I'd like to associate some ANT targets with my project's build in Eclipse.
No problem, I create a custom ANT builder, specify targets to run, all is well.
But then I realize that the builder information is saved in the workspace instead of the project! Why is that, and how do I fix it?
The goal is that anyone who imports the project in a new Eclipse workspace can build it without adding the builder manually. This means that I should have the builder configuration under source control, which means it should belong to the project, not the per-user workspace.
Maybe I'm just missing something?
There is a bit of confusion, it seems, because builders look like launchers, but they are stored in a different directory. Simply creating the .settings dir and copying the xml doesn't help...
When I create the .externalToolBuilders directory under .settings and copy the launcher/builder there, I get this:
Solution:
I restarted from scratch, deleted the project-specific data in the workspace directory, but left the .settings dir in the project dir. Re-created the builder/launcher, and Eclipse automatically created it in the correct place, and also added it to source control.
Indeed, your launcher (Run/Debug launchers or External Builders launchers) are saved by default in the workspace.
<workspace>\myProject\.externalToolsBuilder)
You can move that directory (.externalToolsBuilder) manually in the .settings directory of your project.
And uncheck the option "Delete configurations when associated resource is deleted" as mentioned in this SO answer.
With a full refresh of the project (or even a delete, followed by a reimport), your local version of .externalToolsBuilder should be taken into account.
For the Debug/Run launchers (not your case), you also can (since Eclipse3.4) use one of the Import wizards:
File > Import
type launch configuration, and you can import said configuration directly within your project.
Related
I am using Eclipse Indigo, and after having successfully extracted my project folder into my Eclipse workspace, it does not show up in the package explorer. I tried refreshing eclipse and restarting it, to no avail. I am 100% certain my eclipse is using the right directory and the project is in it.
What could be the problem? Thank you.
EDIT: "import projects into workspace" worked for me, but why was that necessary?
Files in the directory are not automatically picked up by the package explorer. You need to import them.
Try using the File > import, then choose
Existing Projects into workspace.
There is a checkbox that says "Copy projects into workspace" which copies it to your workspace if it happens to be in a different folder. If you start with your files in another folder, you'll see how it's copied and set up with configuration files in your workspace directory.
To answer the question, "why is it necessary to import?" you have to realize that the Eclipse workspace is just a logical container for projects, not necessarily the physical container for them.
Also realize that a directory of project-related files does not make an Eclipse Project; Eclipse must be given or generate it's own set of configuration in order to understand a project (minimally, for Java projects, .project and .classpath). Without those, Eclipse has no idea what to do with an arbitrary folder that you call a "project." That's what the Import or Create Project wizards are doing under the covers, generating those config files.
I'm trying to organise the directory structure of my projects' source code and the eclipse workspace etc.
I found a folder called runtime-EclipseApplication in a high level folder outside the directories where I keep my workspace and projects.
What is this folder, when/why is it created and is it safe to delete?
This is the default for the workspace name when you use Run As > Eclipse Application.
You can look in the Eclipse Applications section of the Run > Run Configurations dialog to see what (if anything) is using this workspace. The workspace name is shown in the Location field of the Main tab.
There is no option in the file menu to rename a workspace. Is the recommended practice to close eclipse, rename the folder, and re-open? I worry about some potential dangling references in configuration files corrupting my workspace/projects...
Thanks!
Source : Renaming a workspace?
Yes, you can just rename the workspace
directory and/or move it. However, you
then have to tell Eclipse where the
new workspace is. In 3.1, you can use
'switch workspace' to launch in a
different location (under the File
menu).
If you want to change it by hand, you
can edit the appropriate entries in
the files in the 'configuration'
directory where Eclipse is stored.
You can change the
org.eclipse.ui.ide.prefs file to set
SHOW_WORKSPACE_SELECTION_DIALOG=true
if you want to be asked each time
Eclipse is run where the workspace is.
For simple renaming, it is not necessary to switch workspaces, unless the workspace you want to rename is not the one currently active.
