I am learning Java and my IDE is Eclipse Mars. I was wondering if there was a way to create a GUI in Eclipse?
I researched it and the only half decent way I can find was pretty complex, any ideas?
Eclipse includes WindowBuilder, a "bi-directional Java GUI designer." Whether you have it installed in your Eclipse depends on which package you downloaded; if you downloaded Eclipse IDE for Java Developers then it's already included. If you got a different package, you can install WindowBuilder via these instructions.
Eclipse itself has only the coding function when it comes to GUIs.
If you really want to know your way around GUIs I recommend you learn it by programming it.
If you just want to try it out one time or start with easier lessons and then go into programming it yourself I recommend the IDE "Netbeans". It has a drag-and-drop kinda GUI builder implemented with which GUIs are very easy to implement.
Especially if your are just learning Java I recommend learning the basics in Java first, insert your functions into an easy to build GUI with Netbeans and later on go into fully programming GUIs.
Netbeans is also free and pretty much the same as eclipse. Maybe less customizable features, but for beginners and people who want to know how GUI works its perfect.
Related
This might be better suited as a Super User question, but since it's programming related, I put it here:
Is there any version of the Eclipse IDE available that runs as a native Windows executable, instead of as a Java program that's merely started by a .exe file?
(I'm guessing it could potentially be compiled with GCJ, so I'm wondering if anyone's already done it.)
I have never heard of such a thing and I have been involved in Eclipse development for many years. Why would you want such a thing? Surely not for performance as a modern JVM runs Java code on par with native code and faster in many case as JIT can optimize and re-optimize on the fly better than a static compiler.
Excelsior JET has done this with Eclipse Classic Juno as a demo for their Eclipse RCP support.
Have a look here: https://www.excelsiorjet.com/solutions/protect-eclipse-rcp-applications
What would be the best/quickest way to have a IDE-type setup when I have existing C/C++ source with several Makefiles (library, executable etc.).
I need to work with compiler errors in the IDE and preferably navigate the code.
In the past I have used Emacs/Xemacs, and it is OKish, but I am not sure about the best way to set it up.
The Eclipse CDT plugin is a pretty decent IDE for C/C++.
I've found the code navigation features good for small-to-medium projects (the indexer becomes slower with very large projects). Eclipse has its share of detractors for being bulky and Java-based, but it works fine for me.
KDevelop and Netbeans might be worth looking at as alternatives, if you want this kind of GUI-based IDE. As you've said, Emacs (or Vim) can be used to get the same functionality with more of a keyboard-based approach, with the right setup.
I came to know that eclipse can be used for other languages as well. But will it give the same comfort level as using java? Is there anybody who has used eclipse for other languages?
I've used Eclipse for both C/C++, Ruby, Erlang, and a few others. None of these are as tightly integrated with Eclipse as Java is, but CDT (C/C++) gives Visual Studio a good run for its money. I usually use Emacs for the other ones.
Yes, you can use Eclipse for many languages other than Java. I personally use Eclipse to code in C++, Perl, PHP, and do JavaScript as well inside of it. While it also supports plugins for connecting and executing queries against databases, I tend to prefer other options there such as Toad or Oracle SQL Developer. There are numerous other plugins to support many other languages that you can find either through the Update Manager or a simple Google search, many of which are excellent.
As a side note, if you're not using Mylyn, you're missing out.
Eclipse is used as a base for other language and tool:
for example As3 with FlashBuilder; PHP, Javascript with Aptana studio, C,Python,... with other plugins, etc...
You can found here for example some plugins for other languages.
I've used it for Javascript (jQuery): compile-time checks are a godsend to the barren lands of javascript.
For Java developement I feel most comfortable using Eclipse.
I tried using Eclipse for coding with Python. There is PyDev, an Eclipse plugin that can be used to work with the Python code in Eclipse. Though PyDev provides features like Code Completion, Syntax highlighting etc, I felt comfortable to use editors like gvim or emacs rather than Eclipse
for working with Python code. YMMV
Yes, Eclipse supports many other languages.
But you knew that already when you saw http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/
So, I guess that you are asking how well it supports them...
It is possible to have Eclipse without Java. Imagine taking that and then adding Java support. Compare that with CDT for C++ and - in my experience - they are pretty much the same.
Yes, Eclipse is slanted at Java, and I doubt that anyone will deny that, but at the same time it tries to be fair and generic and pretty much achieves it. Any few % less other language support doesn't matter when you realize that no other IDE compares.
Bottom line, whatever your language, you will be hard pushed to beat Eclipse.
And that's before I get started on the myriad plugins ...
