The Eclipse project, to many developers, is an integrated development environment for Java. However, Eclipse is far more than that -- it is an open-source, highly extensible tool integration platform in which multiple "plugins" from different vendors can interoperate and leverage each other, often times without explicit dependencies. There are hundreds open-source and commercial plugins available, and some companies are providing their tools as branded Eclipse environments. Learn about the Eclipse environment: what is the Eclipse platform, what are plugins, and (most importantly!) how to develop, test, and deploy your own plugins.

Randall is the Vice President of Development and Chief Architect of Metadata Management at MetaMatrix, the leading provider of Enterprise Information Integration (EII) middleware to access and integrate in real time disparate information sources. He has been working with Java technologies for the past 7 years, and with application development for 10 years. After receiving a BS and MS in Aerospace Engineering, he developed engineering models and engineering applications for aerospace systems. He has been at MetaMatrix for 5 years, and has helped define and build the company's modeling infrastructure and metadata management capabilities, including the Eclipse-based modeling tool. Randall is also the MetaMatrix representative to the Object Management Group (OMG), where he has participated on various task forces, including MOF, XMI, CWM, MOF2 and UML2 Infrastructure.