Pulse launched today. What is Pulse? Well, it’s quite a few things but let me tell you a story about it in pictures.
I’ve been toying with Pulse the past few days as the Genuitec folks were kind enough to invite me to test it. I managed to setup a few ‘profiles’ with it. Think of profiles as an easy to configure set of plug-ins (or more appropriately bits of functionality). I have two profiles:
I launched my C/C++ profile but found that it lacked Mylyn so I was naturally devastated. Instead of going the classic update manager route… I launched the Pulse Explorer to see what’s going on:
Yap, looks like no Mylyn in my C/C++ profile. Let’s see if I can find Mylyn in the software catalog:
Sweet, I found Mylyn, let’s add it to my C/C++ profile:
Now let’s run the C/C++ profile:
Bingo, I have my C/C++ tools along with Mylyn:
That’s Pulse in pictures for you. I see a lot of potential in Pulse as revolutionizing the way the Eclipse community manages their plug-in install base.
However, I have some worries. Pulse seems to be backed by only one company currently and to appeal to the greater community, they may have to open up more. What do I mean by this? Well, it seems that in order to add software to the catalog, you have to go through an autocratic process. I understand that the process may help ensure only quality items end up in the catalog, but opening it up to everyone similar to the Netbeans Plug-in Portal is a step in the right direction.
Other than that, hats off to the guys behind Pulse for putting together an excellent tool and service.