Bootstrapping Eclipse on new machines is such a time consuming process, you wind up asking yourself whether you really need each plugin. But there all handy, and help develop consistent habits.
Eclipse bootstrapping problems include:
Explaining / documenting what needs to happen
The actual time pasting in the right URLs and downloading
Version compatibility and dependencies
Eclipse likes to restart after each one
The changeover to the Eclipse Marketplace means that some plugins and instructions you find on the web tend to be inconsistent, depending on when they were written.
The Licenses... over and over and over... yes, yes, yes... I understand that the person installing needs to be aware of it, and have a chance to review them, but there's got to be a better way.
It'd be nice to have "patch file" (either binary or meta) that spells out what I want to add on top of stock Eclipse installation. I'd really like to find (or create) a 1 or 2 step process that sets up Eclipse, plus a favorite batch of plugins:
subclipse
m2eclipse
jetty support like runjettyrun
android sdk and plugin (or at least just the plugin)
aspectj
Web Objects / WOLiops
python, other langs
JVM Monitor, maybe EclEmma
probably a git plugin pretty soon.
Does command line maven help with any of this? It seems like its repository management would fit at least part of the functionality.
On a machine with an Eclipse installation matching your needs use File -> Export -> Install -> Installed software items to file. Import the generated file using the same menu on all other machines.
As Scott says, a good approach is to simply package a fully prepared Eclipse installation once all the plugins you need are installed. The downside is that you have to update most plugins afterwards.
Another option is to use Yoxos. With it, you can create a profile and configure it with all the plugins you need (and apparently Yoxos can do more than that).
Finally, this page might interest you concerning the configuration side of things.
Solution 1 is too search for more advanced Eclipse distributions.
For example, STS (Spring Tool Suite) comes with
AspectJ
EGit
m2e
(and of course) Spring IDE
One small trick can be done with m2e-android - Android Configurator for M2E Maven Integration. If installing it on clean Eclipse, it will also automatically resolve to install :
m2e
Android Developer Tools (ADT)
Related
Is it possible to disable or remove the built-in Java compiler from an Eclipse installation?
I would like to use the XML editing and validation features of Eclipse in an environment that forbids installation of compilers. Can the compiler be disabled/removed without breaking the XML editing and validation functions? How?
Comments in this related question suggest that it can't be done, but I don't need the Java development features of Eclipse (and don't expect them to work without the compiler).
Yes, it is certainly possible to create an Eclipse install without the Java compiler (or JDT to be specific). The real question is whether the XML tools have an indirect dependency on JDT that will pull that back in.
Here is what I would try...
Download Eclipse Platform zip. You can get it from this URL:
http://download.eclipse.org/eclipse/downloads/
Look under the Latest Releases heading. You will want to download something stable. The latest release now is 3.6.1...
http://download.eclipse.org/eclipse/downloads/drops/R-3.6.1-201009090800/index.php
Now find a heading called "Platform Runtime Binary" and download the zip that's right for your platform. Verify that file name is "eclipse-platform-[version]-[platform].zip". If it isn't you've downloaded the wrong thing.
Unzip it as you usually would an Eclipse distro. You now have a runnable Eclipse install, minus any and all interesting IDE functionality. In particular, there is no JDT.
Now it's time to install XML tools. Go to Help->Install New Software->Add and use this URL for the repository: http://download.eclipse.org/releases/helios/
Uncheck "contact all update sites during install to find required software".
Type in XML into the filter field. The feature you want is called "Eclipse XML Editors and Tools". Select it and hit finish.
Assuming it installs correctly, you will want to confirm that it didn't silently pull in JDT. Look at your Eclipse install in the plugins directory. See if you have org.eclipse.jdt.core plugin present. That's where the Java compiler lives.
Good luck and if you run into problems, a good place to ask follow-up questions is on the following forum. There a few people hanging out there that are pretty dedicated to the notion of some day creating an "XML IDE" eclipse distribution, so they should be glad to help you out.
http://www.eclipse.org/forums/index.php?t=thread&frm_id=88&
I would ideally suggest you to move away from eclipse, coz there are a ton of tools (Quanta Plus IDE, Bluefish etc) that provide you with great XML editing and validation feature.
However, this forum might help you -> http://www.eclipsezone.com/eclipse/forums/t40126.html.
You can un-tick Project > Build Automatically for automatic builds not to happen and even remove the buttons with the Run and Debug functionality in order not to press them accidentally.
HI all,
I have Eclipse installed with PDT (PHP Development tools).
