>EclipseCon 2010: Mystical Build Monday!

>The first day of EclipseCon is looking like it should be called, Mystical Build Monday. Builds are those things that most consider a necessary evil. The build engineer is often endowed with magical powers, able to move mountains, and change the course of the universe with one line of code. If the build succeeded they often go unnoticed, if the build fails…all of a sudden they become the most important person on the team.

Sometimes they get nice frosty beverages as their reward, but most of the time they go quietly about their job until the next crisis point, where they have to whip up another miracle conjuring to stave back the forces of evil.

Over the last year several different ways to build eclipse based applications and products have emerged. Some focus on ease of use, some on general distribution of repositories, and some just as general utilities for all build tasks. Continuous Integration and rapid feedback have started to become even more prevalent. However, there is differencing opinions amongst the projects methods and projects represented on Monday in Room 3, The Mystics Lair.

• From build to assembly to deployment: Using p2 to facilitate agile development – Double, Double, Toil and Trouble. Want to learn how to make a magic brew that will tame and control p2. Want to learn the various ways to have p2 create beautiful colorful rainbows, turn a frog into a prince, move mountains. Come learn how to make that magical p2 potion.
• Lions, Tigers, and Bears: Scrum, XP, and Continuous Integration at Eclipse. Go into the Land of OZ and learn how the Munchkins build their applications. Maybe we’ll see Dorthy, Toto, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Woodsman along our journey. However, I’m looking most to meeting the Cowardly Lion…because “I Do! I DO! I DO Believe in SPOOKS!”
• Introduction to Eclipse b3 – what happens when you mix the magical DSL potion, with a heavy dose of modeling? You get an potentionally universe changing potion. Will it be controllable? Will it bring order to chaos? Or will it just conjure another dragon that will feed on your code? Come to the talk and find out.
• Building with Buckminster – one of the tried and true wizard potions out there. Learn how to build, test, deploy. Learn how to work magic with your p2 repositories. Help turn lead into gold. Everything is possible with Buckminster.
• Dash Athena Exposed: Or, How I Learned to Quit Worrying About PDE & Love the Build Process – Gifted with Super Human speed and the ability to make the Flash, Quicksilver, and other Super Speedsters look like they are standing still. See how the mystics on the Dash Project are making getting started with a build super fast. Learn the secrete to their power? Is it Test Driven Development for Build Scripts??? Maybe.
• OSGI Bundles, Eclipse Plugins, and RCP applications with Tycho, Nexus, and Hudson – Want to know if you can completely go against the nature of eclipse builds. Have you heard of the supposed dark forces at play with Maven. What is a POM? How can you build a mystical bridge to cross the p2 divide and get your builds working in this alternate universe? Be prepared to be amazed and shocked at the powers in play. The mystics here play for keeps.
• Discovering the p2 API – After having created your magical brew, learn what else the book of p2 has to offer. Is it like the Book of the Dead, able to bring beings back to life, or is more like the Book of the Living, able to take that life. Like any book, it is all in how it is used. Learn to mold and shape the power of the p2 API for good, instead of evil.

In addition to the main shows, make sure to visit the Bazzaar on Deva. Where all sorts of wonders appear. Here the merchants will demonstrate in 12 minutes or less their miracle working incantations. Learn what secrets they can unlock, and what strange creatures they can conjure forth. Yes some of these “short talks” can be dangerous but lucrative to those that dare to listen.

Finally learn from the gathering of these great mystics, as they debate their craft, and challenges they face. Can any of these mystics do battle with a Demon and survive?

In all, Monday is going to packed with all manners of mysticism. I encourage you to dabble in the dark forces at work, these mystics are a necessary part of your team, and they are willing to reveal their secrets.

But Hurry!! The Early Registration potion only lasts a few more days. Don’t miss the wonders that the Bazzaar has to offer.