The Eclipse Rich Client Platform is becoming the framework of choice for building thick client applications. Stephen Lum over at devX.com gives a step-by-step guide on leveraging Eclipse RCP with Spring.

“Even though Web 2.0 and Rich Internet Applications are all the rage these days, building a rich Web front end for your stakeholders is not the answer when thick client functionality is what you really need. If you need to eschew the RIA craze and opt for a practical thick client application, a rich client platform will handle much of the work for you,” says Lum.

Essentially, an RCP concept brings a framework to the world of Java desktop applications.  An RCP provides a skeleton/shell of an application, along with a module-based API that enables you to build your own application. The RCP does all the plumbing, such as creating a good design for adding menus, toolbars, different views, etc.

Lum takes you through building a thick client interface to connect to the server built in his previous article. You will build the thick client on top of the  Eclipse RCP and then integrate Eclipse RCP with Spring.

The prerequisites for taking the tutorial are:

• Eclipse 3.1.2
• MyEclipse 4.1.1
• Java SE 5 and a working knowledge thereof
• A Servlet Container or J2EE server (this tutorial uses Tomcat 5.5+)
• Spring 1.2+ and a working knowledge thereof
• The source code for the example

Lum goes on to explain how to build a new Eclipse plug-in project for the RCP, how to refactor the default view class, how to add Spring remoting to your application, how to create a new WatchListView, aided by screenshots and code. Lum also offers the source code used in the article for download.