Where does Eclipse store list of update sites? And can it be copied to another installation? - eclipse

My Eclipse installation got completely borked and won't start up, so I will likely have to reinstall it (but this is also relevant when upgrading to a new Eclipse version). I want not to have to hunt down all the plugins I had installed. So where does Eclipse store list of available update sites? And if it isn't in plain text, can it be copied into another installation without problems?

Click on File->Export->Install (Installed Software Items to File)
sorry that I did not notice that your eclipse installation is not working. I don't think there is a direct solution to import the installs from eclipse config files (If you can't export from eclipse). Eclipse stores this configuration in the "articles.xml" files inside "eclipse/configuration/../../...."
e.g on my box I checked here:
eclipse/configuration/org.eclipse.osgi/bundles/293/data/-750392822/artifacts.xml
There will be many articles.xml files like this. I suggest to find one articles.xml files inside your broken eclipse path and then try importing that in new eclipse by help->install new softeare->(the click on) Available Software Sites->Import and then import these articles.xml files. To be honest, I did not try this, but would like to try this..

I don't know where it stores the websites but you can export/import sites from/to eclipse
There is a link like button named "Available Software Sites" on intall update/plugin window. There you can choose all the sites and export those sites and import on another eclipse installlation.

Related

How to port Eclipse projects from one PC to another?

I'm new to Eclipse, there is a project at work that is set up and running, I want to set it up just like that on my home PC so I can look at it in my spare time, so I zipped up the project directory, and unzipped it on my home PC, but it didn't work like Netbeans, seems missing lots of parts/plug-ings ? How do I know what plug-ins are needed for the project at work, so I can install them at home, the project is large and someone else developed it, is there a way in Eclipse to zip up all the plugins related to the project with the project and unzip and install them automatically ?
The easiest way to reproduce the installed plugins should be File->Export->Install->Installed Items to File. The resulting file can be imported on your machine using File->Import->Install->Software items from file and will lead to installing all plugins which are available on the first machine.
Notes:
This requires that the plugins from the first machine can be found via public update sites, as that exported file will only contain a list of meta data from where to install the plugins, not the actual jar files.
The export includes all plugins of the first machine. You can deselect some of them, but there is no automated way to find only the ones needed for your project.
Requires Eclipse 3.7 or newer.

How does one migrate the list of plugins when updating Eclipse?

I usually install the new (yearly) release of Eclipse by moving the old one, then unpacking the new one in its place. In other words, a completely clean install. Is there a way to import the list of plugin URLs I had in the old Eclipse, so I can choose to update them in the new release?
I realise some of the URLs might be slightly different and require tweaking such as changing "helios" to "indigo"
Go to Window>Preferences>Install/Update>Available Software Sites, select all the sites you want to bring with you, and click "export".
You can also export your formatter and cleanup settings through the preferences menu.
Try copying your settings metadata into the new Eclipse. Typically that pulls in everything you need such as plugin websites. You still need to reinstall them however.
Or if you used dropins you can just copy them to the new dropins folder.

How to manually install software/plugin to Eclipse IDE?

I have downloaded a RAR file from the following location, to be (manually) installed to Eclipse (Helios). How can I perform the manual installation?
http://sourceforge.net/projects/eclipsesql/files/SQL%20Explorer%20RCP%20%28exc%20JRE%29/3.6.1/sqlexplorer_rcp-3.6.1.macosx.cocoa.x86.tgz/download
Instead of putting it directly into the plugins directory, it's better to use the dropins directory as this was created just for this purpose. Have a look here: http://wiki.eclipse.org/Equinox_p2_Getting_Started#Dropins
For sqlexplorer: do not download the full RCP version (as your link does), this one is standalone. Get this one instead: http://sourceforge.net/projects/eclipsesql/files/SQL%20Explorer%20Plugin/3.6.1/sqlexplorer_plugin-3.6.1_SR2.zip/download
Extract this to $eclipse_home$\dropins\sqlexplorer and restart Eclipse.
BUT: Using the SqlExplorer Update Site (http://eclipsesql.sourceforge.net/) would be an even better option (Help>Install new Software)
I have tried the installation with the explanation about the dropins folder and had to tweak it like that:
Unzip the distribution into your eclipse installation directory under the folder dropins. Your structure should be:
eclipse/
dropins/
eclipse/
features/
plugins/
Remove all other files and directories. There is some missing piece (file contents.xml), so that the distribution is no real p2 repository which leads to an error. The directories plugins and features are sufficient.
Restart your eclipse (I have done it with option -clean, not sure if that is necessary).
SQLExplorer is then installed and visible in the help, in different menus and with a new perspective.
I even was able to use it to have a look at my SQLite3 database of a rails3 application. Wow!! So I will give it a try.
From their website (http://www.sqlexplorer.org/):
Eclipse Plugin
Download
Download the Eclipse SQL Explorer plugin and extract the zip file in your eclipse directory (requires Eclipse 3.3 or better).
After restarting eclipse with the -clean option, a new SQL Explorer perspective should be available.
Eclipse Update Site
You can install and update Eclipse SQL Explorer via the eclipse update mechanism. The update site for Eclipse SQL Explorer is http://eclipsesql.sourceforge.net/
I always go for the update site option if they present it, it's easier and lets you do updates easily. To use the update mechanism just select Help > Insall New Software... then enter the update site, press Add and go through the wizard.

How to install the Mercurial plug-in in eclipse

I had downloaded Mercurial for eclipse, i also saw the video about how to set up the plug-in in eclipse. In this video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OBg6Zv0Tns
They import it in eclipse using file > import. But when i do the same, there is no option like Mercurial shown. Also, after that they copy paste some link in the given box.(I don't know what it is exactly, as i haven't been able to reach till there.) Where do they copy this link from, they don't show it clearly. I tried searching for it on their website, but their website is hopeless.
The Import part comes after installing the plugin. To install plugin in eclipse go to, Help->Install new Software
In work with give this url: http://hge.javaforge.com/mercurialeclipse-snapshots
You will see name, Mercurial Eclipse snapshot releases. Check the box next to it and go next and finish it.
After restart you should see the Mercurial folder after doing a File->Import

What are some RCP Deployment Options?

We have an RCP application and we are looking for a better way to do installation/updates. Currently to install, they just unzip a zip file. The zip file also contains scripts in it that are not java code. We were running into some bugs when updating if they don't first delete the old folder that was previous unzipped. The issue with deleting the folder is that the user loses the plugin preferences that were set. The installation would also need to register a COM server. The update would have to update the plugins and also replace the current script folder. What are some of the best options that could be used for installing and updating rcp apps? Thanks!
An option is to use the eclipse update mechanism. In this case the user would simply update like in the eclipse ide using help->software update. I have not used it myself yet ,but I have visited a tutorial from kai tödter, just google "eclipse rcp adanced kai tödter" und you will find some stuff, e.g. slides where he explains the updated mechanism as well as an example project "MP3 Manager" where you can find an example