v2.3 is out

Now that it has been concluded (well, now that we decided) that Version 2.3 is what it is, here is some highlights:

A Z2 plugin for JetBrain’s IntelliJ IDEA

As with Eclipse it is now possible to have class path resolution and some more for Z2 in IntelliJ. IntelliJ’s approach to working with projects and modules (as opposed to workspaces and projects in Eclipse) is not-so-slightly different which strongly impacts what IDE-specific features make sense. For the Z2 plugin the one important additional feature is to discover Z2 modules and have them added and removed from the currently opened project at a click.

The plugin can be installed directly from the plugin repository operated by JetBrains.

Please read on at IntelliJ Z2 Plugin.

Maven repository access from Z2

In principle you wouldn’t want to use anything like an artifact repository when using Z2. Its component repositories serve (among other things) as a shareable source of binary artifacts and dependency information.

The true value in the combination of Z2 with Maven artifact repositories lies in the wealth of community-provided naming and dependency information plus the ability to start light when using an externally provided repository such as Maven Central. So the main benefit, a very real benefit, lies in its existence.

In version 2.3 it is possible to access Maven artifact repositories and consume artifacts. Add-ons as well as relevant samples have been ported.

Please read on at How to Acess a Maven Repository or better yet see things happening by running a simple sample such as the Sample-Spring-Basic.

As in all usages of artifact repositories, the dependency information provided does hardly ever say all you need to know in any but the most trivial cases. The March blog post Dependency Management for Modular Applications captures the theoretical side of assembly from artifact repositories for modular applications.

Java Language Level

Up to Version 2.2, Z2 was pretty much hard-coded to be all Java 6. That is, you needed a Java 6 Runtime Environment and all source code as well as byte code of binary artifacts where expected to be Java 6 compatible.

With Version 2.3, you can specify whether you want to target a Java 7 or a Java 6 environment and Z2 applies the natural default depending on what Java version it was started with.

Please read on at How to set the language level.