Tools initiatives advance The Eclipse open source tools project spearheaded by IBM and the Object Management Group’s Unified Modeling Language (UML) 2.0 both are taking steps forward.The Eclipse consortium on Monday announced availability of CDT (C/C++ Development Tools) 1.0, which Eclipse called a major step forward in the development of an integrated, open cross-platform IDE for C/C++ development. Portions of the UML 2.0 specification, meanwhile, moved a step closer to adoption at an OMG meeting last week inOrlando, Fla.The Eclipse CDT 1.0 framework is to be used to integrate C and C++ tools from multiple vendors, according to Eclipse. The release of CDT means that Eclipse’s support for C and C++ is as strong as it is for the rival Java programming language, according to Eclipse. Eclipse CDT 1.0 can be downloaded at http://www.eclipse.org/tools/downloads.html. The Eclipse community builds royalty-free technology as a platform for tools integration. Eclipse features a plug-in-based framework that is intended to make it easier to build, integrate and use software tools. Tools producers collaborate and share core integration technology.OMG voted to recommend adoption of the UML 2.0 Infrastructure, Object Constraint Language and Diagram Interchange Protocol, meaning these specifications have taken final form, according to OMG. A fourth area, superstructure, pertaining to rendering of diagrams, is pending.UML is a modeling language for analysis and design of enterprise applications and is a key component of the OMG Model Driven Architecture approach, said Fred Waskiewicz, director of standards at OMG, inNeedham, Mass. OMG’saction means the submissions have been reviewed by the issuing task force and OMG architecture board and will be subject to votes by the OMG platform technology committee and board of directors, Waskiewicz said.Final adoption of UML 2.0 is anticipated in June, according to Waskiewicz. UML 2.0 focuses on better integrated semantics and greater support for extensibility. Through UML 2.0, core development assets and design code can, through profiles, be extended to different platforms such as Web services, Java or CORBA (Common Object Request Broker Architecture).“What UML 2.0 is doing is providing the semantics and mechanisms for doing that,” said Waskiewicz. Software Development