Instantiations Inc., a provider of advanced software development solutions, has announced version 2.0 of RCP Developer, its popular development tool for creating Eclipse Rich Client Platform (RCP) applications. The latest version adds Help Composer and extends Linux support for RCP Packager and WindowTester. RCP Developer accelerates the creation of rich client applications by harnessing the power of Eclipse RCP to bring Java back to the desktop. Announced last March, it is the first development tool that enables developers to exploit Eclipse RCP core services for creating Java-based client and standalone desktop applications. The company is showing the new version at EclipseWorld in Cambridge, Mass., Sept. 6-8.

"Developers using either a Linux or Windows platform can take advantage of RCP Developer's new Help Composer," said Mike Taylor, CEO of Instantiations "But the new version of RCP Developer levels the playing field for Linux. By deepening our support for Linux, we are providing developers who prefer that platform with the ability to design, create, test, document and build their software -- even applications designed to run on Microsoft Windows -- completely within the Linux environment."

"Building good help files is a pain for developers, but is critically important to users," said Dan Rubel, CTO of Instantiations. "It's a task that commonly gets short shrift by development teams, Help Composer reduces the time and effort it takes to create both Eclipse and web based help files."

The help composing function in RCP Developer 2.0 is fully compatible with the Eclipse Help system. It assists in linking the logical and physical structure of help files to an application in a consistent and reliable way. The Help Composer also can quickly translate help files into web pages using an organization's standard templates and style sheets to create easy to navigate Web-based documentation. Using Help Composer, developer needn't worry about their application Help files and Web-based Help documents being out of sync.

Several new features in RCP Developer 2.0 assist developers in delivering Java client applications to their customers faster and with more consistency whether they are using Linux or Windows-based platforms. These include:
- Help Composer, a new function that simplifies documentation creation inside Eclipse and in the Eclipse Help format.
- WindowTester automates testing of the graphical user interfaces that comprise Eclipse RCP applications and now assures quality GUIs for the Linux platform.
- RCP Packager streamlines the build and deployment process for Eclipse RCP applications and has been extended to provide deeper support for developers using Linux. Support for Linux includes assembling application elements together into a single package for easy deployment and update.
- SWT Designer supports GUI design and construction using all popular layout managers including the powerful GroupLayout.

RCP Developer version 2.0 is available immediately through either a software subscription or by a traditional software license, allowing users to select the approach that best suits their needs.