Microsoft recently announced interoperability efforts to get world of Silverlight and Java-based Eclipse to talk to each other. Considering the large number of developers using Eclipse this is a major milestone. Microsoft funded project,  implemented by France based Soyatec, is an Eclipse Tools for Microsoft Silverlight plugin. Microsoft executive talked about this few days ago.

Company providing technical solution - Soyatec, maintains dedicated community site for this project. Which makes tracking Eclipse4sl vision and roadmap all the more exciting. Fact that this utility is written in Java and distributed as an Eclipse plugin is a major win.

Long term aim of the project, according to Soyatec, is

.. the creation of open source tools integrated with the Eclipse development platform that enable Java developers to use the Eclipse platform to create applications that run on the Microsoft Silverlight runtime platform. Specifically, the project will be an Eclipse plug-in that works with the Eclipse Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and Eclipse Rich Client Platform (RCP) to provide both a Silverlight development environment and greater interoperability between Silverlight and Java, to facilitate the integration of Silverlight-based applications into Java-based web sites and services. The project has been submitted to the Eclipse Foundation and released as an open Eclipse project.

The Eclipse Tools for Microsoft Silverlight Project will integrate advanced Silverlight development capabilities into the Eclipse IDE and Eclipse Rich Client Platform (RCP).

• Increased Interoperability: Eclipse will contain functionality that will help Java Developers build Silverlight applications that work better with Java Web Services using REST, SOAP, JSON and other standards.
• Silverlight Project System and Silverlight Compiler: Eclipse will contain both an advanced project system for creating Silverlight applications and media experiences as well as a compiler for packaging Silverlight applications for deployment.
• Full compatibility with Microsoft’s Development and Design Tools: The XAML and Silverlight projects created by Eclipse will be fully supported by both Microsoft Visual Studio and Microsoft Expression Studio tools.

XAML Editor & Preview with code hinting and code completion: Eclipse will contain an advanced, standards-compliant XAML editor with code hinting and code hinting features which helps detect and correct coding errors.

Screenshots:

Eclipse4sl is available for download