Section 3.3.  Development Environment Installation

3.3. Development Environment Installation The first thing you need for the tutorial is a set of tools to write the code. The Eclipse SDK has a full set of Java Development Tooling (JDT), complete with a comprehensive Plug-in Development Environment (PDE). The CD included with this book contains a complete SDK configuration for several platforms. You can use that setup, use one of your own, or download the latest release from http://eclipse.org/downloads. The Eclipse downloads site contains a vast array of downloads, but the Eclipse SDK is the most popular and should be highlighted on the site. The download is a zip or tar.gz with a name similar to: eclipse-SDK-3.1-win32.zip This book details function that is new to Eclipse in 3.1, the latest release as the book went to press. You must be using the released version of 3.1 or later to follow the exercises. Be sure to get the appropriate download for your machine (OS, window system, and processor). Once you have the file downloaded, expand it in some convenient location (say c:\ide on Windows) as shown in Figure 3-1. Figure 3-1. Development environment disk layout Note The download site does not include a Java Runtime Environment™ (JRE) or JDK, but the CD does. If you are supplying your own setup, you must ensure a compatible JRE is installed. The download page for each Eclipse SDK release includes links to common Java environments compatible with the release. To complete all of the work in this book, you should get a Java SDK (sometimes called a JDK), as it includes a couple of handy tools such as jarsigner. These are included in the SDKs on the CD. Now you are set to run the IDE. Double-click on the launcher (eclipse.exe or eclipse, depending on your machine). When Eclipse starts up, it asks for a workspace location. The workspace is the place where development artifacts such as projects and code are stored. It is typically a good idea to locate the workspace somewhere separate from the IDE install. This simplifies the management of multiple workspaces as well as changing versions of the Eclipse IDE. By default, Eclipse suggests a location in your user directory (e.g., c:\Documents and Settings\you\workspace). This is a fine choice. After you select a workspace location, Eclipse continues to start and shows the welcome page. Feel free to play around with the information there. When you are ready to continue, go to the Workbench by clicking on the arrow at the top right corner.