Anyway, you can rename the current open workspace by choosing Eclipse->Preferences->General->Workspace and changing the option "Workspace name (shown in window title)" from the default's workspace folder name to whatever you want to call it. Then, restart Eclipse.
Suppose your workspace's folder is "/foo/bar/workspace" and you never changed its name before; its name was then the default "workspace". After you renamed it to, say, "my_workspace" and restarted Eclipse, the Eclipse's window title should show: "my_workspace - (some stuff that varies) - /foo/bar/workspace".
Note that this is NOT going to modify the workspace folder's name. You may have to create a new folder with the desired name, switch to that folder (whose workspace will have the same name, by default) and import existing projects into it, as some have suggested here.
Renaming Workspace folder worked for me. Close the eclipse, rename the workspace folder name, launch eclipse again. If you are using any project dependencies like user libraries,launchers etc, you have to relocate those to new location manually, from project build path.
Copying workspace to a new folder works. Any reference Eclipse itself needs is resolved using the relative workspace location. If you have added launchers, substitution variables, etc. that rely on the absolute workspace location, they will need to be reset.
John,
I think in the original workspace you imported projects and that the projects depend on links not on being physically in the same location of the worspace (even thay are there already but the dependency is on links). If so you have to remove the projects from the new (copied) worspace and then re-import them again.
I just did a:
File --> Import --> Maven --> Existing Maven Projects --> mention the new workspace location in "Root Directory" in the "Import Maven Projects" window
and it worked! All projects were imported properly.
BTW, I have Eclipse-Maven plugin "m2e" installed (http://wiki.eclipse.org/M2E_updatesite_and_gittags)
2021 Update
In Eclipse 2020-12 (Windows 10), the "Workspace name (shown in window title)" preference mentioned in one answer is no longer there. Now, renaming a workspace (WS) requires a copy and delete operation.
Start by switch to another WS: File --> Switch Workspace --> select existing WS. Then rename the WS folder to desired new name. Switch to the new workspace folder and delete the old name:
File --> Switch Workspace --> Other...
Right-click old WS name --> Remove from launcher selection
Click Browse --> select new workspace folder --> click Launch and Voila!
As mentioned in prior posts, depending on your setup some resource links may be broken. Delete the project without(!) removing it from disk, then import to new WS.
I'm trying to re-familiarize my self with the Eclipse environment and ant integration.
Question is: how to keep my sources dir + build.xml separate from the workspace?
What I have is
a small java project and its build.xml file with all the sources placed under a separate
project folder. I then started Eclipse and let it import my project via
New Project -> "Java Project from existing Ant Build File"
All went fine, until when I wanted to build the project from inside Eclipse using build.xml.
Ant starts complaining about not being able to find the source tree. After I examined
the workspace I found that Eclipse had copied the build.xml into the workspace, so it's
obvious that ant couldn't find any sources there. They are still under my project director
and I do want to keep them there, if possible.
so whats the best way so make this setup work? workspace on one side, my project on the other?
Thank!
edit: Is what I want even possible ?
Instead of using "Java Project from Existing Ant Buildfile", just create a simple "Java Project". In the wizard uncheck "use default location" and enter the path (or browse) to the top level directory of your existing project (i.e., where your build.xml is). True, eclipse will create .project and .classpath files in your project directory (if they do not already exist), but the project will remain outside the eclipse workspace.
Case in point, this setup has worked really well in a very particular situation on a standalone system where the source tree resides in a common location but each user has a workspace in a protected location. Using the method described above, each user of this system can create a project in their own eclipse workspace, execute ant targets and subsequently remove the project from their own workspace without affecting other users' workspaces.
What about using links?
Windows Symbolic Links
Linux man page for ln
I do this all the time in C++ projects (no Java, sorry, but I think the concept is portable).
I have my workspaces in ~/workspaces/{workspace_name}. I have a single shared project file in ~/{my_projects, and then the source trees (multiple versions) are in ~/proj1, ~/proj2, etc.
