How to add build steps to Eclipse "run configuration"? - eclipse

Is there a way to add build steps to a "run configuration" in Eclipse?
My project uses an applet that should be built before starting the web application. So I'd like to configure Eclipse to do this single step before actually running the application.
I know I can do it with Ant/Maven, but I wonder if there's a way to do it in Eclipse.
Thanks

For a classic launching (Java or Java Applet) configuration, no. Not directly.
For an External Tols launcher, not directly either.
The idea would be:
to not build your applet every time you modify your main project
make sure it is built when you want to launch your webapp.
For that, you could define two projects:
one for the compilation of your main project.
the second (depending on the first) for the compilation of your applet.
Your launching configuration would then run with the second project (which includes the first)
If the option "Build automatically" is selected, the second project shouldn't run without being compiled first.

Related

Running GWT application in production mode

I am newbie to GWT. I have built gwt maven project. To run in development mode, I first compiled project Google|Compile Project, then from command mvn gwt:run, it runs fine on
http://localhost:8888/index.html?gwt.codesvr=127.0.0.1:9997
but for production I want to access module
http://localhost:8888/index.html
When I omit gwt.codesvr= argument, I am getting error "gwt module may need to be recompiled". After Recompiling, I get the same error. Any help/pointer?
Thanks,
i run gwt project on tomcat on production mode. Jetty cant show it. Try to tun with external web module. When you are look at the IDE console title show us 'Development Mode'. Tyr with external , in any exception i can help.
You did it correctly, but as the error states, the module needs to be re-compiled (GWT Compiled). Once recompiled, Force your browser to reload (Ctrl + F5). If that doesn't work, you can look at this answer I wrote regarding cleanup of compiled output. Do what's listed there, and try running GWT compile again.
To run production mode outside Eclipse, you must do a GWT compile and create a WAR file, which you can then deploy on a Java application server such as Tomcat. This process is much easier with an ant build script.
To make an ant build script for your project:
You can easily create an ant build script by running the webAppCreator command from the directory where the GWT library is installed. That command will create a sample project just like clicking "New Web Application Project" in Eclipse, except it will also make a build.xml file.
You can run it in Eclipse by right clicking build.xml > Run As... > Ant build. By default it will run the build target. It also has a war target, which you can run to create a WAR file.
For more details on the webAppCreator, look here.

best way to enable hot deployment on Jetty when using Gradle+Eclipse

I'm used to mvn, but I'm testing Gradle (v1.8) for a small web development project.
I've noticed that the Jetty Gradle plugin support autoscan and hot deployment, so I've enabled it. My goal is to recompile from Eclipse and get a Jetty reload the context every time I change a Controller, etc.
However, this is non working, mainly because Gradle compilation output goes to build/, however the Gradle Eclipse plugin creates a .classpath configuration that directs all the Eclipse output to /bin (even mixing test and main source folders).
Is there a way to?...
Run graddle jettyRun on a separate console.
Save a modified class on Eclipse (triggering a compilation)
See that Jetty picks up the change and reloads the context.
As per my research, I've identified three workarounds, but none of them solves the question above (I'm posting them in case you have related comments or more recommendations)
Tweak Gradle Eclipse config to direct test and main build output to the same directory that Gradle uses (using the pattern seen here). This is not recommended by some people, as it means using two different compilation systems that could interfere with each other.
Use the Gradle eclipse-wtp plugin to generate a WTP2 config, and use Eclipse's "Run AS -> Run on Server". This accomplishes the hot deployment / iterative goal and keeps both systems (IDE and Gradle) isolated. However, you need to setup the server on Eclipse.
(Not really a workaround): I've tested Spring's Eclipse build (STS) Gradle integration, however it seems that the integration is focused on the project setup, and while Gradle builds can be automatically triggered, Eclipse compilation is still redirected to bin/.
So you are interested in fine-tuning hot-deployment, right?
Please, consider using Gretty gradle plugin: https://github.com/akhikhl/gretty
It is an advanced gradle plugin for running web-apps on jetty. It does exactly what you want, regarding hot-deployment (and, possibly, even more).
Disclosure: I am author of Gretty plugin.
If you don't want to change to other plugins, here are two steps for the workaround:
add below configurations into your build.gradle:
jettyRun {
reload = "automatic"
scanIntervalSeconds = 1
}
each time after you changed java code, run the following task:
gradle compileJava
Because jetty is watching the *.class files, it will hot reload only after *.class files changed.
Refer to this link: https://discuss.gradle.org/t/hot-deploy-with-jetty-plugins-jettyrun/7416

