I'm trying to implement the p2 update mechanism into an RCP application that contains DLLs (integrated via JNI). The whole RCP application (including these DLLs) has to be kept up to date.
Currently the PDE build is not aware of the DLLs - make/gcc generates and copies them into the delivery in the end.
How to make p2 aware of the DLLs? They have to be added to the p2 repository and p2 within the RCP application has to update them, when newer versions are available.
Include the DLLs in your plugin.
After you have gnerated them, copy them into a folder in your plugin project. Then add the folder containing the DLLs to the Binary Build section in your plugin.xml editor. You can make the plugin aware of the DLLS using the Bundle-NativeCode: entry in the Mainfest.mf of the plugin. This way the DLLs are included inside your plugin's jar and are therefore automatically included in your p2 repository.
Related
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.
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.
Ultimately we are trying to figure out a build/deploy process at my company. As the developer, I need to provide my source code to an audit group. They review the software for security deviations. If the source passes the audit, then the code goes to the Software Configuration Group. Their job is to archive and compile my app to a WAR. The WAR file is then provided to the IT department who will put the WAR on the server. I think the process would be easy if I had one self contained project.
But in Eclipse I have two Maven projects, where one depends on the other. One project core provides core functionality. I separated it because these core functionalites will be used by all my other (internal) web app projects.
Logging
filters
common models (phonebook, employee, etc)
common utilities (Emailing employess, String utils, etc..)
In the other projects, say project1, I add a dependency to core in the POM. Not sure if I need to do this but I also edited the Eclipse project properties and added a reference to the core project. With some finagling (new to Maven) I was able to get Project1 deployed to my local install of JBoss. I opened the WAR and in WEB-INF/lib folder I could see that core-0.0.1-SNAPSHOT.jar was automatically included.
But how do I give SCM my source for project1 which also needs the source for core without manually copying cores source into porject1s source.
I could copy core-0.0.1-SNAPSHOT.jar into Project1 but they should also be reviewing cores source every time I deploy a new app because I may have added or tweaked some core functionality.
You should learn more about maven SNAPSHOT and release repositories. Then install Nexus server as destination for produced jars, wars, javadocs and sources (called artifacts).
After that maybe you will be interested in commercial Nexus version with staged deployment option.
http://www.sonatype.com/people/2009/06/using-staging-repositories-for-deployment-in-nexus/
To solve packaging problem you can use Maven Assembly Plugin. You can have all sources and dependencies in one file.
Maybe there are even more suitable for your needs maven plugins.
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.