I want to program in Java and C++, do I have to download whole Eclipse JDT and Eclipse CDT again, and have separate installations, or can I install "plugins" to handle Java and C++ ?
Thanks
Yes you can install the plugins into the same Eclipse installation. For Helios you can use the Update manager Help->Install New Software then select the Helios site and select C/C++ in Programming Lagnuages and so on. If there's something else you need you need to get the update URL and add a new site.
You can have one eclipse with all the plugins (and perspective). But that's tedious:
you'll have to find the plugin jars for each of the 'suites' and place it in the plugins dir. Sometimes they might not have an update site url
some plugins cause problems, sometimes mixing certain plugins cause problems - in short, the more plugins, the more likely your environment will crash
The way I'd suggest is to have a separate eclipse installation for each task. I myself have 3, for different sort of java development (one java, one flex, one for specific project with specific plugins)
Eclipse itself is perfectly stable and capable of supporting quite a lot of plugins. However if you are unlucky to need "crappy" plugins, there the problems being.
Usually when one wants to create a new file in the Eclipse IDE , Java, Javascript, Colsdfusion PHP etc are provided as the options for the new files.
I recently downloaded Eclipse for Coldfusion 8 and excecuted the file "software/dw/java/europa/J2EE-SDK-Europa-33-win32.zip" .
Now when I want to create a New File "only JAVA " option is available. There is no coldfusion or HTML!
So can any one provide me the Exact/correct link for Codfusion related Eclipse?
(On the Eclipse website there are many Eclipse related downloads but I am not sure which one is specific for Coldfusion.)
There's CFEclipse, a free, open-source Eclipse plug-in for working with CFML. And of course there's Adobe's ColdFusion Builder, a commercial product that works as either a plug-in for an existing Eclipse installation, or as a full stand-alone product (with Eclipse already baked in).
CFEclipse 1.3.6, the current stable version, works with Eclipse 3.4.x or 3.5.x. Here's the CFEclipse wiki.
The stated Eclipse versions required for ColdFusion Builder are 3.4.2 or 3.5. Here's Adobe's requirements page.
If you're using one of these as a plug-in and you don't need a lot of the other Eclipse features, the J2EE version of Eclipse is probably overkill (it's the biggest package). You can try out a more minimal Eclipse install, then update and add plug-ins as you need them. Try the Eclipse Platform Binary, for example.
There's also Adobe's ColdFusion Builder IDE specially created for this purpose. It proposes some features not available in CFEclipse, but not free (though there's a trial version available).
In addition to Ken's answer please note that you can already use preview builds of CFEclipse with latest Eclipse 3.6 Helios. I am using this configuration on daily basis and it is pretty stable and more efficient than previous version for me.
If you will expierience problems with preview builds, feel free to post them into the CFEclipse groups, developers usually react pretty quickly.
One more hint for you. Sometimes after installing the plugin via Add Sofware further updates do not work correcly. I've experienced this issue few times so it can be useful to know the solution.
To fix this check the Preferences > Install/Update > Available Software Sites. If needed entry missing -- create it manually using the same update URL as for installation.
Also there's an Eclipse-based version of Adobe CF manual available, see this help page for details.
Hope this helps.
I'm trying to install the WTP (web platform tools) to my Eclipse installation so I can get the XSL transformations working. The base Eclipse they installed for me here was the plain Java IDE (the splash screen says "Ganymede" if that means anything). Looking at this site, the URL to get the download should be here: http://download.eclipse.org/webtools/updates/ ...But when I give that URL to the Eclipse update manager, I get an error telling me: "No repository found at http://download.eclipse.org/webtools/updates/"
Anyone else had this problem? Anyone know what might be up? Anyone know how to get the xsl-transform plugin installed?
EDIT:
I should have mentioned before that I want to find a way to do this without installing any new instances of Eclipse. This process will eventually be sent to several other developers who already have Eclipse (same version that I'm testing with) and I'd rather just do an in-place upgrade rather than have everyone go and install a new product.
UPDATE:
I found another plugin, Xcarecrows 4 XML which can also do XSL transforms. The interface is ugly and seems more than a little quirky, but it's also a small download, and at least it runs and transforms. Unless I can find an easy way to get WTP working, I'll probably just stick with this.
You can try and install WTP through the main Ganymede update site:
http://download.eclipse.org/releases/ganymede/
Or you can download the latest Java EE bundle and use that instead of your current Eclipse
(do NOT unpack it on top of your current Eclipse, but unpack it elsewhere, to test that second installation: it will come with WTP inside)
Note: check then "How do I start Eclipse" to point to your existing workspace in order to see all your previous project in your new Eclipse installation.