Not only programming, debugging with Eclipse is sweet. Beside Java, the other languages I mostly work on Eclipse are PHP and Python.
While I was working on the Eclipse Web Tools Platform (WTP) project we often said that the Java Development Tools (JDT) were the model that we referenced for features for Web related languages. I think JDT has set the bar and many other projects that implement language specific tooling try to reach the JDT bar. I don't know that any have or that copying everything about JDT is the point but I do think the Java tools are exemplary development tools.
Qt Creator looks like a good IDE. I've been using Eclipse CDT and while a little buggy, it does the job.
Does Qt Creator have the same capabilities as Eclipse CDT?
Qt Creator uses MinGW under the hood, so it only makes sense that it would be able to compile without using any Qt headers. Simply uncheck all of the headers when making the project and you can code just like you would in any other IDE.
I took an example shot for you to see:
Dead link
Edit: Ahh you edited your question.
Yes of course! Qt is a great environment and can sure hold it's own against competitors like Eclipse in C++. Although keep in mind Eclipse satisfies a myriad of developers, from Java to C++ to Python among many others. Typically an IDE specializing in one language will be more catered to that language, but Eclipse sure does one hell of a job catering to developers of multiple languages with it's vast amount of plugins. If you're comfortable with Eclipse CDT, I think you will feel right at home with Qt Creator, better yet, pampered.
such a great piece of software.
Well, QTCreator does exactly what a Linux C++/C dev (i assume you are a linux dev from what i read) would want from an IDE. Neither too much nor too little features. The problem of feature rich IDEs like Eclipse is that you might loose control of your project since it pretty much handles everything. If something goes south you have to take the features/plugins you used into consideration during the debugging process.
But overall, eclipse is (imho) the better choice since it makes sense to get used to one IDE that can pretty much handle every language. At work i use eclipse CDT for exactly this reason. For private projects i use QTCreator, because C/C++ are the only languages i use for these projects.
I hope this helps
Since you mentioned nothing about Qt, I assume that you plan to use QtCreator for a non-Qt C++ project, with its own custom Makefiles, not qmake-based, not Eclipse-CDT-based.
After I switched to QtCreator (now working on the same project, same code) I noticed the following advantages of QtCreator:
QtCreator moves faster than EclipseCDT for the same C/C++ project.
EclipseCDT is harder to config with custom Makefiles. QtCreator is easier. This is the case when you checkout a project with its own custom Makefiles, not IDE-generated ones, and you need to map that project's build targets to EclipseCDT build targets/configurations.
It's easier to deal with .pro(ject) files in QtCreator than workspaces in EclipseCDT.
In my case, the EclipseCDT memory footprint after indexing is about ~2GB. For QtCreator, it is only ~600MB, for the same project.
Source indexing in EclipseCDT takes a lot of time - when I start EclipseCDT, my computer is frozen for about 20 minutes due to indexing. In QtCreator it takes a quarter of that time, and the computer is responsive during it.
Of course there are a lot of advantages that EclipseCDT offers like the plethora of plugins (EGit, Subclipse, cppcheclipse, etc), but it depends if you really use them.
In the end, I think it's a matter of personal taste and habit, as you can achieve your goals with each of them.
I am looking into designing new features for Eclipse-based programming tools, from the requirements/ideas perspective. To really do this quickly, I would like to sketch UI elements without having to code things -- my concern is with the concepts and ideas right now, not the possible later realization. Are there any such graphical sketching tools for Eclipse?
(on a side note, I should also note that I find Eclipse a better idea every day, in the way that you can combine partial systems from very many different sources into a single environment. It really is the future of IDEs, especially for embedded systems. It used to pretty horrible pre-Eclipse-3.0, but now it does seem to work)
WireframeSketcher is a tool that helps quickly create wireframes, mockups and prototypes for desktop, web and mobile applications. It comes both as a standalone version and as a plug-in for Eclipse IDEs. It has some distinctive features like storyboards, components, linking and vector PDF export. Among supported IDEs are are Aptana, Flash Builder, Zend Studio and Rational Application Developer.
(source: wireframesketcher.com)
Incidentally, NetBeans is known for having a really good GUI editor (Matisse), but I realize that you weren't asking about NetBeans :)
I've tried the Visual Editor Project before, but in the past it crashed my instance of Eclipse, and I haven't visited it since.
Jigloo is a new one that I'd like to try out soon.
This is really specific to Eclipse: it is the platform of choice for general IDEs today, and I am looking to sketch out extensions to it. The target programming language is more likely to be raw assembler and C than anything else -- OS, driver, system-level debug.