Developer Break: ObjectRocket acquired, Vert.x heading to Eclipse

Developer Break – catch up on the smaller but important notes for developers, from libraries to APIs and from people to postings. In this edition: Eclipse 4.2.2, GNAT Pro Safety-Critical, PhoneGap 2.5, a Python framework for App Engine, Eclipse development will be based on the CBI, ColdFusion supports Java 7 and Google Maps, Embarcadero purchases FireDAC, Rackspace acquires ObjectRocket, and Vert.x is proposed as an Eclipse project.

• Development of the Eclipse platform will now be based on the Common Build Infrastructure (CBI). From now on, Tycho and Maven will be used for builds, rather than PDE batch builds.
  

• The Eclipse developers have also released Eclipse 4.2.2, the second maintenance update for Eclipse Juno. The Eclipse Downloads section has 13 different installation packages for a variety of usage scenarios. This update is expected to be the last maintenance release in the Eclipse 4.2 series; the next major release is expected in June and is being developed as Eclipse 4.3 under the code name "Kepler".
  

• Versions 9 and 10 of Adobe's ColdFusion application server now support Java 7 and Google Maps JavaScript API v3.
  

• Cloud provider Cloud Sherpas has released Ferris, an open source Python framework for development on Google App Engine. Key features are an MVC (model view controller) architecture, Rails-like web development with CRUD scaffolding of actions and views, and a Jinja2-based theme engine.
  

• Embarcadero Technologies has added FireDAC, a universal data access library, to its portfolio. FireDAC works with Delphi, C++Builder and RAD Studio and comes as the result of Embarcadero's takeover of DASoft's AnyDAC data access system.
  

• Embedded World saw AdaCore unveil its GNAT Pro Safety-Critical software for ARM Cortex micro-controllers. The new product includes a complete Ada development environment, which runs on safety-critical systems and systems with stringent memory constraints.
  

• The new version of PhoneGap 2.5.0 is primarily a bugfix release, but also includes some minor new features, such as a "disallowOverscroll" configuration setting and geotargeting in the InAppBrowser.
  

• The cloud hosting specialist Rackspace has acquired MongoDB service provider ObjectRocket. As part of the takeover, the company will add a NoSQL database option to its OpenStack cloud platform.
  

• Vert.x has now been officially proposed as an Eclipse project. This formalises what had previously been offered as a resolution of the situation brought about when the developer of the open source framework left VMware to work at Red Hat.
  

(fab)