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Plug-in View: Import As | Source Project [message #55092]

Wed, 15 April 2009 02:57

Dann Martens

Messages: 65
Registered: July 2009

Member

When I started developing for the Eclipse Platform, the Import As |
Source Project proved a key factor in negotiating the learning curve.

What is the current stance on the extent this feature is still supported
in more recent Eclipse releases?

I have the impression that this wonderful self-referential feature of
the PDE is getting more and more neglected, but I could be mistaken.

A lot of source projects I've imported recently, to do some
reverse-engineering on don't contain anything instructive anymore.

Could I get some feedback on this? Thanks!

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Re: Plug-in View: Import As | Source Project [message #55119 is a reply to message #55092]

Wed, 15 April 2009 03:39

Chris Aniszczyk

Messages: 674
Registered: July 2009

Senior Member

Dann Martens wrote:
> When I started developing for the Eclipse Platform, the Import As |
> Source Project proved a key factor in negotiating the learning curve.
>
> What is the current stance on the extent this feature is still supported
> in more recent Eclipse releases?
>
> I have the impression that this wonderful self-referential feature of
> the PDE is getting more and more neglected, but I could be mistaken.
>
> A lot of source projects I've imported recently, to do some
> reverse-engineering on don't contain anything instructive anymore.
>
> Could I get some feedback on this? Thanks!

It should work still. What are you seeing?

Another way to learn things is to use the Plug-in Spy (Alt+Shift+F1) and
go through code.

Cheers,

Chris Aniszczyk | EclipseSource Austin | +1 860 839 2465
http://twitter.com/eclipsesource | http://twitter.com/caniszczyk

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Re: Plug-in View: Import As | Source Project [message #55365 is a reply to message #55119]

Wed, 15 April 2009 18:16

Dann Martens

Messages: 65
Registered: July 2009

Member

The biggest 'policy' change seems to be a shift away from having classes
straight on the bundle's classpath in favor of a jar package of those
same classes, included as a library for the bundle.

This approach undermines the 'Import As | Source Project' value
proposition completely, as the only thing you'll get in your workspace
is a sparsely populated plug-in project, typically with one fat opaque
jar in the project's root.

If all plug-ins adopt this strategy, then the 'Import As | Source
Project' will lose its value completely.

The PDE and its relationship to the platform is truly amazing, realized
by real visionaries, but as with Eclipse in general, it seems that with
so many projects going on, effort is starting to spread thin and that
vision is starting to become diluted a bit (I could rant on this, for
quite a while).

Your Plug-in Spy is already indispensable. Should have been in there
from the start ;)

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