Eclipse RAP is a Eclipse based platform for Ajax web applications which provides part of the API of Eclipse RCP . Eclipse RAP allows to use Eclipse RCP paradigm for developing Ajax web-applications.

RAP is based on the OSGi implementation Equinox . It is possible to run Eclipse RAP applications via the OSGi servlet bridge in a servlet container, e.g. Apache Tomcat or Jetty.

Eclipse RAP supports extension points, views, perspectives, selection service, commands, handlers, editors and databinding.

Eclipse archives this by providing its own implementations for SWT, JFace and the Workbench. Eclipse RAP replaces SWT with RWT (RAP widget toolkit) layer. This toolkit is based on the qooxdoo Ajax library. RWT is a distributed system; every RWT widget has a client and a server part. These part communicate via Ajax.

During development Eclipse RAP applications run in the embedded webserver Jetty which is part of the Eclipse RAP development environment.

Eclipse RAP does not provide all the possibilities Eclipse RCP . For example Eclipse RAP has no Graphics Context which can be used in SWT to draw directly onto the SWT widgets.

Each Eclipse RAP releases provides more functionality so that the differences between Eclipse RCP and Eclipse RAP are getting smaller every release.