Eclipse Community Forums: Plugin Development Environment (PDE)

Help

Home

Home » Eclipse Projects » Plugin Development Environment (PDE) » Optional plugins inside a feature?

Show: Today's Messages :: Show Polls :: Message Navigator

Optional plugins inside a feature? [message #594445]

Wed, 01 April 2009 17:24

Chris Williams

Messages: 29
Registered: July 2009

Junior Member

We have a large number of interoperating features. Sometimes we want to
add better integration between two or more of them if the user has
both/all. An example: We have a feature containing database tools, and a
feature for a specific web framework. Ideally we'd like to allow the user
to install the web framework feature without requiring the database
feature. But if they have both installed, then we'd like to have a plugin
in the web framework feature that depends on the database feature's
plugins and uses some extension points, etc.

Is there a clean way of doing this? The best I can come with as a starter
is to make the integration plugin require the database plugins using
optional dependencies, and then the dependency is only at build time
between the two. But I'm not sure if the integration plugin would then
automatically "turn on" when the DB plugin is there. Or what it'd behave
like when it isn't.

Report message to a moderator