Force Eclipse to clean a project automatically before every run

I'm looking for a solution that will force Eclipse to automatically clean a project before I run it (I'm talking about running a project using just Eclipse- no Maven, no Ant). For building I already have a Maven configuration, but sometimes I run the build directly from Eclipse as well and this is when I need that cleaning.
Shouldn't it be possible to have Maven and Eclipse use different class folders, e.g. /target for the Maven build and /bin for the Eclipse internal Java compiler? If so, you should be able to have 2 different launch configurations running the code from 2 different locations.
Second alternative: You can create a small Ant script to clear the target directory. That Ant script can be run from inside Eclipse, so a workaround is running the Ant launch configuration first and your Java launch configuration afterwards. To make this a one-step process, please install the launch groups feature from Eclipse CDT (you only need that small feature, not the whole CDT!), then you can create a "batch" like launch configuration from the other two launch configurations. Now everything is inside Eclipse with a single launch configuration!

How to solve problem with out of synchronization of J2EE module dependency in Eclipse?

I have two projects : my-lib and my-web.
my-lib is built using the Java compiler of Eclipse, and a short Ant task is run on some properties files, which are then modified (as explained here).
This is not a pretty solution, but it works.
Now, as my-web is dependent of my-lib, I define my-lib as a Java EE Module Dependency of my-web.
However, when I attach my-web to the Tomcat in Eclipse, and try to publish, I get the following exception:
'Publishing to Tomcat at localhost' has encountered a problem.
Resource is out of sync with the file system: '/my-lib/target/classes/my-app.properties'
This file is indeed one of the files modified by the Ant task.
How can I correct this problem, as I need to have the Ant task run on the my-lib.
If you have the Ant task run as an external builder or external task, you can configure it to refresh the project, workspace, or selected resources after execution. When specifying the task/builder click on the Refresh tab and pick the appropriate one for your needs.
There's more information in the eclipse help.

How to run Eclipse launch configurations programmatically?

I'm finding it difficult to phrase this question well, as there are quite a few generic terms (run, configuration, launch, etc.). Here goes:
You can save run configurations in a .launch file. (in the Run Configuration Dialog, under the Common tab, Save as a shared file.
We check these in to SVN. The developers can pass them around, and it helps getting new devs running a working application quicker.
I'd like to check these out as part of our build and use them to programatically run the application, the tests, etc, without spinning up the whole IDE.
What would be the best way to run a .launch file outside of the UI?
Edit: I am trying to unify the tests run on the build server and the IDE. I do not
particularly want to give up integrated debugging, which would be the case with an ant script to run the tests .
This is probably more a problem for integration testing with multiple bundles, or unit testing a whole bundle, where you'd like to mock up extensions.
there is an eclipse plugin built over JUnit, called TPTP. It provides an automation client which can be used to launch the test from eclipse with no gui. maybe it helps
Ant4Eclipse may provide a good starting point on how to do this.
Unfortunately, this is limited to Java Applications and JUnit configurations; I am more interested in PDE applications and Plugin JUnit tests.
I have recently had alot of success building an Eclipse RCP app inside a Hudson CI server using Eclipse Buckminster. It took a bit of doing, but once I setup both features, made my RCP product be based on features, and added the Buckminster query files and the like, it worked. There is a Hudson/Jenkins Buckminster plugin that allowed me to have hudson build the application.
After saving the launch configurations for each test fragment, I created hudson commands to invoke them (yes one line per test fragment unfortunately), but after that I got the automated CI build that I wanted.
You could also use the shell command Eclipse uses. To get it:
Run your program in Eclipse
Go to the "Debug" view
Right-click on the process (probably the second item in the tree) and select "Properties"
Copy shell command and delete the agentlib flag to run in bash
I think you don't need to use the .launch configurations to run the tests. If you build an application using the Eclipse Build System, then you can use the AntRunner application from Eclipse to run your units tests. This doesn't start the whole IDE.
This article describes how to run the tests during your build process. With this process, you use a special "Test" Eclipse and load the plugins you want to test.
Perhaps running the configurations the way you would run your own custom run configurations would help here. It is described in this article.