Background
My Eclipse RCP application is built using Tycho. It consists of multiple components (in the form of OSGi bundles/Eclipse plug-ins). One of these component contains the product file and materializes the product.
There is a reactor POM at the application root, which builds all components in order, but I also want to build other components independently (using mvn deploy) .
Building such a single component works as follows:
Retrieve the latest versions of all the component's dependencies from our company (p2) repository.
Build the component.
Deploy the component to our company repository to be used as a dependency for other components itself.
Note: Our repository is a normal maven2 repository hosted on a Nexus, whose RCP artifacts are automatically mapped to a p2 repository format as well. This way, Tycho can use the p2 repository format to find dependencies, while the standard Maven deployment can be used. This works fine.
Note: My parent POM makes sure that we look for dependencies at the p2 repository URL. The deployment URL is the default maven2 format location of the repository. This works fine.
Problem
When building such a single component through the command-line (mvn deploy), Maven looks for intra-project dependencies in the p2 repository and they are correctly resolved (i.e. latest version is automatically downloaded and used in build).
However, when developing in Eclipse, the IDE cannot resolve them. The manifest files gives an error at each of my intra-project dependencies that they cannot be resolved.
Question
My question is: How can I make the Eclipse IDE look for dependencies (and new versions of dependencies) in either:
My local p2 repository (~/.m2/repository/p2/osgi/bundles)
My company p2 repository (nexus.mycompany.com/myproduct-snapshots/.meta/p2)
Ideally, it would look for them every time and fetch the latest version if a newer version is available.
If it does not use the p2 repository URLs in the POM, how should I configure Eclipse?
Example
Consider an eclipse plug-in com.mycompany.myproduct.fancy, which depends on another eclipse plug-in com.mycompany.myproduct.core.
Both also have a POM (configured for Tycho use), which (through their parent POM) have my Nexus repositories configured correctly: maven2 repository URL for deployment and p2 repository URL to look for dependencies.
First I deploy the core plug-in to my maven repository (using the default mvn deploy). The Nexus repository will provide this deployed plug-in in both maven and p2 format.
When I build the fancy component through the command line (using mvn install), the (earlier deployed) core component is found and downloaded automatically.
project/com.mycompany.myproduct.fancy$ mvn clean install
<searches in p2 repository, download core>
<builds fancy>
<SUCCESS>
When I open a new Eclipse workspace and open the fancy component, its Manifest (which contains its dependencies) gives the following error:
Bundle 'com.mycompany.myproduct.core' cannot be resolved.
My question is: how can I develop the fancy component in the Eclipse IDE without the need to open core as project in Eclipse.
Speculation
This is some speculation from my side. Please correct me if I'm wrong and any other solution to the actual problem is also welcome!
I know the m2e plug-in of the Eclipse IDE currently maps Maven POMs to Eclipse concepts (using m2e connectors). I have installed the dedicated Tycho connectors. For example, the mvn compile step is actually performed by the Eclipse JDT compiler.
I also know that when a complete Tycho product is started in Eclipse, it is run in the Eclipse PDE environment. For example, I need to a specify a target platform in my Run configuration.
I know I can open all components in my Eclipse workspace. This would solve the problem, but is not feasible as I have many components and this would break independent component development.
I assume the Eclipse m2e mapping and/or the PDE build environment is not smart enough to fetch (latest) dependencies automatically at build time. Please correct me if I'm wrong. :)
Therefore, I assume I need to specify the target platform at build time too. I have taken a look at Window > Preferences > Plug-in Development > Target Platform. I can add our p2 repository to the Target Platform, which solves the problem. However this gives many problems:
I need a feature containing all components for this to work. Only features can be added.
Every time I deploy a new build of a single component, I would have to rebuild the complete feature (to create a new feature version on our p2 repository).
Every time I update a component and build the feature, I would have to manually change the Target Platform.
If the above is all correct, I speculate I need an m2e connector (or a different one from the current one) that actually checks the p2 repositories specified in the POM when resolving the OSGi dependencies and automatically adds those to the target platform.
As indicated by Nick Wilson, you will need to install the m2e Tycho Configurator, which basically "links up" Eclipse and Tycho (i.e., makes Tycho available in Eclipse).
You should've been pointed towards it after having installed m2e, but you can also install it manually:
Go to Window > Preferences > Maven > Discovery.
Click the "Open Catalog" button. This will open the "m2e Marketplace" window.
Search for "tycho", this should give you the "Tycho Configurator" as sole search result.
Click "Finish", you're done.
I've had this issue as well, and it isn't simple to find the solution, so I hope this helps!
