NEW DELHI, INDIA: Microsoft Corp., on Wednesday announced at the Eclipse Summit Europe new solutions that help developers using the Eclipse platform take advantage of the new features in Windows 7 and Window Server 2008 R2, and reinforce Java and PHP interoperability with Windows Azure and Microsoft Silverlight.

Microsoft worked with open source companies, Tasktop Technologies Inc. from Canada for Windows 7 and Window Server 2008 R2, and Soyatec from France for Azure and Silverlight, to provide opportunities for developers working in heterogeneous computing environments and use a mix of Microsoft and open source technologies, said a press release.

"Enabling customers to better manage their dynamic IT systems is one of today's real market opportunities for developers. Microsoft's goal with these interoperability projects is to further open up this opportunity to the Eclipse ecosystem," said Jean Paoli, general manager of Interoperability Strategy at Microsoft.

He added, "This collaboration with Tasktop and Soyatec — and the new opportunity it creates with tools to make it easier to build on Microsoft's open platforms — reflects the value we place on the ingenuity of the Eclipse developer community."

Recognizing the interoperability needs of developers as they program in different languages, Microsoft and Tasktop Technologies, a Eclipse-based solution provider, have initiated a joint project to enhance the overall developer experience of Eclipse on Windows 7.

The work would consist of developing updates to the Eclipse integrated development environment (IDE) that will incorporate new features available in Windows 7 and Window Server 2008 R2, ensuring that the improved productivity and user experience of Windows 7 will be available to developers using the Eclipse IDE, as well as to desktop applications built on the Eclipse platform, said the release

A new open source plug-in was also announced today that gives developers more flexibility when using the Eclipse development environment, which would help advance industry cloud interoperability efforts.

The plug-in offers PHP developers a series of wizards and utilities allowing them to write, debug, configure and deploy PHP applications to Windows Azure. It bundles the existing Windows Azure software development kit (SDK) for PHP into the Eclipse PHP project and includes a Window Azure storage explorer that allows developers to browse data contained into the Windows Azure tables, blobs or queues.

Another open source project unveiled today is the new Windows Azure SDK for Java, which provides tools and resources to help bridge Java developers to Windows Azure. The SDK lets Java developers utilize Windows Azure storage services for storing data, an important benefit for developers because it provides simple developments methods when they write Web applications.

Microsoft worked in collaboration with Soyatec, a France-based IT solutions provider to develop the Windows Azure Tools for Eclipse for PHP and the Windows Azure SDK for Java.

Microsoft and Soyatec have also released version 1.0 of the Eclipse Silverlight plug-in, an open source, cross-platform plug-in for the Eclipse development environment that enables Eclipse developers to build Silverlight rich Internet applications.

This project includes support for the Macintosh platform, and provides guidance for greater interoperability between Silverlight-based applications and Java-based Web sites and Web services, including REST, SOAP, JSON and other standards,added the release.