OReilly eclipse may 2004 ISBN 0596006411

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TableofContents
Index
Reviews
ReaderReviews
Errata
Academic

Eclipse
BySteveHolzner

Publisher :O'Reilly
PubDate :April2004
ISBN :0-596-00641-1
Pages :334
Slots :1.0



O'Reilly'snewguidetothetechnology,
Eclipse,providesexactlywhatyou'relooking
for:afast-trackapproachtomasteryof
Eclipse.Thisinsightful,hands-onbook

deliversclearandconcisecoverage,withno
fluff,thatgetsdowntobusinessimmediately.
Thebookistightlyfocused,coveringall
aspectsofEclipse:themenus,preferences,
views,perspectives,editors,teamand


debuggingtechniques,andhowthey'reused
everydaybythousandsofdevelopers.
Developmentofpracticalskillsisemphasized
withdozensofexamplespresented
throughoutthebook.



•
•
•
•
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TableofContents
Index
Reviews
ReaderReviews
Errata
Academic

Eclipse
BySteveHolzner

Publisher :O'Reilly
PubDate :April2004
ISBN :0-596-00641-1
Pages :334
Slots :1.0


Copyright

Preface
What'sInside

ConventionsUsedinThisBook




WhatYou'llNeed



We'dLiketoHearfromYou

UsingCodeExamples


Chapter1.EssentialEclipse

Section1.1.EclipseandJava

Section1.2.GettingEclipse




Section1.3.UnderstandingEclipse




Section1.5.WorkingwithEclipse

Section1.4.ViewsandPerspectives
Section1.6.UsingQuickFix






Section1.7.AWordAboutProjectManagement


Chapter2.JavaDevelopment
Section2.1.DevelopingJavaCode

Section2.2.BuildingandRunningCode

Section2.3.CreatingJavadoc




Section2.5.SomeEssentialSkills

Section2.4.Refactoring
Section2.6.CustomizingtheDevelopmentEnvironment


Chapter3.TestingandDebugging
Section3.1.TestingwithJUnit

Section3.2.Debugging


Chapter4.WorkinginTeams
Section4.1.HowSourceControlWorks

Section4.2.UnderstandingCVS




Section4.3.FindingaCVSServer
Section4.4.AddingaProjecttotheCVSRepository

Chapter5.BuildingEclipseProjectsUsingAnt
Section5.1.WorkingwithAnt

Section5.2.JARingYourOutput




Section5.3.ConfiguringAntinEclipse
Section5.4.CatchingErrorsinBuildFiles


Chapter6.GUIProgramming:FromAppletstoSwing
Section6.1.CreatingAWTApplications

Section6.2.CreatingSwingApplications




Section6.3.UsingEclipsePlug-ins
Section6.4.UsingtheV4ALLPlug-in


Chapter7.SWT:Buttons,Text,Labels,Lists,Layouts,andEvents
Section7.1.JavaGraphics

Section7.2.AnSWTExample

Section7.3.WorkingwithButtons




Section7.5.WorkingwithLists

Section7.4.WorkingwithCompositesandLayouts
Section7.6.UsingV4ALLwithSWT


Chapter8.SWT:Menus,Toolbars,Sliders,Trees,andDialogs
Section8.1.WorkingwithMenus

Section8.2.WorkingwithToolbars




Section8.3.WorkingwithSliders



Section8.5.WorkingwithDialogs

Section8.4.WorkingwithTrees

Section8.6.OpeningInternetExplorerinanSWTWindow


Chapter9.WebDevelopment
Section9.1.InstallingandTestingTomcat

Section9.2.CreatingaJSP




Section9.3.CreatingaServlet




Section9.5.ConnectingtoaJavaBean



Section9.7.DeployingWebApplications

Section9.4.CreatingaServletinPlace
Section9.6.UsingtheSysdeoTomcatPlug-in

Chapter10.DevelopingStrutsApplicationswithEclipse
Section10.1.StrutsandEclipse

Section10.2.CreatingtheView




Section10.3.CreatingtheController



Section10.5.UsingtheEasyStrutsPlug-in

Section10.4.CreatingtheModel

Chapter11.DevelopingaPlug-in:ThePlug-inDevelopmentEnvironment,
Manifests,andExtensionPoints
Section11.1.AllYouReallyNeedIsplugin.xml

Section11.2.UsingthePlug-inDevelopmentEnvironment






Section11.3.UsingtheRun-timeWorkbench

Section11.4.CreatingaStandardPlug-in


Chapter12.DevelopingaPlug-in:CreatingEditorsandViews
Section12.1.CreatingaMulti-PageEditor

