Home » Newcomers » Newcomers » Eclipse folders, upgrading, etc.
| Eclipse folders, upgrading, etc. [message #192814] |
Thu, 08 February 2007 18:37  |
 darkangel
Messages: 62
Registered: July 2009 |
Member |
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Hi,
I have the Eclipse SDK, version 3.1.2 installed.
1. What does the .metadata folder (under the workspace folder), contain
exactly? (i.e. what will I lose if I delete it, and can I delete it.)
2. There's another folder called 'runtime-EclipseApplication' in the same
directory as my workspace folder -- what is this folder for? Can it be
deleted? (it also contains a .metadata folder)
3. Do I have to manually download and install the latest version of
Eclipse? When I check for updates it says I have the latest version (which
I obviously don't have).
4. If yes to the above, I think I'll just download the platform and JDT
runtime binaries, since I'm not likely to require the SDKs ... am I?
5. Would it be best to delete the existing installation of Eclipse before
installing the latest version?
6. The .classpath and .project files are compatible -- correct?
I'm sorry about all the questions.
Any help greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Glen.
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| Re: Eclipse folders, upgrading, etc. [message #192908 is a reply to message #192814] |
Thu, 08 February 2007 21:22  |
Eclipse User |
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Originally posted by: irbull.cs.uvic.ca
Glen, these are great questions. does anyone know if there is a new
user FAQ that answers some of these?
See in-line answers:
Glen wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I have the Eclipse SDK, version 3.1.2 installed.
>
> 1. What does the .metadata folder (under the workspace folder), contain
> exactly? (i.e. what will I lose if I delete it, and can I delete it.)
This holds information about your currently running Eclipse
installation. Error logs go here, and information that plugins need to
store between sessions also go here. I think this may hold information
such as preferences you may have set plus a list of all your projects
(and their state (open / close)). So no, don't delete this :)
> 2. There's another folder called 'runtime-EclipseApplication' in the
> same directory as my workspace folder -- what is this folder for? Can it
> be deleted? (it also contains a .metadata folder)
>
If you are developing plug-ins, that is add ons for Eclipse, you can
launch a runtime workbench. That is, another launch of eclipse with
your plugins installed (for testing, etc...). When this happen, a
runtime-EclipseApplication directory is created to hold any projects you
create here. If you don't do plugin development you can delete this.
> 3. Do I have to manually download and install the latest version of
> Eclipse? When I check for updates it says I have the latest version
> (which I obviously don't have).
>
The update manager checks for updates of plugins for your currently
Eclipse installation. If you want to upgrade you eclipse platform you
must download the latest version yourself. You should be able to point
your new eclipse version to your existing workspace folder and all will
work. Of course if you are developing eclipse plugins, the API may have
changed (it doesn't sound like you are doing this).
> 4. If yes to the above, I think I'll just download the platform and JDT
> runtime binaries, since I'm not likely to require the SDKs ... am I?
>
If you are just doing Java development then you probably don't need the
SDK. However, if you are just doing Java development then you are
missing out on a lot of *fun* :). The eclipse platform is infinitely
extensible, and you can do some really powerful things with it
> 5. Would it be best to delete the existing installation of Eclipse
> before installing the latest version?
You can have multiple versions of Eclipse on your system at the same
time. I currently have > 20 different version (i really should clean up
my system). I suggest unzipping a new version of eclipse to a different
location and launching that one (and pointing your workspace to your
existing workspace). If things don't work for you, you can always launch
your old version.
>
> 6. The .classpath and .project files are compatible -- correct?
>
compatible? not sure what you mean. The classpath stores information
about your java classpath, the project file has general information
about the project (all projects have a project file, java projects have
a project and classpath file).
> I'm sorry about all the questions.
>
> Any help greatly appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Glen.
>
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| Re: Eclipse folders, upgrading, etc. [message #192916 is a reply to message #192814] |
Thu, 08 February 2007 21:31 |
| Eclipse User |
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Originally posted by: eclipse5.rizzoweb.com
FYI, most of your questions have been asked many times before. It would
serve you well to search the message archives (either using Google or at
www.eclipse.org).
See some answers below.
Glen wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I have the Eclipse SDK, version 3.1.2 installed.
>
> 1. What does the .metadata folder (under the workspace folder), contain
> exactly? (i.e. what will I lose if I delete it, and can I delete it.)
There is no reason to delete it, unless you suspect your workspace has
become corrupt. That is a very rare occurrence, though. It stores
metadata about your workspace, data about the workspace itself as
opposed to your individual projects. Things like preferences, cache,
history, etc.
>
> 2. There's another folder called 'runtime-EclipseApplication' in the
> same directory as my workspace folder -- what is this folder for? Can it
> be deleted? (it also contains a .metadata folder)
That sounds like a PDE runtime workspace that would have been created if
you ever experiemented with the PDE (for creating your own plug-ins or
eclipse-based application). If you're not doing PDE work and there is
nothing in there besides .metadata, then it is safe to delete.
>
> 3. Do I have to manually download and install the latest version of
> Eclipse? When I check for updates it says I have the latest version
> (which I obviously don't have).
To upgrade to a major version change, such as from 3.1 to 3.2, yes you
generally need to download the new version.
> 4. If yes to the above, I think I'll just download the platform and JDT
> runtime binaries, since I'm not likely to require the SDKs ... am I?
Honestly, the "SDK" (which I feel has a misleading name) is what you
want. There is some PDE stuff included, but it does not hurt anything if
you don't use it and doesn't really increase the size very much.
>
> 5. Would it be best to delete the existing installation of Eclipse
> before installing the latest version?
