Eclipse is a free and open source integrated development environment (IDE).
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OneAdvanced Legal
Score 8.8 out of 10
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ALB is a comprehensive UK Legal Practice Case Management solution that integrates all law firm processes into one system, including legal accounting, document management, time recording and client / matter management. The vendor states that their system is used by 700+ UK legal firms, and 68 per cent of them reported that ALB helps their fee earners save time every single day. They further state their customers gain real benefits in improved efficiencies, better management, consistent customer…
Eclipse is recommended for enabling the user community to be self-reliant in scenarios where the mode of operation demands agile, on the fly accurate reporting, such as during month ends for reconciliation purposes. The urgency and sensitivity of such situations result in a lot of stress with quick turnaround times but with the ability of Eclipse and Hana views, the reliance on IT could be minimized. Also, IT could leverage the power of Eclipse to develop Hana views without having to do the traditional route of ABAP developments. It might be less appropriate for situations where the agile and dynamic nature of the operations is not a necessity.
It has all you need built in right out of the box with all the core features you'd expect; Client Matter Inception process, Time Recording, Diary, Customisable Workflow modules, Billing, etc. Then there's all the extra modules which other products don't necessarily have; Wills and Deeds databases, Purchase Ledger (Accounts and Cashiers love everything to do with the accounts side), Laserform Integration, pdfDocs integration, OverVu integration for easy reporting.
Inevitably there will be compromises as with any piece of software. Especially one that covers off so many angles. The development tools could be stronger, the way addresses are handled seems to me to be overly complex. Having said that though, the software's primary purpose is to help Fee Earners and support staff provide services to clients and it does this admirably. You can't expect Visual Studio. I've seen users make a mess of the simplest of address databases with strong training provided so it might not be to my taste but I imagine they didn't develop it for fun.
My biggest gripe with the software is that some errors look severe. Other software would trap them in a more gentle manner. However, users quickly adjust to this and Advanced do some very clear monitoring to reduce them as the product mores forward.
It is very good at managing many files under edit. I like the ability to manage multiple projects and multiple files. It supports a wide variety of file formats with type-specific syntax formatting.
I like the integrated debugging facility. In particular, we used a remote file system debugger with Python in external VMs to great effect.
I like the ability to access multiple types of databases in the integrated development environment. It provides connectors for a wide variety of databases and supports most basic DB access methods.
GIT integration is very effective. You can easily manage repositories and connect them to projects, and the project integration into GIT is virtually seamless.
At times the dashboard and User Experience and User Interface do not follow a logical pathway. It can be confusing at times, but not extremely detrimental.
The client portal has also experienced some issues with the User interface and user experience functions as well.
I love this product, what makes it one of the best tool out in the market is its ability to function with a wide range of languages. The online community support is superb, so you are never stuck on an issue. The customization is endless, you can keep adding plugins or jars for more functionalities as per your requirements. It's Free !!!
It has everything that the developer needs to do the job. Few things that I have used in my day-to-day development 1. Console output. 2. Software flash functionality supporting multiple JTAG vendors like J-LINK. 3. Debugging capabilities like having a breakpoint, looking at the assembly, looking at the memory etc. this also applies to Embedded boards. 4. Plug-in like CMake, Doxygen and PlantUML are available.
The usability is slightly above average. The all-in-one approach has been great and useful, but some of the functionality and user experience and user interface issues can affect usability. Some might be nitpicky, but not following logical pathways or ones that may pose issues for those that have disabilities can really create issues.
I gave this rating because Eclipse is an open-source free IDE therefore no support system is available as far as I know. I have to go through other sources to solve my problem which is very tough and annoying. So if you are using Eclipse then you are on your own, as a student, it is not a big issue for me but for developers it is a need.
The support, if we are talking about technical support with the product itself when issues arise, is average. It's not terrible, but not great either. It is average and what you might expect. Some issues are delayed in getting responses and we constantly have to be upgrading to higher tiers or developers. Some responses are quick though. Response time could be improved, much like other organizations.
As previously said, Eclipse is one of the most complete and useful tools for Java development. And as a plus, it's open-source and free, so you won't beat that price-quality relation. When starting with Java projects, you won't fail with Eclipse. But, if you are getting into other programming languages, or your projects are getting bigger and bigger, you might consider switching to another solution.
ALB Legal Software is a more efficient product than MyCase and PracticePanther mostly for the integration it allows and the "all in one" approach that it takes. It takes several different areas and functions of legal practice and puts in one platform eliminating the need to leverage 2-3 platforms sometimes i.e. timekeeping, document management, mobile access, client portal, etc. Keeping it under one roof helps.
Eclipse handles numerous languages and a multitude of features, so many features that it requires a deep learning curve for users. The setup is complex and requires someone with expertise or background with software implementation.
Eclipse is free and offers user community support which is a huge benefit.
Eclipse has solid Subversion integration which saves costs for a firm that is already using Subversion as their configuration management tool.
Eclipse lacks the ability to support mobile application development which is a negative impact for the need to deliver mobile apps.
Eclipse is open source which means it is constantly updating features and functions extending the learning curve for users.