Section12.2.CreatingaView



Section12.3.DeployingaPlug-in


Chapter13.Eclipse3.0
Section13.1.ALookatEclipse3.0

Section13.2.CreatingaJavaProject




Section13.3.ChangestotheEclipsePlatform



Section13.5.OtherChanges

Section13.4.ChangestotheJavaDevelopmentTools

Colophon
Index


Copyright©2004O'ReillyMedia,Inc.
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica.
PublishedbyO'ReillyMedia,Inc.,1005GravensteinHighway
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Manyofthedesignationsusedbymanufacturersandsellersto
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Whileeveryprecautionhasbeentakeninthepreparationofthis
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errorsoromissions,orfordamagesresultingfromtheuseof
theinformationcontainedherein.


Preface
WelcometoEclipse,today'spremiereJava™Integrated
developmentenvironment(IDE).Eclipseisanextraordinary
tool,anditfillsalong-standingneedamongJavadevelopersno
longerdoyouhavetosufferthroughpagesoferrorsscrolling
offthescreenwhileusingcommand-lineJavacompilers.Now
you'vegotanIDEthatwillhandlethedetailsforyou,letting
yougetonwithwritingcode.Ifyou'veneverusedEclipse
before,yourproductivityisabouttotakeagiantjump.
We'regoingtopushtheEclipseenvelopeinthisbook,working
fromthebasicsupthroughtheadvanced.Thisbookhasbeen
designedtoopenupEclipseandtobemoreaccessiblethanany
other.It'saprogrammer-to-programmerbook,writtentobring
youuptospeedinEclipsewithoutwastingtime.
Ifyou'reaprogrammer,thisbookiswrittentogiveyouexactly
whatyouwanttoseethegoodstuff,andonlythegoodstuff.
There'sasmuchEclipsecrammedintothisbookasyouneedto
masterthetopic,andmasteringEclipseisourgoal.


What'sInside
Fromcovertocover,thisbookispureEclipse,covering
hundredsofskillsandtechniques.Westartfromthemostbasic
Javadevelopmentandworkuptocreatingyourownplug-in
editorsfortheEclipseenvironment.Hereareafewofthetopics
inthisbook:

UsingEclipsetodevelopJavacode
WorkingwithJARfiles
Settinglaunchconfigurations
SelectingJavaruntimes
CreatingJavadoc
Refactoring
ExtractingInterfaces
Viewingtypehierarchies
CustomizingEclipse
TestingcodewithJUnit
Debugging
Settingbreakpointhitcounts


Usinghotcodereplacement
SharingprojectswithCVS
Comparingcodewithlocalhistory
UsingAnttobuildEclipseprojects
GUIprogrammingfromappletstoSwing
UsingtheStandardWidgetToolkit(SWT)
SWTbuttons,text,labels,lists,layouts,andevents
SWTmenus,toolbars,sliders,trees,anddialogs
Developingwebapplications
Writingservletcodeinplace
UsingtheSysdeoTomcatplug-in
Debugginganddeployingwebprojects
DevelopingStrutsapplicationswithEclipse
UsingtheEasyStrutsplug-in
DevelopingEclipseplug-ins
ThePlug-inDevelopmentEnvironment(PDE)

Plug-inmanifests


Extensionpoints
UsingtheRun-timeWorkbench
Creatingastandardplug-in
Creatinganactionset
Creatingplug-inmenus
Creatingamultipageeditorplug-in
Creatingaplug-inwizard
CreatinganEclipseviewsupportedwithaplug-in
We'regoingtoseeallthesetopicsandmanymoreinthe
upcomingpages.Here'sanoverviewofeachchapter:

Chapter1
Thischapterisallaboutthebasics,includingallthedetails
ontheEclipseWorkbenchandanintroductiontotheJava
DevelopmentTools(JDT).

Chapter2
UsingtheJDT,we'regoingtocreateJavaprojects,create
codeautomatically,implementsyntaxchecking,andstart
developingsignificantJavaapplications.


Chapter3
AnIDEwouldn'tbemuchusewithoutadebugger.Eclipse
andtheJDTgiveyouallthepowerofatruedebugger,
includingbreakpoints,expressionevaluators,beingableto
changevaluesonthefly,andmore.

