March 6, 2006
This plug-in is a Rich Client Platform (RCP) standalone application developed with Eclipse 3.1.2 and Java Runtime Environment 1.5.0. It is a template or bootstrap for developing client database graphic user interface (GUI) applications, particularly CRUD (Create, Read, Update, and Delete) interfaces. It is customized for use with PostgreSQL, although fairly minor changes would allow it to be used with other client-server relational database programs. This plug-in is intended to address the relative dearth of rapid application development (RAD) tools for creating client GUIs leveraging the advantages afforded by Java and the Eclipse RCP. It provides basic program functionality, many of the GUI features that make the Eclipse RCP so attractive, database connection services via JDBC, and general database maintenance utilities (reindex, vacuum, backup, and restore). It does not include any application-specific elements, such as views, editors, and reports. These application-specific elements would be added by the developer to create a final, customized client GUI application. This plug-in is not a general SQL client (such as SQuirreL) or a database development and administration tool (such as pgAdmin III or PG Lightning Admin), although it could provide the basis for developing such tools if desired.
Using Komo is easy. If you have downloaded the Komo demo application for Windows, unzip the file to a convenient location on your computer. The komo.exe file in the program's main directory starts the application. If it doesn't run, make sure you have the correct Java virtual machine (J2SE Runtime 5.0 or higher) installed on your computer. If not, you may download it from java.sun.com. Once Komo is running, be sure to check out the extensive Help system for a variety of pointers.
To begin developing your custom application with Komo, import the source code (which is included in the Komo plugin jar file) into your Eclipse workspace. You will need to have Eclipse version 3.1.2 or higher. The import can be done from the Eclipse menu. Select File>Import, then select Archive File from the list, then click Next. On the next page, use the browser to navigate to the mschmidt.komo_1.0.0.jar file (this is in the komo>plugins directory). Select this file and the import should begin. Browse through the code to get a peak under the hood, noting the extensive comments. Once you are comfortable with Komo, begin modifying and adding elements to suit your specific needs. Although Komo may be compiled and exported from within the IDE platform, I found it easier to compile the plugin against an external basic target RCP platform (see the Eclipse menu option Window>Preferences>Plug-in Development>Target Platform). An Eclipse RCP target platform can be downloaded from the eclipse.org website.