Yes, I use the WTP right now and it works great on my Seam project.

I meant to include the ant scripts like seam-gen creates (or created in seam 1.2 with command line usage) so I have a starting point to build the project without running eclipse.

I prefer to do my builds for different environments straight from source control without having to fire up eclipse/RHDS, so this isn't for when I run inside of RHDS per se.

I found with seam-gen, with the way it used .exploded and the build file to explode to the deploy directory, I was 99% of the way to building without needing eclipse running. I also liked the way .exploded worked, but that isn't my primary reason for the request.

Thanks,
Jason

Max--

As far as .exploded goes... for one thing, my ant scripts run in less than a second for xhtml file changes... and for the full build of my project it was ~2 seconds. And with changes to my java classes, it usually took longer for JBoss to recognize the change and re-start my app (if necessary) than the ant script took.

I've always had problems with WTP. While my new Seam app that I created is working fine with WTP in RHDS, I am having issues with WTP and other projects. For example, a strust/tapestry war project that I have imported into RHDS won't publish properly, or publishes sporadically.

When I have .exploded running an ant file, I feel like I have more control and visibility to what is actually changing. I can also manually run the various targets in the ant script in case I need to.

Also, I deploy against different databases frequently, and I like to have a task in my build file that replaces the hibernate dialect or other attributes when deploying to my local app server.

I found a lot of value in having a working ant file included automatically by seam-gen was one of the things that allowed me to get a seam app up and working so quickly.

So, as per my subject line... it's a humble request to bring the seam ant scripts back and include them in the RHDS generated Seam project(s). I wouldn't expect it to be hooked up to the .exploded triggers (or I would expect it to be disabled by default). I would also hope that they would work outside of eclipse as this is an important part of how my development and environment escalation processes work.

I can obviously copy and modify existing ant scripts for my new Seam projects, but not everyone will have used Seam prior to RHDS like me (especially since I believe RHDS will be adopted quickly).

I think this is an area where RHDS can add the same high-value aspects that Seam offers. Hopefully it isn't much effort.

Thanks,
Jason

Max, to respond to the 3 challenges...

1) How do you sync the build.xml and eclipse project settings?

My answer: You don't. If someone uses the ant scripts, they can update the build.xml just like they update the project properties. But, the goal would be to give them the same starting point.

2) How do we make the ant script work with the eclipse project understanding?

My answer: Same as for #1... just set it up to mirror the initial project configuration. Let maintenance of the project settings fall to the users. Especially initially so that you're not overwhelmed with a task larger than adding a generated build.xml file to the current project generation tasks.

3) What about maven?

Maven doesn't support EARs currently, which is a significant drawback. Also, Maven supports ant tasks, so you can tie the ant scripts into future Maven support.

I've always thought of Maven as a way to deal with project dependencies without having to include those dependencies. Within my workspace it is only applicable once -- every time after that I have all my dependencies and only need to do a local build... which is a use case for ant scripts.

I'll consider contributing, but my current work is more in web development than in RCP and plugin development. In that vein, I figured I would share a customer need (my need) with you so you can incorporate it if you agree. Likewise, I would hope others will benefit from having a build.xml even if their expertise lies in JSF or other development rather than ant scripts.

I'll repeat one point from my original post -- the RHDS project team is doing great things. My suggestion is a way that it might be a little more helpful for me and developers who work like I do. Keep up the good work.

Thanks,
Jason

Sorry... my comment about Maven and ear files was incorrect. It is just cumbersome.

http://www.michaelyuan.com/blog/2007/10/09/jboss-seam-project-setup-with-maven-%e2%80%94-part-2-ear-deployment/