Chapter4
OneofthevaluableaspectsofEclipseisthatitletsyou
developinteams,somethingthatanycommercialdeveloper
canappreciate,sincesignificantdevelopmentisusually
doneinteams.UsingConcurrentVersionsSystem(CVS),
teammembersdoalloftheirworkintheirown
workbenches,buttheycanshareandregistertheirwork
usingaCVSrepository.

Chapter5
AntisapowerfulJavabuildtool,andwe'llseeinthis
chapterthatyoucandothingswithAntinEclipsethat
Eclipsecan'tdoalone,suchascopyandmovefiles.

Chapter6
ThischapterstartsourworkusingEclipsetohandleGUI
developmentwithSwing.We'llalsotakealookataSwing
plug-inforEclipsehereusingthisplug-in,forexample,you
candraganddropSwingcontrols.

Chapter7


Inthischapterandthenext,we'llbecoveringtheStandard
WidgetToolkit(SWT)theGUItoolkitforJavadevelopers
thatprovidesaportableAPIandtightintegrationwiththe
underlyingnativeGUIplatform.SWTa100%Java
alternativetotheAWTandSwingisanotherreasonEclipse
hasbecomesopopular,andwe'regoingtospendtwo

chaptersonit.

Chapter8
ThischaptercompletesourcoverageoftheSWT,including
dialogs,toolbars,sliders,trees,menus,andmore.

Chapter9
Thischaptergetsusstartedwithwebdevelopment,
creatingbothservletsandJSPusingEclipseandtheTomcat
server.We'llalsotakealookataTomcatEclipseplug-in.

Chapter10
Wecontinueourwebworkinthischapterwithapplications
constructedusingtheStrutsframework.We'llalsoseehow
touseaStrutsplug-in.

Chapter11
Inthischapter,we'regoingtostartcreatingEclipseplug-ins
toextendEclipse.We'llusethePlug-inDevelopment
Environment(PDE)andothertoolsinthischaptertocreate
workingplug-ins.


Chapter12
Here,we'regoingtogetthedetailsonsomemore
advancedaspectsofplug-increationeditors,creating
wizards,andhowtosupportEclipseviews.

Chapter13
Inthischapter,we'regoingtotakealookatEclipseVersion

3.0.Thiswillgiveyouaglimpseattheexcitingthingson
theEclipsehorizon.


ConventionsUsedinThisBook
Therearesomeconventionswe'llusethatyoushouldknow
about.Whenwe'veaddedanewpieceofcodeandare
discussingit,it'llappearinboldface,andwhenthere'smore
codetocome,you'llseethreedots.Here'swhatthatlookslike:
Listenerlistener=newListener(){
publicvoidhandleEvent(Eventevent){
ToolItemitem=(ToolItem)event.widget;
Stringstring=item.getText();
.
.
.
}
};
We'llalsousethestandardconventionforselectingmenuitems
inthisbook;forexample,tocreateanewprojectinEclipse,
youusetheFile New Projectmenuitem.
Thefollowingtypographicalconventionsareusedinthisbook:

Plaintext
Indicatesmenutitles,menuoptions,menubuttons,and


keyboardaccelerators.

Italic

Indicatesnewterms,exampleURLs,exampleemail
addresses,filenames,fileextensions,pathnames,
directories,andUnixutilities.

Constantwidth
Indicatescommands,options,switches,variables,types,
classes,namespaces,methods,modules,properties,
parameters,values,objects,events,eventhandlers,and
XMLtags.

Constantwidthitalic
Indicatestextthatshouldbereplacedwithuser-supplied
values.

Thisiconsignifiesatip,suggestion,orgeneralnote.

Thisiconindicatesawarningorcaution.


WhatYou'llNeed
Allthesoftwareyou'llneedinthisbookcanbedownloaded
fromtheInternetforfree.You'llneedEclipsethisbookwas
writtenusingEclipse2.1.1andwe'lldiscusswheretogetEclipse
inChapter1.Othersoftwarepackagesthatwe'llbe
downloadingthroughoutthebookincludetheTomcatweb
serverandvariousCVSservers(whichwillallowyoutoshare
Eclipseprojectswithothers).
Eclipseisbuilttobeextendible,andhundredsofEclipsepluginsareavailableforfreedownloading.Plug-insletyouadd
functionalitytoEclipsenewbuilt-ineditors,codegenerators,
softwarelaunchers,andmoreandwe'lltakealookatanumber

ofthemostpopularplug-insinthisbook.AndinChapter11
andChapter12,we'lldevelopourownEclipseplug-ins.


