When CodeGear actually completes the integration, it will look like just another Eclipse plug-in that's part of JBuilder, with optimizations to make it backwards compatible with earlier JBuilder versions. It won’t look like a separate toolset or require a separate install. 

Instantiations is actually a diversified provider of toolsets for rich client apps for Java, Ajax, Eclipse, and SmallTalk; the product that CodeGear will integrate will be the Swing Designer, which incidentally, already supports code generation for an earlier version (2006) of JBuilder. The announcement being made at EclipseCon is simply a statement of direction by CodeGear; actual integration of the Instantiations Swing tools won't occur until the next release of JBuilder, which is likely later in Q2. At that time, Swing will be just one of the features added, with others to address more timely concerns like Web 2.0.

At first blush, the timing appears a bit ironic for Borland to be making a Swing announcement at an Eclipse event, as Eclipse supports the rival SWT (Standard Widget Toolkit). Although visual toolkits weren’t the cause of the original Eclipse/Sun (later NetBeans) rift, the provided the excuse for the forking of Java development frameworks. But, according to CodeGear, Swing continues to have a foothold in the Eclipse community, as it cites Eclipse surveys showing Swing as remaining to be the most popular visual toolkit.

Of course all this must be placed in perspective, as Java clients are essentially another layer of enterprise or ISV legacy. The mainstream of Java development has occurred back on the server, with client compatibility issues having largely kept this a niche development style.

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