TOOLS FOR DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENTS.

Case study - ECLIPSE

Lecture notes 3

Architecture

Abstract view of the development and runtime environment for creating and deploying plug-in contributions.  

 

Functional building blocks of Eclipse development environment. 

 

Eclipse Runtime Platform

The core Eclipse Runtime Platform = the most basic level of services:

• Plug-in registryLoading plug-ins and managing a registry of available plug-ins.

• ResourcesManaging a platform-independent view of operating system files and folders, including linked

resource locations important foundation for representing projects, folders, and files in an IDE.

• UI componentsThe Eclipse user interface components are based on SWT and JFace libraries • Update facilityEclipse applications have built-in support for installing and updating plug-ins from URL addressable

locations, including remote Internet site. - assists in customizing IDE with new plug-in contributions.

• Help facilityCommon help facility shared by all plug-ins.

Basic services are implemented as plug-ins on a very small kernel. The Eclipse design makes everything a plug-in.

 

Integrated Development Environment

• Multi-platform. The target operating systems of Eclipse 3.0 are Windows, Linux (motif and GTK), Solaris, AIX, HP-

UX, and Mac OSX.

• Multi-language. Eclipse is developed using the Java language, but it supports writing applications in Java, C/C++,

and Cobol; additional language support is being developed for Python, Perl, PHP, and others. Plug-in contributions to Eclipse must be written in Java.

• Multi-role. In addition to programming activities, Eclipse supports modeling, testing, Web authoring, and many

other roles.

 

Integrated Development Environment

Significant features:

• Shared views Many Eclipse features share the use of common views for displaying and editing properties, for

listing syntax problems found in the code, and for listing work tasks.

• Perspectives A perspective collects a related group of views in a layout suited to particular tasks, such as Java

development, debugging, and version control.

• Preferences A centralized dialog gathers preference setting pages for all plug-ins installed in the workbench.

Integrated Development Environment

Significant features (continued):

• Search engine The platform search engine provides general capabilities for searching resources and presenting

results. This facility can be extended with resource-specific search criteria, e.g., for Java, C++, or UML model resources.

• Debugging Defines a language-independent debug model and UI classes for building debuggers and

launchers.

• Ant project build files Ant provides general-purpose, flexible build services that can be extended with specialized tasks.

The IDE includes an Ant editor and runtime configuration.

• Team-oriented Eclipse provides a generic API for integration with version control repositories. Complete support for

CVS is included, and plug-ins are available for other vendors' repositories.

Integrated Development Environment

Additional features in editors(not provided in a generic way by the platform):

• Synchronized editor and outline An outline displays a hierarchical list of constructs in the file being edited. Select an outline item to

position the editor at the corresponding location.

• Content Assist The editor suggests appropriate content to be inserted at the cursor location when the Ctrl+Space

key combination is pressed.

• Templates Code or other text patterns (such as a Java for loop or an HTML table) are defined in templates that

are inserted into a file as part of Content Assist.

• Formatter Syntactic formatting rules are defined and customized in preference settings and are applied to

editor selections or entire files.

• Problems identified on-the-fly Errors or warnings are identified while typing in the editor and are highlighted by icons and

messages in the ruler at the editor left margin.

 

Integrated Development Environment

Java Development Tools (JDT)

the only programming language plug-ins included with the Eclipse SDK.

UI is organized as Java development perspective.

Fundamental capabilities:• Editor, outline, Content Assist, templates, and formatting• Java viewsSeveral views are provided for navigating and managing Java projects. The Package Explorer view

is the cornerstone of the Java perspective, and a specialized Java Browsing perspective assists developers in understanding and navigating large, multi-project applications.

• Project ConfigurationExtensive support is included for configuring Java project classpaths, dependencies, libraries,

compiler options, and many other characteristics.

• DebuggerA rich debugging environment is provided by the Java tools. You can set breakpoints, step through

execution, inspect and set variable values, and change method code during debugging.

Integrated Development Environment

C/C++ Development Tools (CDT)

• C/C++ editorThe generic platform text editor is specialized with C/C++ syntax coloring, Content Assist, and

formatting.

• C/C++ debugger A default debugger implementation is provided using GDB.

