Eclipse is a java-based tool platform – an open extensible IDE for anything and nothing in particular. This has meant that there is a large base of support for using Eclipse as a general development platform, with many plugins being developed and many derivative IDEs or distributions being made for use with specialized niches in mind. Some Eclipse plugins: java2script Subclipse flow4j Eclipse Derivatives: Aptana EasyEclipse See Also: NetBeans (see Eclipse vs Net