Eclipse Platform
TLDR: The Eclipse Platform is an extensible and modular framework that serves as the foundation for the Eclipse Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and other software development tools. Introduced in 2001 by IBM and later managed by the Eclipse Foundation since 2004, the Eclipse Platform provides a robust architecture for building and deploying integrated development environments, toolchains, and standalone applications. It is built around the concept of plugins, which allow developers to customize and extend its capabilities.
https://www.eclipse.org/platform/
The Eclipse Platform is composed of several core components, including the Workbench, SWT (Standard Widget Toolkit), JFace, and the Eclipse Runtime. The Workbench provides a graphical interface for managing projects, files, and tools, while SWT is responsible for creating native-looking graphical user interfaces across platforms. JFace simplifies common UI programming tasks, such as handling viewers and dialogs. These components work together to deliver a flexible and consistent environment for developers, regardless of the programming languages or technologies they use.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eclipse_(software)
The modularity of the Eclipse Platform allows it to be used beyond traditional IDE functionality. For instance, frameworks like Eclipse RCP (Rich Client Platform) enable developers to build standalone desktop applications, while projects like Eclipse Che leverage the Eclipse Platform for cloud-based development environments. This adaptability has made the Eclipse Platform a preferred choice for organizations seeking to create tailored tools and environments, ensuring its relevance in both open-source and enterprise ecosystems.