A while ago, Google acquired Instantiations, the makers of the fantastic UI development plugin for Eclipse. The plugin named Windows Builder Pro, allows you to develop user interfaces for your java and gwt projects, along with xwt support.

Google first made the tools available for free, then today I’ve received an e-mail that says that it will be open sourced in 2011. For a quite long time, the lack of a free (as in beer) UI designer in Eclipse was a big issue. The only serious option was the Matisse port under MyEclipse, but MyEclipse made me hate their distribution so much, I have simply given up on that option.

Now we do not only have access to a free UI plugin, but we can also take a look at the code. Personally, I’ve always been curious about how Instantiations made that great plugin tick, and finally I’ll be able to take a peek.

Thanks Google, this one is really appreciated.