Windows Azure Plugin for Eclipse with Java
Java developers can easily build and deploy new Java applications for Windows Azure, or migrate existing Java applications to Windows Azure, through the use of the Windows Azure Plugin for Eclipse with Java (by Microsoft Open Technologies). The open source Eclipse plugin provides templates and functionality for creating, developing, testing, and deploying Windows Azure applications using the Eclipse development environment. Full source code is available from the project site under the Apache License 2.0.
The Windows Azure Plugin for Eclipse is a great example of how Windows Azure meets developers where they are, allowing them to use the tools and technologies they already know while also taking full advantage of Windows Azure services, scalability, and high availability.
Key features of the plugin include:
- A Windows Azure Deployment Project wizard, where developers can select a JDK, Java server, and Java applications to be packaged for deployment on Windows Azure. The user-customizable list of out-of-the-box server configurations to choose from now includes Tomcat 6, Tomcat 7, GlassFish OSE 3, Jetty 7, Jetty 8, JBoss 6, and JBoss 7 (stand-alone).
- An integrated Windows Azure Emulator, so that developers can test their applications and services from within the familiar Eclipse development environment.
- A Publish to Cloud wizard (from GigaSpaces) that will publish Java projects directly from Eclipse to Windows Azure.
- An integrated Windows Azure Toolbar for creating, building, testing, and publishing Windows Azure cloud services.
The plugin is constantly evolving in response to community feedback. For example, here are some of the feature that have been added in recent updates:
- Sticky session support for applications deployed with the plugin
- Automatic discovery of the JDK location on your computer for easier inclusion with your deployment package
- Windows Azure Activity Log view for tracking the progress of the deployments uploaded by the plugin in the Windows Azure cloud
The plugin is part of a larger toolkit which also includes:
- Microsoft JDBC Driver 4.0 for SQL Server – providing JDBC API for SQL Server and Windows Azure SQL Database
- Package for Windows Azure Libraries for Java (by MS Open Tech) - providing Java APIs for accessing Windows Azure services, such as storage, service bus, service runtime, etc.
- Windows Azure Access Control Services Filter (by MS Open Tech) – providing application developers with the ability to authenticate users with Windows Azure ACS, enabling single sign-on scenarios and externalizing identity logic from the application
Here are resources where you can learn more about the Windows Azure Plugin for Eclipse with Java: