The Eclipse project is designed to give developers a single open-source tool platform into which you can plug multiple Java development tools and use them inside the same window.

Updates to the software will be part of the Eclipse 3.0 software development kit. Among expected changes is a new feature that could let developers use programs other than development tools with Eclipse software. Version 3.0 will also improve how menus are presented to control workbench clutter, and make it easier to configure the software.

It will also include support for concurrent activities. In Eclipse 2.0 and 2.1, the group says, operations such as builds and searches run synchronously and block the user at the user interface from doing work after the operation is complete. With the new version, you'll be able to run operations asynchronously in the background so that you don't have to wait while long-running operations are in progress.

The 3.0 release of the Eclipse Project is written and compiled for the Java 2 1.4 APIs. It's designed to run on version 1.4 of the Java 2 Runtime Environment, Standard Edition.

The release won't be fully compatible with Eclipse 2.0 and 2.1, the group says. However, most of the Eclipse APIs will be the same in 3.0 as in 2.1. The consortium will offer an Eclipse 3.0 Porting Guide that covers all areas of breaking API changes.

Features that are being investigated but won't necessarily make it into the release include JUnit support for testing plug-ins. PDE should include JUnit-based support for testing plug-ins and early support for J2SE 1.5, scheduled to ship in the first half of 2004.

For more information on planned features in Eclipse 3.0, go to http://www.eclipse.org/eclipse/development/eclipse_project_plan_3_0.html.