[wtp-dev] Handy PDE trick for features - plugin versions

[Timothy Deboer <deboer@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi,

PDE has a really handy feature for supplying
plugin version numbers inside features that I don't think many people are
aware of. It can save a lot of time and hassle, so I'm sending it out to
the newsgroup to make sure people are aware of it. I'd suggest using this
for all your feature.xml files - Eclipse already does.

Normally, you would specify your plugin
version # in two places. Inside the actual plugin, and then inside the
feature.xml as well:

<?xml version="1.0"
encoding="UTF-8"?>
<feature
      id="org.eclipse.wst.server"
      label="Server
Tools Feature"
      version="6.0.0"
      provider-name="IBM">

   <plugin
         id="org.eclipse.wst.server.core"
         download-size="0"
         install-size="0"
         version="3.0.0"/>
...

The next time you change the version
number of the plugin, provide an ifix, etc., you have to remember to change
it in the feature as well. This applies to changes during development,
ifixes, etc. If you forget to change one, the build breaks.

Instead of duplicating this reference,
you can just use "0.0.0" as the plugin version number in your
feature.xml. PDE will automatically update the feature.xml with the correct
current plugin version number during the build, and the build output will
be identical to before. For instance, here's the same feature.xml making
use of this feature:

<?xml version="1.0"
encoding="UTF-8"?>
<feature
      id="org.eclipse.wst.server"
      label="Server
Tools Feature"
      version="6.0.0"
      provider-name="IBM">

   <plugin
         id="org.eclipse.wst.server.core"
         download-size="0"
         install-size="0"
         version="0.0.0"/>
...

Thanks,
Tim deBoer
WebSphere Tools - IBM Canada Ltd.
(905) 413-3503  (tieline 969)
deboer@xxxxxxxxxx