• C/C++ program launcher Similar to launching Java programs with optional debugging, CDT provides support for launching

C/C++ programs.

• C/C++ parser and syntax API The parser is an essential foundation for other plug-in contributions that extend CDT.

• Search engine General platform search facilities are specialized with C/C++ syntax options that accurately locate

code definitions and references.

• Makefile generatorSimilar to the use of Ant in Java development, makefiles are ubiquitous in development of C/C++

projects.Details and downloads available on the CDT Web site, www.eclipse.org/cdt/.

Integrated Development Environment

The Plug-in Development Environment (PDE)

Supplies tools that automate the creation, manipulation, debugging, and deploying of plug-ins. Is part of the Eclipse SDK and is not a separately launched tool.

• PDE perspectiveA specialized perspective includes views and shortcuts to commands used most frequently during

plug-in development.

• Host and Runtime workbenchThe workbench that you are running as you develop your plug-in is the host workbench. After you

are happy with your plug-in and want to test it, you can launch another workbench—the runtime workbench. This will utilize the same plug-ins as the host workbench, but it will also run the plug-ins you were working on in the host workbench.

• Debugging plug-ins The Java debugger enables complete control while testing plug-ins in the runtime workbench.

• Packaging plug-insTools for packaging plug-ins and features for distribution to users via an update site are provided.

Integrated Development Environment

Web Tools Platform (WTP)generic, extensible, and standards-based tool platform.

common foundation of frameworks and services to create offerings for J2EE and Web-centric application development.

The Web Standard Tools - common infrastructure targeting Web-enabled applications.

Includes tools for developing three-tier applications and publishing the resulting system artifacts to servers.

Standard languages

Support for HTML/XHMTL, XML, XML Schema, Web Services, XQueries, SQL, and other languages used by Web-centric applications.

Editors

Editors for supported languages, including consistent features for outlines, Content Assist, templates, and formatting.

Validators

Languages based on XML are validated against associated schemas and other semantics from the specifications.

Server publication

Commands and views for starting, stopping, publishing, and running applications on multiple target servers.

Integrated Development Environment

Web Tools Platform (WTP) (continued)Details and downloads are available on the Web Tools project Web site, www.eclipse.org/webtools/.

J2EE Standard Tools -common infrastructure for developing applications based on J2EE 1.4 specifications targeting J2EE-compliant application servers.

Tools include:

J2EE artifacts

Support for EJB, Servlet, JSP, JCA, JDBC, JTA, JMS, JMX, JNDI, and Web Services.

JSP editor

Support for mixed HTML and JSP tags, including JSP tag libraries, plus outline, Content Assist, templates, and formatting.

JSP refactoring

Java refactoring (e.g., renaming a class, method, or package) finds and refactor dependencies within JSP pages.

Search facilities

Search criteria are aware of syntax for JSP, XML, and other document types. For example, searching for a method name includes cases where that name is used as a method, but not when used in other text strings.

Comparison of syntax

Comparing two JSP or XML files considers syntax while identifying logical code constructs, such as when viewing differences between two versions of a JSP file in a repository.

Rich Client Platform

The Eclipse Rich Client Platform (RCP) The minimal set of plug-ins needed to build a rich client application is collectively known

as the Rich Client Platform.

Although the Eclipse platform is designed to serve as an open tools platform, it is architected so that its components could be used to build just about any client application.

Rich applications - based on a dynamic plug-in model- UI is built using the same toolkits and extension points

When contributing to the IDE, plug-ins are built on the platform SDK workbench. The layout and function of the workbench is under fine-grained control of the plug-in developer.

Alternatively, in a rich client application, developers are responsible for defining the application's workbench presentation.

The same PDE tools are used when developing any Eclipse plug-in contributions, including RCP applications.

Installation and StartupAt http://www.eclipse.org

- Eclipse SDK – complete distribution- "platform runtime" - the base workbench; omits all Java development tools. Java JDK 1.4 or later must be installed before starting Eclipse.

Categories of Eclipse downloads:• Latest ReleaseReleases are builds that have been declared major releases by the development team—for

example, "R3.0". Releases are the right builds for people who want to be on a stable, tested release and don't need the latest greatest features and improvements.

