Chapter 1. Release notes

Red Hat CodeReady Workspaces is a web-based integrated development environment (IDE). CodeReady Workspaces runs in OpenShift and is well-suited for container-based development.

This section documents the most important features and bug fixes in Red Hat CodeReady Workspaces.

1.1. About Red Hat CodeReady Workspaces

Red Hat CodeReady Workspaces 2.0 provides an enterprise-level cloud developer workspace server and browser-based integrated development environment (IDE). CodeReady Workspaces includes ready-to-use developer stacks for most of the popular programming languages, frameworks, and Red Hat technologies.

This major release of Red Hat CodeReady Workspaces is based on Eclipse Che 7 and offers a number of enhancements and new features, including:

  • Support for installation in restricted environments, also called offline mode or air-gap scenario
  • Support for defining workspaces using the portable devfile format
  • Support for OpenShift Developer Perspective integration and its additional capabilities
  • Che-Theia IDE as the default editor

CodeReady Workspaces 2.0 is available in the Red Hat Container Catalog. Install it on OpenShift Container Platform, starting at version 3.11, by following the instructions in the Installing CodeReady Workspaces chapter of the Installation Guide.

From OpenShift 4.1, CodeReady Workspaces 2.0 is available from the OperatorHub. Based on a new Operator that uses the Operator Lifecycle Manager, the installation flow is simpler and can be handled without leaving the OpenShift Console.​

For OpenShift 4.1 and higher, get CodeReady Workspaces from the OperatorHub and follow the Installing CodeReady Workspaces on Openshift 4 from OperatorHub chapter of the Installation Guide.

1.1.1. Notable enhancements

1.1.1.1. Support for installation in restricted environments

OpenShift Container Platform provides support for deploying Red Hat CodeReady Workspaces 2.0 in environments where external resources are not available, for example on a cluster that is not exposed to a public network. This ensures that workspaces can be started without relying on resources from outside networks.

1.1.1.2. Support for defining workspaces using the portable devfile format

Red Hat CodeReady Workspaces 2.0 supports a new method to configure and create a Red Hat CodeReady Workspaces workspace using a portable devfile. Devfiles are YAML configuration files that Red Hat CodeReady Workspaces parses and creates a cloud workspace, composed of multiple containers and based on the devfile. The devfile can be stored:

  • In a root folder of a Git repository
  • In a feature branch of a Git repository
  • In a publicly accessible destination
  • As a separate, locally stored artifact

When creating a workspace, Red Hat CodeReady Workspaces uses the devfile to initiate factory deployment and run all the containers for the required tools and application runtimes. Red Hat CodeReady Workspaces also mounts file-system volumes to make source code available to the workspace.

Differences between stacks in CodeReady Workspaces 1.2 and devfiles in CodeReady Workspaces 2.0

Starting with CodeReady Workspaces 2.0:

  • A stack is a pre-configured CodeReady Workspaces workspace.
  • A devfile is a configuration YAML file that CodeReady Workspaces consumes and transforms into a cloud workspace composed of multiple containers.

In CodeReady Workspaces 1.2, stacks were defined by a stacks.json file that was included with the che server. In contrast, in CodeReady Workspaces 2.0, the stacks.json file does not exist. Instead, a stack is defined in the devfile registry, which is a separate service. Every single devfile in the registry corresponds to a stack.

1.1.1.3. OpenShift Developer Perspective support

Red Hat CodeReady Workspaces 2.0 provides a number of enhancements for the OpenShift Developer Perspective.

Notably, OpenShift Developer Perspective now enables editing an application using Red Hat CodeReady Workspaces as the editor. Users can access this option from the Topology tab of the OpenShift Container Platform. In addition, Red Hat CodeReady Workspaces workspaces are accessible from the Red Hat Applications menu after Red Hat CodeReady Workspaces deployment on the OpenShift Cluster.

1.1.1.4. Che-Theia IDE as the default editor

Red Hat CodeReady Workspaces 2.0 now uses Che-Theia integrated development environment (IDE) as the default editor. Che-Theia IDE is similar to the popular Visual Studio Code (VS Code) IDE. As such, users can experience the familiar working environment and VS Code extensions support.

Features:

  • Intelligent editing support for all major programming languages. Che-Theia supports JavaScript, Java, Python, and others.
  • Integrated Terminal - A full-featured terminal that reconnects on browser reload, maintaining the full history.
  • Flexible Layout - A shell based on PhosphorJS, which provides a solid foundation for draggable dock layouts.

1.1.1.5. Red Hat CodeReady Workspaces command-line tool

The crwctl command-line tool has been introduced, which helps install, manage, and use Red Hat CodeReady Workspaces on an OpenShift cluster.

This tool enables:

  • Managing remote clusters after installing Red Hat CodeReady Workspaces locally.
  • Pre-check installation of Red Hat CodeReady Workspaces.
  • Administration of Red Hat CodeReady Workspaces-related tasks.

crwctl is the back-up installation method for situations where OperatorHub is not available.

1.1.1.6. Supported platforms for deploying CodeReady Workspaces 2.0

The following section provides information about the availability of CodeReady Workspaces 2.0 on OpenShift Container Platform, and about their supported installation methods.

Red Hat CodeReady Workspaces for OpenShift Container Platform can be installed on OpenShift Container Platform starting at version 3.11.

Table 1.1. Availability of CodeReady Workspaces 2.0 on OpenShift Container Platform

 

3.11

4.0

4.1

4.2

OpenShift Container Platform

✔

✘

✔

✔

Table 1.2. Supported installation method for CodeReady Workspaces 2.0 on OpenShift Container Platform

 

3.11

4.1

4.2

OpenShift Container Platform

crwctl

OperatorHub

OperatorHub

It is possible to use the crwctl utility script for deploying CodeReady Workspaces 2.0 on OpenShift Container Platform versions 4.1 and 4.2. This method is considered unofficial and serves as a back-up installation method for situations where the installation method using OperatorHub is not available.

1.1.2. Installing and deploying CodeReady Workspaces

For OpenShift 3.11, see the Installing CodeReady Workspaces chapter of the Administrator Guide.

For OpenShift 4.2, see the Installing CodeReady Workspaces from Operator Hub chapter of the Installation Guide.

1.1.3. Support policy

For Red Hat CodeReady Workspaces 2.0, Red Hat will provide support for deployment, configuration, and use of the product.

CodeReady Workspaces 2.0 has been tested on Chrome version 78.0.3904.70 (Official Build) (64-bit).

For more information, see CodeReady Workspaces life-cycle and support policy.

1.2. Difference between Eclipse Che and Red Hat CodeReady Workspaces

The main difference between CodeReady Workspaces and Eclipse Che is that CodeReady Workspaces is supported by Red Hat. There is no difference in the technologies these two products use. Nevertheless, CodeReady Workspaces runs the plug-ins and devfiles from supported images. Licensing, packaging, and support are also provided by Red Hat.

The following table lists the differences between Eclipse Che and Red Hat CodeReady Workspaces:

CodeReady WorkspacesEclipse Che

The CodeReady Workspaces stacks are based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux. The CodeReady Workspaces stacks list includes several stack images based on Red Hat Enterprise Application Platform, such as Vert.x, Springboot, etc.

The Eclipse Che stacks are based on CentOS and other free operating systems