that joined Sun. |
| </div> |
| |
| <div class="subquestion">In fact, I should say when did you start working for the NetBeans IDE ? |
| Before, you worked for the Sun Java Studio range, I think. Am I wrong ? </div> |
| |
| <div class="answer"><b>Ludovic</b>: |
| I was in the organisation of Tools, on research projects. Not specifically on Studio. |
| </div> |
| |
| <div class="question">2. Why did you choose to join NetBeans ?</div> |
| |
| <div class="answer"><b>Ludovic</b>: |
| During the technical evaluation, I had to question some NetBeans Engineers (like |
| Jesse Glick, employeed by NetBeans). Of course, at that time |
| the product was not very stable (version "Developer 3.0 Entry, Beta"), |
| but what was interessting was the vision of the NetBeans team |
| (support of version control, EJB, CORBA, RMI, JDBC, JSP/Servlets, XML was already planned |
| in the "Enterprise" version of NetBeans), and also the concept of "Open APIs" that |
| permits the development of extensions. |
| I remembered thinking : if Java was a religion, |
| NetBeans employees are the best priests! |
| </div> |
| |
| <p><h1>II. NetBeans & Sun Java Studio</h1> |
| |
| <br><img src="../../../images_www/third_party/1.gif" title="Sun Microsystem" alt="Logo of Sun Microsystem" style="float:left; margin-right:10px; padding-bottom:5px; padding-top:5px;"></div> |
| |
| <div class="question">3. Is the J2EE module of NetBeans the same as the one bundled with |
| Sun One Studio ?</div> |
| |
| <div class="answer"><b>Ludovic</b>: |
| Until now (NetBeans 4.1), "Enterprise" modules such as (amongst other things) |
| support for J2EE, were developped for Sun Java Studio. |
| The Java Studio product line has always been based upon NetBeans extensions. |
| In 2004, management took the decision to 'integrate' that technology into NetBeans. |
| We took advantage of the new architecture of NetBeans 4 (Ant driven Projects) |
| to redesign it to be more simple and evolutionary - but also more oreiented to usability. |
| In fact, experience of Studio permits us to rapidly rewrite new J2EE support in |
| NetBeans. |
| </div> |
| |
| <div class="question">4. For what reasons did you decide to support J2EE and J2ME development in NetBeans ?</div> |
| |
| <div class="answer"><b>Ludovic</b>: |
| The Sun Application Server 8 is really developer oriented: |
| more than 2 millions downloads I think. |
| Also, it's free, for development but also for releases in production. |
| In fact, it's the reference for the J2EE specifications. |
| Associating that technology with NetBeans (also free), was natural: NetBeans |
| has now become the IDE for all Java specifications : J2SE, J2ME and J2EE. |
| NetBeans will from now follow those specifications and offers developers |
| possibilities to use them. |
| Remember that when J2SE 5 was released, a compliant NetBeans release was already available. |
| In the same way, when the J2EE 5.0 will be out, |
| NetBeans will be there to offer to developers a complete IDE to use it. |
| </div> |
| |
| <div class="subquestion">The J2EE module is available in Open Source with the NetBeans IDE 4.1. |
| But not the J2ME module. Any reason why ? </div> |
| |
| <div class="answer"><b>Ludovic</b>: |
| Moving code to open souce is more complicated than you may think. |
| It takes a lot of time, and energy (legal, licenses , |
| patents verification, code cleanup, etc etc). |
| For J2ME modules, the first steps were to make them freely available |
| on the NetBeans platform. </div> |
| |
| <div class="question">5. What's the future of Sun Java Studio ? Why should I buy it ? What does SJS offer me that NetBeans can't ?</div> |
| |
| <div class="answer"><b>Ludovic</b>: |
| Sun Java Studio is the product line for Sun, based upon NetBeans. |
| Firstly, it contains advanced modules like complete UML support, |
| a collaborative module, |
| and a profiler oriented toward J2EE. |
| Being a Sun product, it is also the ideal complement for |
| Java Enterprise System (JES), the unified system platform of Sun. |
| It has the advantage of support contracts and offers a portal that permits users to |
| obtain privileged information. |
| It is very important for clients in a company to use supported products and be |
| aligned with Java Enterprise Systems (Sun Application Server, |
| Web Server, |
| Directory Server, |
| Portal Server, |
| Identity Server,...). |
| In the long term, a majority of Java Studio's modules could be integrated into |
| NetBeans. |
| </div> |
| |
| <div class="subquestion">What do I do to take dvantage of that Sun support ?</div> |
| |
| <div class="answer"><b>Ludovic</b>: |
| <ul> |
| <li>Or you buy a Studio License (that also includes Creator) for $995. Tthis is a special promotion offer - |
| <br><a href="http://www.sun.com/emrkt/jsdpromo/">http://www.sun.com/emrkt/jsdpromo/</a>; |
| <li>It contains SDN access - |