As mentioned in your link, XSL Tools is now part of WTP (for Eclipse 3.5 Galileo), and that may explain why your Eclipse Ganymede (3.4) might not interpret correctly the P2 update site for WTP (P2 being the new Eclipse provisioning mechanism introduced late in the 3.4 release cycle)
For Eclipse 3.5, you have an XSL Tools installation illustrated here:
But Eclipse3.4 is more likely to be compatible with XSLT0.5 and you will need a separate installation, because "XSL Tools" wasn't yet part of WTP.
I am not sure, however, where to find such an installation package within the Eclipse projects.
Use the following update site :
For Juno :
http://download.eclipse.org/webtools/repository/juno/
For Indigo :
http://download.eclipse.org/webtools/repository/indigo/
I'm assuming you don't have any firewall exceptions for Eclipse right?
The site for the WTP update is indeed the one you've listed. Maybe post a screenshot? You've added it specifically to your remote update site list?
Either way try a manual update which should be more reliable and get you up and running for now.
All-In-One Update (Eclipse IDE included):
Go to the Eclipse Download site.
Grab the all-in-one package: Eclipse IDE for Java EE Developers
Install, have a coffee and enjoy. (WTP is included)
Manual Update your existing installation of Eclipse:
Download the applicable WTP source package to your desktop
Shutdown Eclipse
Extract the package to your Eclipse installation directory
Startup Eclipse. (WTP is now available)
Follow the steps in the FAQ at http://wiki.eclipse.org/WTP_FAQ#How_do_I_install_WTP.3F .
Are you behind a proxy? If so, you need to make sure you configure your proxy settings in Eclipse.
Window > Preferences
General > Network Connections
Ok, I can probably get it working if I do a clean install of Eclipse. I can do that on my machine, but not the other team members' machines (at least not without going through many emails and paper work) so I'm going to say that XCarecrows 4 XML is the solution. It is able to do XSL transformations in Eclipse 3.4 and doesn't require anything else to be installed. Since XSLT is all I need, the plugin will do.
you can use the marketplace:
https://marketplace.eclipse.org/content/eclipse-java-ee-developer-tools-0
like the site says:
Drag to Install!Drag to your running Eclipse Workspace.
If I start with a Eclipse IDE for Java Developers (85 MB) (Ganymede) installation. What plug ins do I need to install to be a able to:
See the Server tab and being able to add my Tomcat 6 installation.
Be able to create a Dynamic Web Project which I may connect to my server.
I want to be able to start and stop the server.
See the server Stdout-output in my Console tab.
Debug an application on the server.
I want to install as little as possible, as long as I can do the above things I am more than satisfied.
Especially since I have problems with the complete Web Tools Platform (WTP); according to me it's full of bugs related to validation. It sometimes says valid files are invalid, often it helps if you simply restart Eclipse. I have also found it to ignore exclusions as well as sometimes completely ignoring that I have disabled validation all together.
The problems I've experienced have made me uninterested in anything from the WTP project, except the plug ins enabling me to work more smoothly by fulfilling the above unordered list (because that part of WTP worked really well).
I have heard the some have had success with Sysdeo Eclipse Tomcat Launcher Plug-in together with Ganymede. But since it's officially not supported and there has not been a new release since May 2007 and running it with Ganymede involved changing the plug-in files to accept versions >=3.4 I don't see it as a long term solution.
Installing parts of the WTP but not it in its whole feels like a long term solution while at the same time skipping the error ridden parts of the WTP. But I need help with which parts I need to install, as the documentation on Eclipse.org does not explain. Of course, if there is another supported solution than using parts of WTP then that is of interest too!
When I display the "eclipse Plug-in Dependencies" view for org.eclipse.jst.server.tomcat.ui, I see:
org.eclipse.wst.common.emf
org.eclipse.wst.common.emfwrokben.integration
org.eclipse.wst.common.environment
org.eclipse.wst.common.frameworks
org.eclipse.wst.common.modulecore
org.eclipse.wst.common.project.facet.core
org.eclipse.wst.common.project.facet.ui
org.eclipse.wst.common.uriresolver
org.eclipse.wst.internet.monitor.core
org.eclipse.wst.server.core
org.eclipse.wst.server.ui
org.eclipse.wst.validation
So if you can select org.eclipse.jst.server.tomcat.ui through p2 and let that "update process" to pick the dependencies for you, you should end up with the minimal set of plugins needed for running/managing Tomcat on Eclipse (with WTP).