Not necessary. What you don't want to do is to install the new version
on top of the old; install it to a different directory. Here is an
example a good structure for Eclipse installations:
/Java/
Eclipse/
3.1/
3.2/
3.3M1/
extensions/
<extra plugins live here, instead of in each install directory>
workspaces/
3.1-backup/
personal-stuff/
work-related/
testWorkspace/
That way the versions are separated from each other and the workspace(s).
>
> 6. The .classpath and .project files are compatible -- correct?
Yes, although once you touch a workspace (including the projects it
contains) with a new version, it is no longer compatible with the older
version. That is why it is recommended to backup your existing workspace
before upgrading Eclipse, in case for some reason you ever want to go
back to the old version, you'll have the workspace backed up that it can
use. Of course an alternative is to NOT use your existing workspace with
the new Eclipse version, choosing instead a completely new workspace and
importing your preferences and projects from the old workspace.
I documented some of this a while back at
http://www.eclipse-wiki.info/Upgrading and
http://www.eclipse-wiki.info/InstallationOrganization
The ideas are the same but some of the details may be a little out of date.
Hope this helps,
Eric
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| Re: Eclipse folders, upgrading, etc. [message #193038 is a reply to message #192814] |
Fri, 09 February 2007 12:09 |
darkangel
Messages: 62
Registered: July 2009 |
Member |
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Hi Ian/Eric,
Thanks so much for your time.
I could have done a more in-depth search Eric, I apologize for the FAQs.
Some follow-ups. Please ignore any questions which have been answered
before.
1. Is it possible to reset/clean everything? (if I wanted to start from
scratch, with all the defaults) I suppose deleting this folder and then
importing all the projects again would work ... no?
4. Eric, as far as I can tell, the SDK is more than double the size of the
platform + JDT runtime binaries. (120 MB vs. 34 MB + 19 MB). What would I
be missing by doing it this way? I could still download the other parts at
a later stage if necessary, couldn't I?
Thanks again,
Glen.
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| Re: Eclipse folders, upgrading, etc. [message #193139 is a reply to message #192814] |
Fri, 09 February 2007 23:02 |
| Eclipse User |
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Originally posted by: john.eclipsefaq.org
Many of these questions are answered in the readme. The readme is
included with every Eclipse SDK build under
eclipse/readme/readme_eclipse.html, or on the download page for any
release. In particular, see section 2 on compatibility, and section 5 on
how to upgrade. Here are links for version 3.1.2 (which I assume is what
you want to move to):
http://www.eclipse.org/eclipse/development/readme_eclipse_3. 2.1.html#Compatibility
http://www.eclipse.org/eclipse/development/readme_eclipse_3. 2.1.html#Upgrading
--
Glen wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I have the Eclipse SDK, version 3.1.2 installed.
>
> 1. What does the .metadata folder (under the workspace folder), contain
> exactly? (i.e. what will I lose if I delete it, and can I delete it.)
>
> 2. There's another folder called 'runtime-EclipseApplication' in the
> same directory as my workspace folder -- what is this folder for? Can it
> be deleted? (it also contains a .metadata folder)
>
> 3. Do I have to manually download and install the latest version of
> Eclipse? When I check for updates it says I have the latest version
> (which I obviously don't have).
>
> 4. If yes to the above, I think I'll just download the platform and JDT
> runtime binaries, since I'm not likely to require the SDKs ... am I?
>
> 5. Would it be best to delete the existing installation of Eclipse
> before installing the latest version?
>
> 6. The .classpath and .project files are compatible -- correct?
>
> I'm sorry about all the questions.
>
> Any help greatly appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Glen.
>
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| Re: Eclipse folders, upgrading, etc. [message #193322 is a reply to message #193038] |
Sun, 11 February 2007 04:18 |
| Eclipse User |
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Originally posted by: eclipse5.rizzoweb.com
Glen wrote:
> Hi Ian/Eric,
>
> Thanks so much for your time.
>
> I could have done a more in-depth search Eric, I apologize for the FAQs.
>
> Some follow-ups. Please ignore any questions which have been answered
> before.
>
> 1. Is it possible to reset/clean everything? (if I wanted to start from
> scratch, with all the defaults) I suppose deleting this folder and then
> importing all the projects again would work ... no?
The reason Eclipse abstracts the installation of itself from the
workspace(s) is for this very reason. You can have any number of
workspaces and any number of Eclipse installations. When you launch
Eclipse, by default it asks you what workspace you want to open (unless
you turned that off, in which case you'll have to re-enable it in the
General section of the Preferences); so the easiest way to "start from
scratch" is to simply choose a new location for a new workspace. Eclipse
will create the .metadata directory in whatever location you choose and
"start over" from there.
> 4. Eric, as far as I can tell, the SDK is more than double the size of
> the platform + JDT runtime binaries. (120 MB vs. 34 MB + 19 MB). What
> would I be missing by doing it this way? I could still download the
> other parts at a later stage if necessary, couldn't I?
I'm not exactly sure - I just always download the SDK - always have
since version 1.0. There must be a reason that they make that the
default choice, right? The size difference is bigger than I thought, but
in my opinion, "so what?" because it is not very often I download Eclipse.
Maybe someone else will answer better what would be missing by doing
your idea...
Hope this helps,
Eric
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| Re: Eclipse folders, upgrading, etc. [message #194244 is a reply to message #193038] |
Wed, 14 February 2007 19:52 |
| Eclipse User |
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Originally posted by: wayne.beaton._NOSPAM_eclipse.org
PDE and source code are included with the SDK. That should account for
some of it. If you're not building plug-ins you don't need these.
Wayne
Glen wrote:
> 4. Eric, as far as I can tell, the SDK is more than double the size of
> the platform + JDT runtime binaries. (120 MB vs. 34 MB + 19 MB). What
> would I be missing by doing it this way? I could still download the
> other parts at a later stage if necessary, couldn't I?
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