The "most automated" way to configure your target platform in Eclipse is to use a target file. That file can be checked in with your sources, so every developer only needs to open the file and click on "Set as Target Platform" to activate it. AFAIK there is no m2e connector or Eclipse plug-in which does that automatically.
Given your development process, setting up this target file is a little more tricky. Since you don't have a feature which contains the latest version of all your bundles, you need to include the bundles directly in the target file. This is not possible via the rich editor, but can be done with a text editor:
Create a target definition file, add your p2 repository, and select any feature from that p2 repository. Save the file.
Open the target file in a text editor, remove the <unit> entry for the feature you added.
Instead, add an entry for each of your bundles:
<unit id="a.bundle.symbolic.name" version="0.0.0"/>
This target file then contains the latest version of each of the listed bundles. To see the content, open the file with the "Target Editor" again and switch to the "Content" tab. This file can now be used by all developers.
Note: When a new version of one of the bundles is deployed to Nexus, the developers will only see that new version if they open the target file and choose "Set as Target Platform" again.
Related
We use eclipse and m2e to work with a tycho-based plugin.
Our problem is the sources of the dependencies are not attached:
Is there any way to make PDE/m2e download sources automatically and attach them to the dependencies?
You can try to install this pde.source.lookup plugin, that will look for matching source bundles in the available p2 repositories of your Eclipse installation, just like m2e does for Maven dependencies.
If the source jar exists in one the p2 repositories and it doesn't work for you (really it should), please open a bug to its issue tracker.
Now, if that doesn't work, i.e. the jar doesn't come from a p2 repository, another alternative is to install JBoss Tools' Maven source lookup feature, which is very similar to m2e's mechanism, but a bit more robust and more complete, as it'll look for sources in Maven Central and different Nexus repository managers, based on the SHA1 checksum of your jar. It's downside is it'll bring down a bunch of dependencies in Eclipse you don't necessarily need (JBoss Servers stuff)
When PDE creates the Plug-in Dependencies classpath container, source attachments are added based on what is known to org.eclipse.pde.internal.core.SourceLocationManager. While older source models are still supported (extension point), source is now typically delivered via source bundle. A source bundle will have a manifest entry describing what it provides source for.
Eclipse-SourceBundle: org.apache.ant;version="1.9.2.v201307241445";roo
ts:="libsrc"
If a source bundle is available for what you need source for, you can add that source bundle to your target platform and PDE will attach the source when creating the classpath container.
Alternatively, you can temporarily attach a source zip/folder to the entry.
PDE does not provide a service to search for source. One other option could be the "Add Artifact to Target Platform" dialog (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+A), which can search through known p2 repositories for the needed source bundle and add it to your target platform.
I'm working one an Eclipse RCP project. Currently we create a dependencies plug-in project and put all jars libraries into that project and export all packages. This method will give a huge repo, thus we want to use Tycho/Maven and let it figure out the dependencies for us.
The first approach is removing dependenciec project and use p2-maven-pluging to transform existing jars libraries to p2 format repo. Install all libraries from p2 repos and add required bundle in Require-Bundle section in each MANIFEST.MF. This is a little bit tedious since in every project having dependencies in Require-Bundle, I have to manually replace it to corresponding bundle names. And in the end, the project build using Tycho could successfully run, but in Eclipse it gives me java.lan.NoClassDefFoundError: Could not initialize class X.
I think there are few configuration files, where Tycho depends on some of them and Eclipse depends on the rest, but I'm not sure what it is.
The second approach is removing all jars in dependencies project but adding them in Require-Bundle or Import-Package. However, both won't work since in Export-Package section Eclipse will complain these packages are not existed. Thus other projects depends on this dependencies project won't find those packages they need, which causing more errors in Eclipse.
Does anyone know the best practice to deal with this issue?
Update:
I'm using basically the first approach, but add dependencies in Import-Package in each project instead of Require-Bundle. This would eliminate the need to specify the specific bundle version, as long as they provide the same API and they are compatible, your application would work. So everytimes I update private p2 repository, I don't need to change MANIFEST.MF in each project.
The only MANIFEST.MF I need to manually add dependencies in Require-Bundle is a library developed by our self. Without it, Tycho won't fetch required dependencies from private p2 repository. If still get NoClassDefFoundError, try adding all plugins in Run -> Run Configuration .. -> plug-ins, it may help.
I definitely not apply your approach 1, with the mega-plugin of exports. There's a related discussion here: Handling non-OSGi dependencies when integrating Maven, Tycho and Eclipse
As a rule, use Import-Package instead of Require-Bundle.