| <a href="https://softwarereg.sun.com/registration/developer/en_US/manage_account">https://softwarereg.sun.com/registration/developer/en_US/manage_account</a>; |
| <li>Or you buy the Java Enterprise System, an annual subscribtion ($140 or $50 per employee per year, for all Sun software!!! |
| <br><a href="http://www.sun.com/software/javaenterprisesystem/">http://www.sun.com/software/javaenterprisesystem/</a> and |
| <br><a href="http://www.sun.com/software/javaenterprisesystem/compare.xml">http://www.sun.com/software/javaenterprisesystem/compare.xml</a>; |
| </ul> |
| </div> |
| |
| <p><h1>III. NetBeans IDE 4.1</h1> |
| |
| <br><img src="../../../images_www/v4/4.1-banner-v3.png" style="float:left; margin-right:10px; padding-bottom:5px; padding-top:5px;"> |
| <div class="question">6. What is your favorite feature in NetBeans IDE 4.1 ?</div> |
| |
| <div class="answer"><b>Ludovic</b>: |
| Firstly, the fact that build system is now completely based upon Ant is very important for me. |
| It offers significant freedom to developers to have a system that is usable within NetBeans but also outside NetBeans. |
| As a NetBeans developer (and as a NetBeans user), |
| I appreciate the Visual Editor for Swing and the very evolutionary architecture of NetBeans. |
| A new module will help a developer to build NetBeans extensions. |
| </div> |
| |
| <div class="subquestion">Concerning the NetBeans platform, will we also see a module |
| to help us to build applications on top of the NetBeans platform ?</div> |
| |
| <div class="answer"><b>Ludovic</b>: |
| Yes, the new module I just mentioned will also help there. |
| </div> |
| |
| <div class="question">7. What features would you like to see integrated into |
| the NetBeans IDE ?</div> |
| |
| <div class="answer"><b>Ludovic</b>: |
| Now I would like to see support of frameworks for Web |
| Applications (JSF, Struts...) but also a more importantly support in the |
| domain of databases: Modelisation, evolution, and binding for J2SE applications and |
| Web Applications. |
| Finally, extended support for scripting languages |
| (php, python, javascript,...) would be very interesting. |
| </div> |
| |
| <div class="subquestion">In general, each time we asked questions about JSF support |
| in NetBeans, the reply was that that support was in Sun Java Studio Creator. |
| Do you think we will one day see features of Sun Java Studio Creator |
| integrated into NetBeans, even as non-open source modules, like the J2ME module ? </div> |
| |
| <div class="answer"><b>Ludovic</b>: |
| What I can say is that JSF will be in J2EE 5.0 specifications, |
| and NetBeans must give support for new specifications when they they are available. |
| </div> |
| |
| <div class="subquestion">For scripting language support, isn't that the goal of the Coyotte project, |
| hosted on Java.Net ?</div> |
| |
| <div class="answer"><b>Ludovic</b>: |
| Yes, it's a start. Another domain is AJAX (<a href="http://www.theserverside.com/news/thread.tss?thread_id=33319">http://www.theserverside.com/news/thread.tss?thread_id=33319</a>) |
| and javascript. </div> |
| |
| <p><h1>IV. NetBeans IDE 4.2 </h1> |
| <br><img src="../../../images_www/download-nb-3.gif" style="float:left; margin-right:10px; padding-bottom:5px; padding-top:5px;"> |
| |
| <div class="question">8. What are your plans for NetBeans IDE 4.2 ?</div> |
| |
| <div class="answer"><b>Ludovic</b>: |
| The actual model for releases of NetBeans is nearly every 4 months. |
| For NetBeans IDE 4.2, I hope we will see extended support for refactoring |
| and improvements in the Java Editor. |
| A new Visual Editor is also planned. Concerning J2EE, we have to continue |
| what has been started for 4.1, add support for a large number of application servers, |
| and prepare tools to the new J2EE 5.0 specification that will offer new development facilities like: |
| annotations, persistence beans, and simplified web services. |
| And also somes surprises, as always. The goal is to have a very attractive and |
| competitive offer for new developers ... |
| </div> |
| |
| <div class="subquestion">Which are the other application servers that you will support ? </div> |
| |
| <div class="answer"><b>Ludovic</b>: |
| The list will be known sooner. Be patient. That's all I can say ... |
| </div> |
| |
| <div class="subquestion">NetBeans 4.2 would be out around October 2005. |
| Will the J2EE features already be included and working at that time ? </div> |
| |
| <div class="answer"><b>Ludovic</b>: |
| J2EE 5.0 will be in Beta at that moment. |
| When I speak about NetBeans 5.0, I think about J2EE 5.0 support. |
| Of course, the release number is only speculation: marketing will have the last word! |
| </div> |
| |
| <div class="subquestion">Could you speak about one of those surprises ? </div> |
| |
| <div class="answer"><b>Ludovic</b>: |