UsingCodeExamples
Allthecodeinthisbookisavailablefordownloadfrom
Seethefilereadme.txt
inthedownloadforinstallationinstructions.
Thisbookisheretohelpyougetyourjobdone.Ingeneral,you
mayusethecodeinthisbookinyourprogramsand
documentation.Youdonotneedtocontactusforpermission
unlessyou'rereproducingasignificantportionofthecode.For
example,writingaprogramthatusesseveralchunksofcode
fromthisbookdoesnotrequirepermission.Sellingor
distributingaCD-ROMofexamplesfromO'Reillybooksdoes
requirepermission.Answeringaquestionbycitingthisbook
andquotingexamplecodedoesnotrequirepermission.
Incorporatingasignificantamountofexamplecodefromthis
bookintoyourproduct'sdocumentationdoesrequire
permission.
Weappreciate,butdonotrequire,attribution.Anattribution
usuallyincludesthetitle,author,publisher,andISBN.For
example:"Eclipse,bySteveHolzner.Copyright2004O'Reilly
Media,Inc.,0-596-00641-1."
Ifyoufeelyouruseofcodeexamplesfallsoutsidefairuseor
thepermissiongivenabove,feelfreetocontactusat



We'dLiketoHearfromYou

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Chapter1.EssentialEclipse
Ifyou'rereadingthisbook,you'remostlikelyaJava
programmer,andyouknowhowfinickyJavacanbeattimes.
Missedimportstatements,forgottenvariabledeclarations,
omittedsemicolons,garbledsyntax,typosalltheseproblems
willcausetheJavacommand-linecompiler,javac,tocoughin
yourfaceanddisplaypagesofannoyingerrormessages.The
errormessagestellyouthatjavacknowswhattheerroris,so
whydoesn'titjustfixtheproblemandletyougeton
developing?
Becausejavaccan'tfixtheproblem;itisn'taneditor.That

makeslongstreamsoferrorsscrollingoffthepageanall-toocommonexperienceforJavadevelopers,andleavesthemwith
thefeelingthatJavaistoopricklyaboutwhatcangowrong.To
changeallthat,youcanuseanintegrateddevelopment
environment(IDE),whichwillnotonlycatcherrorsbeforeyou
trytocompile,butalsosuggestsolutions.Javaisbadlyinneed
ofagoodIDE,andanumberofcandidatesareavailable,but
thepremiereJavaIDEthesedaysistheonethisbookisall
about:Eclipse.YoucanseeEclipseinactioninFigure1-1.

Figure1-1.Eclipse



1.1EclipseandJava
AlthoughEclipsecanactasanIDEformanydifferent
languagesIDEsareavailablefromC/C++toCobolitsgreat
popularityisasaJavaIDE,anditcomeswithJavasupport
built-in.Eclipsereferstoitselfasauniversaltoolplatform,
capableofhandlingIDEsformanydifferentlanguages,butthe
JavaIDEthatcomeswithEclipseisgoingtobeourmainfocus,
asitisforthegreatmajorityofEclipseusers.
ThewholeEclipsemagicisthatitwilltaketheroughedgesoff
Javadevelopmentinthewayyou'vealwaysimagined.The
errorsthatwouldcausejavactostumbleareusuallyhandled
beforeyoueventrytocompile,andifthereisanissue,Eclipse
willsuggestsolutions.Allyouhavetodoispointandclickno
needforserioushead-scratching.Ifyou'relikemostJava
developers,you'regoingtofindyourselfthinking,Thisisgreat!

1.1.1SomeBackground

Eclipseisfreeforthedownloading,likeanumberofotherJava
IDEs,butEclipsehasaseriousadvantagebehindit:thepower
ofIBM,whichreportedlyspent$40millioninthedevelopment
oftheIDE.Thefirstversion,Version1.0,appearedin
November2001andgraduallybecamepopular(althoughaswith
anydevelopertooltherewasagreatdealofdiscussionofits
faults).
Intime,Eclipsehaschangedandimproved,andthecurrent
version,2.1.1,isgettingmuchpraise.Infact,it'sbecomeso
popularthatwhenVersion2.1firstappeared,theserversat
weresobusythatitwasalmost
impossibletodownloadacopyforthefirstfewdays.


EclipsewascreatedbyIBMinamassiveeffortthathasleftJava
programmersthewinners.It'snowanopensourceproject,still
largelyunderIBM'sdevelopment,butpartofasoftware
consortiumnamedeclipse.org.Youcanseetheconsortium's
page,,inFigure1-2.