• Stable BuildStable builds are integration builds that have been found to be stable enough for most people to use.

They are usually based on significant project milestones. The latest stable build is appropriate for people who want to stay up-to-date with what is going on in the latest development stream and don't mind putting up with a few problems in order to get the latest features and bug fixes.

• Integration BuildPeriodically, component teams will reach what they believe is a stable, consistent state, and they

indicate that the next integration build should take this version of the component. Only advanced Eclipse users should work on these builds.

• Nightly buildsNightly builds are produced every night from whatever has been released into the HEAD stream of

the CVS repository. They are completely untested and will almost always have major problems.Eclipse open source project inside view of the ongoing developmentRecommendation: stay with the latest release or, at lest, with a stable build.

Installation and Startup

No automated installer Manual procedure:

- Unpack the ZIP archive eclipse directory executable file named eclipse.exe (on Windows).

- Optionally create a shortcut on the desktop for eclipse.exe

Recommended: • Run eclipse.exe and enter a workspace location such as the following:

C:\EclipseDistilled\workspace

• Increase the amount of heap memory allocated to Eclipse;

to allocate 256MB, change your startup command (or target in your desktop icon) to read as follows:

C:\eclipse\eclipse.exe –vmargs –Xmx256M

• Specify the Java version to be used:

add the –vm option on the Eclipse startup program and provide the JVM command path.

• Include the current workspace path on the workbench title:

add the -showlocation option

C:\eclipse\eclipse.exe -showlocation -vm c:\j2sdk1.4.2_02\bin\javaw.exe -vmargs –Xmx256M

Java application development – basic procedure

• Eclipse starts in the default Resource perspective.

• Switch to the Java perspective for most development work.

• Use the Java perspective wizards to create new projects, new packages, and new class files.

• Customize the code generation templates that are used to insert code into a new Java file.

• Run your application within the Eclipse workbench and use the Console view for command-line input and output.

Workbench

Runtime composition of workbench components(perspectives, views and editors)

PerspectivesEclipse perspective defines - a selection of views - their layout within the workbench window. Several perspectives are available, where each is configured for a particular task, such as Java

development, debugging, or browsing CVS repositories. The initial perspective is resource perspective - the most generic - may be used to view and edit files in any kind of project.

Perspective switcherToolbar

Editor area

View

Fast view

Workspace

Workspace – platform-independent logical view:- mapped to the file system directly - contains resources (files and folders that represent projects and their contents). - hierarchical structure with a singleton workspace as its root, instance of the

following model:

By default: workspace hierarchy is identical to the files-folders hierarchy in the file system.

Linked resources – mapping parts of the Eclipse workspace hierarchy onto disjoint locations in the file system

This is especially helpful when using Eclipse in combination with other products and development tools that require specific file locations.

WorkspaceAn instance of Eclipse - associated with exactly one workspace.The workspace that will be used for the current session can be selected when starting Eclipse.

In the workspace folder - a child folder named .metadata contains data about workbench state and preferences.

Runtime errors are registered in the .log file located within the .metadata folder.

Project resources contained within different workspaces should be independent.

Independent projects may be included in the same workspace.

Common reasons for multiple workspaces include the following: Independent work topics, possibly managed in different version control repositories (although

projects within one workspace can be associated with any number of repositories). The need to maintain clear separation between client resources. Two or more workspaces are used to distinguish concurrent work on maintenance branch

versions in CVS.

To create a new workspace, simply start Eclipse and enter a new location in the Workspace Launcher dialog.

Workspace

Workspace file system synchronization: Change inside workbench automatic synchronization Change directly in the file system manual synchronization (refresh option)

Files:- created and manipulated by the user- directly accessible to the standard programs and tools of the underlying operating

system- directly accessible to the tools integrated with the Platform (provided with API for

dealing with workspace resources)

Workspace resources are represented by adaptable objects so that other parties can extend their behavior.

Project

Project characteristics: - special entity in a workspace- carry metadata about project characteristics - contribute automatic behavior when its resources are modified- a container that groups resources into buildable, reusable units

- contains source and output folders (preferably separate locations).

Specific characteristics of Java project:- record its build path in a .classpath file, - automatically configured with an incremental builder that compiles all source files

into the output folder.