I have never really had the opportunity to be the cutting edge guy. Hey, like to get the latest tool occasionally and have a play, but we usually lag behind in technology at work and are forced to stick with the safe and secure option.
Safe and secure has now gotten a bit old and it's time to make some changes, but we now find we have fallen behind a little. Our life consists on Java 1.4 and Tomcat 4, XML data binding in a combination of castor and Axis V1. But Better the Devil You Know can only last you so long.
In one foul swoop (with a bunch of regression testing) I hope to make the leap to Java6 and Tomcat6, with maybe some Axis 2 thrown in for good measure. Then we'll be able to consider some of the new libraries that have come out post-Java5 that we have previously been prevented from using.
And what is my weapon of choice for this move? I keenly wait the release of Eclipse WTP 2.0, currently in RC1. It's tools have been upgraded to support Axis2 and Tomcat 6 and I am quite quite keen to get into it.
I also just got word that Amazon has shipped my copy of SOA Using Java Web Services and I wait this with keen expectation too, but I hope WTP gets here first.