A project to enable developers to build AJAX-enabled Web applications using Eclipse technology has been proposed by Innoopract, according to Eclipse Foundation, www.eclipse.org.

The Proposal for Rich AJAX Platform (RAP), currently is in the review stage at Eclipse. The Rich AJAX Platform RAP Project is a proposed open source project under the Eclipse Technology Project. The RAP project aims to enable developers to build rich, AJAX-enabled Web applications by using the Eclipse development model, plug-ins and a Java-only API. RAP is a new technology that promises to bring the Eclipse user interface and interaction model to web applications.

Innoopract will make an initial code contribution that will encompass some of the core functionality for a Rich AJAX Platform including: " a rich set of UI components with a Java API " event-driven program control " a generic mechanism for updating arbitrary UI elements of a web UI based on AJAX " a Lifecycle handling comparable to the one used in Java Server Faces " a mechanism for browser detection " rendering kits that enable to adapt to browser capabilities (NoScript, Script, AJAX).

The objectives of the RAP project are to :
• Enable the development of Rich Internet Applications that are based on the Eclipse Plugin architecture.
• Enable AJAX UI development based on a Java component library.
• Provide a Web Workbench similar to the Eclipse platform workbench.
• Align RAP API with the Eclipse platform API.
• Work on defining the right split between Plugins with session scope vs. application scope.

According to Eclipse, “RAP will offer the ease of development of Eclipse, Eclipse extensibility and user experience by reusing Eclipse technology for distributed applications and by encapsulating AJAX technologies into simple-to-use Java components (as SWT encapsulates native widgets).By encapsulating the AJAX technologies in a component library one major road block to a more efficient development model can be eliminated. By offering a plugin model on the server and providing Eclipse workbench UI capabilities developers can leverage their experience with Rich Client Applications and profit from the proven Eclipse development model to create Rich Internet Applications in a streamlined fashion.With the proposed Rich AJAX Platform Eclipse enters the Area of Rich Internet Applications.”