| Not for that moment, because we are always in discussions. |
| You will certainly have more information at JavaOne, I hope! |
| </div> |
| |
| <p><h1>V. The Book</h1> |
| <br><img src="http://fr.netbeans.org/files/documents/163/423/file_423.dat?filename=couverture%20%28petite%29%2ejpg" style="float:left; margin-right:10px; padding-bottom:5px; padding-top:5px;"> |
| |
| <div class="question">9. How did you write the book, |
| considering at the same time there were modifications made in the implementation of |
| the code ?</div> |
| |
| <div class="answer"><b>Ludovic</b>: |
| The book was mainly written just before the Beta Release. It guaranteed that the described features were |
| stable enough. Of course, the user interface changed a little, but those were cosmetic modifications. |
| We are finishing the last edits for the book. |
| I hope that this book will incite people to discover NetBeans. |
| Once that discovery is made, it will be easier to discover news about |
| NetBeans 4.2 and NetBeans 5.0. |
| </div> |
| |
| <div class="subquestion">Does that mean that after NetBeans 4.2 we will see a NetBeans 5.0 ? |
| In general NetBeans always uses a higher version number when major enhancements were made. |
| What will justify naming it 5.0 ? </div> |
| |
| <div class="answer"><b>Ludovic</b>: |
| Once again, when I speak about NetBeans 5, I am thinking about the NetBeans release |
| that will be out the same day as the J2EE 5.0 specification. That specification |
| is now in discussion with 'expert groups' and dates are not fixed. |
| Until then, another version of NetBeans will be out, (te code name is 4.2). |
| So, to resume, we have to work on NetBeans IDE 4.2, but also to integrate the J2EE 5.0 |
| support for the next release. |
| </div> |
| |
| <div class="subquestion">Is a book about the NetBeans platform planned ? |
| It is really missed !</div> |
| |
| <div class="answer"><b>Ludovic</b>: |
| Good idea. Now that the subject is very visible, maybe that Jesse Glick |
| will have some cycles to write it ... |
| </div> |
| |
| <div class="subquestion">Is it possible to take any courses at Sun to learn the NetBeans APIs ?</div> |
| |
| <div class="answer"><b>Ludovic</b>: |
| Another good idea ... if NetBeans has success at the platform level ... |
| I will notify some people to see if it can be done. Today, the APIs are |
| available in detail at |
| <a href="https://netbeans.org/download/dev/javadoc/">https://netbeans.org/download/dev/javadoc/</a>. |
| </div> |
| |
| <p><h1>VI. NetBeans Event</h1> |
| |
| <div class="question">10. Will you be at NetBeans Event in Brussels, the 26 May ?</div> |
| |
| <div class="answer"><b>Ludovic</b>: |
| Pavel Buzek will be at Bruxelles. He will do an excellent presentation (in English). |
| But I will be at JavaOne, for a Technical Session. |
| (<a href="../javaone/2005/index.html#TS7725">Technical Session 7725 "J2EE™ Ease of Development: Platform Specification and Tools Perspective</a>"), |
| and also at the NetBeans Day. Will you be there ? |
| </div> |
| |
| <div class="subquestion">No. It's too expensive. |
| But if you want to pay for my travel and hotel, then yes, I will certainly come. ;-) </div> |
| |
| <div class="answer"><b>Ludovic</b>: |
| Try <a href="http://be.sun.com/sunnews/events/nblaunch/index.html">http://be.sun.com/sunnews/events/nblaunch/index.html</a> - |
| "During each workshop, a JavaOne package (*) will be given." |
| :-) |
| </div> |
| |
| <p><h1>VII. Conclusion</h1> |
| |
| <div class="question">11. A word for the NetBeans Community ?</div> |
| |
| <div class="answer"><b>Ludovic</b>: |
| <ul><li> |
| <b>Firstly for the users</b>: thanks for the valued feedback you give us. |
| We take it seriously. |
| Usability of NetBeans must become intuitive and stay simple to use. |
| </li><li> |
| <b>Next, for potentials contributors to the open source project</b>: |
| A new module to easily develop NetBeans Modules is on the way... |
| I think it will enhance perception of the development platform of NetBeans... |
| Restez à l'écoute. <i>[note: this appeared in english in the french version, so translated to french here]</i> |
| </li> |
| </ul> |
| </div> |
| |
| <div class="subquestion">Any idea when those modules will be available ?</div> |
| |
| <div class="answer"><b>Ludovic</b>: |
| I hope NetBeans 4.2, but once again, nothing official in what I am saying... |
| C'est mon désir personnel. Rien de plus ... <i>[note: this appeared in english in the french version, so translated to french here]</i> |
| </div> |
| |
| |
| <div class="question">Thank you very much for the interview, Ludovic</div> |
| |
| <p> |
| <p><i>This interview <a href="ludovic_champenois_fr.html">originally conducted in french</a> by Vincent Brabant, for the french community of NetBeans, the 8 may 2005.</i></div> |
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