Within each ~/proj* directory, I put a symlink to ~/my_projects/.project and .cproject (required for C++, not used in Java). So each source tree is sharing the single project file. Then in each workspace (one for each source tree), I configure the workspace by importing the project link. For example, ~/workspaces/proj1 imports ~/proj1/.project, but ~/proj1/.project is actually a symlink to ~/my_projects/.project.
So this keeps the source separate from the workspaces. When building, there's no real configuration to do -- I just have Eclipse run make in the appropriate node of the tree -- we already have our own command-oriented build system (we're not using ant, but the same principle should apply).
I source-control the ~/my_projects folder in a private area of the SCM, so other team members don't see it or fiddle with it -- many of them don't use Eclipse at all.
There isn't really any need to try and avoid Ant and Eclipse using the same set of source files. In fact, its probably better that they do use the same set.
Bear in mind, you're not actually mixing anything. There is just one set of source files and then there are two different ways of building it; Ant and Eclipse. These builders are independent of each other, so there is no problem with being coupled to Eclipse. You can even happily commit all the eclipse files (.classpath, .project, .settings) to source control without affecting any developers who use a different IDE.
I do this all of the time (admittedly using maven, not ant), but the same principle applies.
If you have an existing project in Eclipse (with the .project in the source tree), then you can Import Project->Import Existing Project. When the dialog box comes up, you can choose to 'Copy projects into workspace'. Make sure this is unchecked, and them import.
You still store the .project in the original source tree, but thats all.
So now I have
code/xxx (which contains the .java files, which are in SVN)
code/xxx-workspace (which contains the eclipse workspace)
I'd like to manually create the folders/files on the file system that create a new project in a workspace in eclipse, and show up in the Project Explorer when eclipse is started and the workspace is selected.
What files would need to be created to do this and where would they need to be?
Please understand that I do not want to open eclipse and make a new project using eclipse. I want to make a new project without using eclipse.
I think you will need to do the following
create a .project file and whatever other files needed by your specific type of project (for example java projects need .classpath) in the project folder, you can find out what you need by looking at those files for another project.
In your workspace .metadata folder, this is where eclipse keeps information about the current workspace, I think the plugin responsible for project definition is .metadata/.plugins/org.eclipse.core.resources , you will need to create those files yourself, some of them are binary, so you will need to open up the source of that plugin to see exactly how it writes them. Depending on your project, you will need to write more .metadata plugin information (for maven for example).
There is no easy way of doing this. Each new project modifies many scattered files throughout the eclipse structure (if you want a list, make a new project and find files created/modified most recently, and/or search for the project name.)
Short of writing the files by hand, there's not much you can do. I found these links in my reseach, but they're both pretty old and seem to be dead ends:
http://www.eclipsezone.com/eclipse/forums/t107019.html
http://dev.eclipse.org/newslists/news.eclipse.tools/msg36546.html
Based on the answers of #shipmaster I think this will work.
Go the workspace and create a new folder as your new required project name.
Copy the contents like .project, .classpath, .includepath etc from any existing project and modify the same like project name, source folder, build folder etc in .project. Do the similar changes in .classpath etc as per the new project requirements.
Unfortunately this is not enough to create a project by just doing eclipse restart so we need to do an import project and point it to this folder and we are ready to use the same now and we see the new project created in eclipse!
try archiving the file .. right click on project ---> export --->archive file(in General section) ..after you archive it as a zip you can import it after.
IF you want to manually copy a pre-existing project to a new workspace,
I have a solution for you:
Copy the project folder.
Paste it into the new work space.
File > Import > General > Existing Project Into Workspace
Eclipse will now see the project you cut+pasted manually.
Why I am doing this:
I am doing this so I can build upon my scrum stories while keeping documentation via working files that each successive step was built upon.
E.g. Story #2 is built upon story#1 code. But I don't want to version them because I want to be able to open them up one after another to do a presentation on my work flow.