To get bundles will appear in the Export-Package section Eclipse:
if they are non-Eclipse (maven libraries), then build the project and reference the libraries in the Eclipse runtime section.
if they are Eclipse dependences, they should be in your workspace or Target Platform.
More generally, it may help for you to define a Target Platform. You can build/deploy all of your locally created plugins into a local p2 repository (see http://www.sonatype.org/nexus/). Then add that p2 site to your Target Platform.
Since Eclipse CBI (Common Build Infrastructure)is coming into picture, we would migrate like to migrate to it from existing PDE Build system (based on ANT).
So how can we do the migration easily?
Do we need to create POM.xml file for each plugin, can it be generated automatically?
Could we still use the existing ANT scripts?
How the target platform would be created, is it just Maven repository?
There are maven plugins in existence that will auto-generate POM files from eclipse plugins. There are other example questions about that, How to create the pom.xml for a java project with Eclipse?
You can still use some existing ant scripts if you have to, using the maven-antrun-plugin artifact or the tycho-eclipserun-plugin artifact.
The target platform is created by filling in the repositories section with repos that have a layout of p2 (so they can be consumed by tycho).
Tycho is a good place to get started.
I am currently running Eclipse 3.7 Indigo
My current project is a Plug-in Project
I wanted to try out the product called icePDF in my existing project.
So I downloaded the two required jar files from the binary download.
icepdf-core.jar and icepdf-viewer.jar
So I created a new plug-in project from existing jars. I am added the two jar files and created the plug-in project. I then exported the project and produced a project jar file .
Went back in to my existing project where I want to use the features of icePDF.
Went to dependencies -> Required Plug-ins -> Added my new icePDF plugin.
I am sure that I am missing a key step. Because as soon as I close the icePDF project in Package Explorer. I get a error in my main project.
Error : Missing Required Plug-in
What I don't understand is I have at least 12 other required plug-ins, none of them are open.
Was this the right way to try and add the icePDF jars to my existing project? Was there a way to just incorporate the jars in to the plug-in project without having to create the new project?
EDIT
Looks like icePDF primarily uses Swing. My project is SWT based, I do not want to use Swing in the project. I am looking for something that will view a existing pdf, convert a pdf and print a pdf to local printer.
Any suggestions??
It is normal behavior that Eclipse reports an error when a required plugin is closed, if this plugin is only available through your workspace. I assume that the other required plugins are 'standard' Eclipse plugins, such as EMF; those do not have to be in your workspace, as they are directly installed into your Eclipse platform.
Another way would be to put the original Jars into your plugin project. Just create a folder, e.g. lib/, paste the Jars there, and add them to the plugin project's class path. The latter is a bit tricky, as you have to add them in the Project Properties as well as in the Manifest.ml (in the 'runtime' tab of the plugin.xml-editor, IIRC) and the build.properties file.
Please read about the Eclipse target platform, as you seem not to be aware of that concept.
Generally speaking, there is an Eclipse environment in which you develop your code (which you use), and there is another Eclipse environment, in which your developed plugin runs (i.e. which a user of your plugin uses). That second one is called "target platform" in Eclipse terms. And they can be different, e.g. you develop in Eclipse 4.2, but your plugins shall run in Eclipse 3.7.
If you don't create a target platform yourself, then Eclipse just assumes its current installation to be the target platform (i.e. your development environment). That is why all "normal" plugins can be used as dependencies without them being in the workspace. But your icePdf plugin is not part of the Eclipse installation (and therefore not part of the target platform), which is why it needs to be available in the workspace.
If you define a target platform, you can then simply add those icepdf plugins to it and don't need to have them in the workspace any longer.
I'm converting an ant backed Netbeans project into an Maven project. I've got most of the third party libraries set up in the POM, however now I've run into problems with setting up the local dependencies.
With the previous Netbeans way of doing things, it just added a project reference [with links to the source and jar location, rebuilt the dependency if the depedency's source had been changed and hadn't been compiled]. However I'm not sure how to setup up Maven to emulate this behavior. Is it possible?
Example:
Projects/SharedLibrariesResource [Ant based project]
Projects/WebSite [this is a maven based project]
Projects/Client
In this example the website and client projects don't connect to each other, but they do share the SharedLibrariesResource. Website should compile to produce a War with links to the SharedLibrariesResource
The way I understand the question, the Website maven project depends on the ant SharedLibrariesResource project. When Website is built, it should include the SharedLibrariesResource artifacts. The assumption is SharedLibrariesResources produces a jar artifact.
One way to achieve this is to
install SharedLibrariesResource to your local maven repository each time ant builds it
specify this as a dependency in Website pom.
We can use maven ant tasks to achieve the first.