Figure1-2.TheEclipseconsortium'swebpage

TheEclipseconsortiumoriginallyconsistedofIBM'ssubsidiary,
ObjectTechnologiesInternational(OTI)whodevelopedEclipsein
thefirstplacealongwithBorland,IBM,MERANT,QNXSoftware
Systems,RationalSoftware3,RedHat,SuSE,TogetherSoft3,
andWebgain2inNovember2001.Sincethen,theconsortium
hasgrowntomorethan45members,includingSybase,Hitachi,
Oracle,Hewlett-Packard,Intel,andothers.
OTIisnotanewplayereither;it'sbeenaroundforquitesome

time,anditwasresponsibleforthefoundationsbehindIBM's
VisualAgelineofproducts(IBMacquiredOTIin1996).Long
ago,OTIcreatedaJavatoolwrittenintheSmalltalklanguage,
VisualAgeforJavaalsocalledVA4Jthatwaswellreceived.
EclipseitselfismoreorlessVA4JrewritteninJavaand
updatedmanyofVA4J'sidiosyncraticfeatureshavebeen


removedinfavorofmorestandardones,andagreatdealof
developmentpowerhasbeenadded.Inotherwords,although
Eclipseitselfisrelativelynew,italreadyhasconsiderable
history.
TheEclipseprojectasawholeisdividedintothreesubprojects:
TheEclipseplatformitself,whichformsthebackboneofthe
wholeapplication
TheJavaDevelopmentToolkit(JDT)
Theplug-indevelopmentenvironment(PDE),whichletsyou
developyourowntoolsforEclipse,calledplug-ins
Thesevarioussubprojectsarethemselvesdividedintoother
subprojectstheJDTsubproject,forexample,ismadeupofthe
userinterface(UI),core,anddebugsubprojects.Youcanlearn
moreaboutthesethreesubprojectsat
andofcourseyou'lllearnalot
moreabouttheminthisbook.

1.1.2AWordAbouttheCommonPublicLicense
(CPL)
Eclipseisopensourcesoftware,whichleavessomepeople
uncertainaboutlegalrightswhenusingit.Opensource
softwaregivesusersopenaccesstothesoftware'ssourcecode

andtherighttomodifyanddistributethesoftwarethemselves.
Ifyouwanttomodifythatsoftware,ontheotherhand,it's
oftentruethatopensourcelicensesdon'tallowdistributionof
themodifiedsoftwareunlesstheenduserisalsogiventhese
rights(asopposedtoacopyright,thisissometimescalleda
copyleftinopensourceprojects).


Someopensourcelicensesinsistthatanysoftwarebundled
withotheropensourcesoftwarealsobeopensource.However,
theopensourcelicensethatEclipseuses,theCommonPublic
License(CPL),isalsodesignedtoallowcommercialinterests.
TheCPLallowssoftwarebundledwithopensourcesoftwareto
bedistributedundermorerestrictivelicensesforcommercial
purposes.
Ifyoueverplantomodifyanddistributenewversionsof
Eclipse,youcanreadabouttheCPLat
(inparticular,at
Amongother
things,theCPLsays,"thislicenseisintendedtofacilitatethe
commercialuseoftheProgram."
That'sitfortheoverviewlet'sgetthisshowontheroad.


1.2GettingEclipse
HowdoyougetandinstallEclipse?Eclipseisfreeforthe
downloadingallyouhavetodoisnavigateto
andselectoneofthe
downloadmirrorsavailableonthatpage.Whenyoudo,you'll
bepresentedwithalistoftheavailabledownloads,whichareof

thesetypes:

Releasebuilds
TheEclipseteamreleasestheseversionsforgeneraluse.
UsuallywhenyoudownloadEclipse,you'lluseoneofthe
releaseversions.Thesebuildshavebeenthoroughlytested,
andthechanceofcomingacrossseriousbugsisminimal.
ThisisaversionofEclipsecomparabletotheversionthat
othercompanieswouldsellifEclipsewereforsale.

Stablebuilds
Thesearecomparabletobetaversions.Astablebuildisa
stepalongthewaytowardareleaseversion.TheEclipse
teamconsidersthisbuildtoberelativelystable,butthere
maybeproblems.Thisiswhereyou'llfindthenewfeatures
thatareupcominginEclipse.

Integrationbuilds
Thesebuildsaremadeupofcomponentsthathavebeen
fairlywelltested,buttheiroperationwithothercomponents
maystillhavesomeissues.IfthingsworkoutOKandthe