I want to add a view to a perspective without having access to the source code of the perspective. Is this possible?
Is there a good tutorial for plug-in development using TDD?
[edit]
I think I have a good starting point with TDDing in plugin development
Automating unit tests (junit) for Eclipse Plugin development
[edit 02/17/09]
I was able to download the source for the plug-in. I'm just probably going to fork it.
Testing GUIs is a PAIN! And the pain grows exponentially with the complexity of the gui design. Your best bet is to keep the business logic separate from the GUI as much as possible with the MVC pattern and when testing the gui, hook the GUI up to a "mock" application.
See Object Mentor's paper, the Humble Dialog Box
You might want to take a look at the org.eclipse.ui.perspectiveExtensions Extension Point.
And here is a nice article concerning Perspectives: Using Perspectives in the Eclipse UI
Sorry, can't help you with the TDD part of your question.
If your goal is to simply add the view to a perspective in your own Eclipse instance, you can just open it when being in that perspective, and choose Window -> Save Perspective As...
For unit testing plug-ins, you can basically test them using normal JUnit tests, which you run as JUnit plug-in tests instead of normal JUnit tests in Eclipse. For GUI testing you could check out SWTBot.
Related
I am attempting to learn java EE by developing an app from scratch. What I have now is JSPs, EJBs, Servlets, jQuery script. I feel my progress is very slow right now.
I am afraid to consider JRebel-like tools at the moment.
Is there a step by step cycle I can follow to be more efficient?
When should I trigger the .reload file?
When should I delete/restart glassfish, when I modify: java, jsp, jsp fragment, dependent project?
Do I need to restart every time I modify a java file or only on major changes like add/remove class, add/remove method?
Do I need to run in debug mode every time so I can immediately see my changes on the fly?
Since your last comment, I think maybe I understand a little better what you're after.
I know you're looking for a glassfish solution, which I don't know very well, but if you're willing to work with other application servers, there are some good solutions for fast turnaround.
The JBoss IDE is free and integrates tightly with the JBoss Application Server. If you use the default directory layouts created by the Eclipse project wizards, turnaround for most changes is completely transparent and nearly simultaneous. I think you can find other IDEs with similar characteristics. (BTW - I don't use JRebel myself but hear very good reports from those I know who do.)
I am learning Java and my IDE is Eclipse Mars. I was wondering if there was a way to create a GUI in Eclipse?
I researched it and the only half decent way I can find was pretty complex, any ideas?
Eclipse includes WindowBuilder, a "bi-directional Java GUI designer." Whether you have it installed in your Eclipse depends on which package you downloaded; if you downloaded Eclipse IDE for Java Developers then it's already included. If you got a different package, you can install WindowBuilder via these instructions.
Eclipse itself has only the coding function when it comes to GUIs.
If you really want to know your way around GUIs I recommend you learn it by programming it.
If you just want to try it out one time or start with easier lessons and then go into programming it yourself I recommend the IDE "Netbeans". It has a drag-and-drop kinda GUI builder implemented with which GUIs are very easy to implement.
Especially if your are just learning Java I recommend learning the basics in Java first, insert your functions into an easy to build GUI with Netbeans and later on go into fully programming GUIs.
Netbeans is also free and pretty much the same as eclipse. Maybe less customizable features, but for beginners and people who want to know how GUI works its perfect.
I am writing some unit tests in Java using NetBeans for a big project university java project, but it's boring to write these by hand. Is there a tool that can help me automate the creation of these tests?
Go to the Projects view, right click on the class. One of the last popup menu entries is tools and there you find a wizard to generate JUnit or TestNG classes.
This generates the boiler plate code for you. The test logic itself comes from you.
Maybe you could start here https://netbeans.org/kb/docs/java/junit-intro.html.
I want create a installer by using Eclipse RCP. I need to give the user a wizard-like installer. This means user can do some options then click next. Or they can go back to previous page by click previous. Or they can cancel the installation by clicking cancel.
Here is my problem:
I don't know how to switch between views when clicking "next","previous". I need to create something like WizardPages and i can change between these pages?
I can't use JFace wizard because I'm required not to pop up any dialog.
I'm totally new to Eclipse RCP so please help!
thanks.
Maybe "StackLayout" is what you need.
Consider whether you actually want/need Eclipse RCP in this context. Eclipse RCP shines in complex applications with an extensive business domain and complex user interface.
An installer wizard, however, is very straightforward and static. I cannot imagine you requiring more than two or three user inputs. Your question is a bit like "I want to hear beautiful music. How do I program a robot to play the piano?"
It is much easier to limit yourself to using SWT and JFace. Use the JFace WizardDialog to make a nice installation wizard. You will find you will have never needed the Eclipse RCP framework.
See http://www.vogella.com/tutorials/EclipseWizards/article.html for a nice tutorial.
If you do think you need the features of the Eclipse RCP runtime framework, I suggest you follow the path below instead:
Create an RCP application (e.g. the sample 'Mail' application). A class will be created that is the main entry point in your application. This class will launch the Eclipse Workbench. Delete this code, and instead launch the WizardDialog.
A lot of things will not be available, such as menu's, views with drag-and-drop functionality, keybindings, etc. I cannot imagine you will need those things. However, you will benefit from the following Eclipse RCP features:
Eclipse launch framework. Ability to create a self-contained product including the JRE.
OSGi framework. Ability to easily add new plugins. Ability to use services, blueprint, etc.
JFace framework.
EMF (if you have a very complicated installation wizard)
All other eclipse plugins, although a lot of them may not work outside of the context of the Eclipse Workbench.
If you are convinced you need the full Eclipse Workbench, you can always do the following:
Define a 'base' perspective that is 'locked down'.
Use a Command to move from one perspective to the other. This will allow you to keep the previous wizard views open in other (hidden) perspectives.
Use Eclipse Contexts to hide all the standard Eclipse Workbench functionality, menu's, etc.
Since you are new to Eclipse RCP, I do not recommend learning the framework in the particular usecase of an Installation Wizard. You already need good knowledge of Eclipse RCP to be able to hack it this way, and it will not be a clean or nice implementation :-)
I am currently trying to modify the behavior of an existing open-source plug-in for Eclipse.
I'm trying to understand how the plugin works. To do so, I opened it in "Debug" mode as an Eclipse application and I am testing it out after having inserted many breakpoints.
However, sine Eclipse plugins do not have a Main method, it's still really difficult for me to keep track of everything that is going on. The calls seem to jump arbitrarily (which I quickly realized was happening through all the interfaces and superclasses the plugin is inheriting) and I can't see exactly what's doing what.
What is the proper (read: BEST) way to debug a program with no Main method? How can I test, tweak, and explore and program - in this case a plugin - whose modus operandi I'm uncertain of?
You need to run your plugin in a runtime workbench. This (simplistically) starts a new instance of Eclipse with all existing plugins installed, plus the plugin you want to debug. Make sure that you have the PDE tools installed in your Eclipse instance and then in the debug configurations area, double-click on Eclipse Application to generate a default runtime workbench launch config.
I'd also recommend that you read up on PDE (plugin development environment), and you can get an overview here: http://wiki.eclipse.org/PDE/FAQ. And you can read up on plugins in general here: http://eclipsepluginsite.com/. There are many tutorials and lots of information all over the web. So, google is your friend.
Along with using breakpoints in Debug method you can even try printing stack trace using Thread.currentThread().getStackTrace() method to know the starting point of a Thread.