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- #What information do MANIFEST.MF and plugin.xml contain?
- #How do I create a plugin project that uses an existing SEAL plugin?
- #How can I launch the Eclipse web browser from my plugin?
- #How do I add a third-party library to SEAL?
- #How can my view save data via Eclipse main menu (FILE => Save or Save As...)?
- #What happens when a view is closed?
- #How do I access a file in the plugin programmatically?
- #How can I manipulate the main workbench menu?
- #In build.properties, I specified to build a JAR file from my plugin sources. When I export and deploy my plugin, a class can not be found. What am I doing wrong?
- #How do I generate Javadoc with links to APIs on the web?
- #Should I deploy my pure Java plugin as a JAR file or as a directory?
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4. Right click javadoc.xml => "Run As" => "Ant Build".
5. Don't ever use the Export Wizard to generate Javadoc again.
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Should I deploy my pure Java plugin as a JAR file or as a directory?
Answered by Sergei Chevtsov, 07-11-2007
First, you need to know that your plugin will *run* either way, although Eclipse claims folks claim that performance might differ (surprisingly, JAR-ed plugins are supposed to be better =>
http://www.eclipsezone.com/eclipse/forums/m91980917.html#91980917).
If that's all you want to do, the choice is entirely up to you.
However, some plugins are intended to be used by other plugins; such plugins expose packages to the clients. You must create a JAR file for a plugin that exposes packages, so that Eclipse's Plug-in Development Environment can locate the exported classes.
Note: if your plugin uses an external library, put it into edu.stanford.slac.external plugin and make that plugin required by your plugin.
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Some of the most useful options are: clean, console, debug (note: it actually enables tracing only), nl, noSplash, password, vm, vmArgs.
Some Eclipse plugins are JAR files, others are sub-directories. What's the difference?
Answered by Sergei Chevtsov, 07-10-2007
If your plugin has to include external JAR files as-is (e.g. due to legal issues) , it must not be jar-ed because Java class loaders can't access classes from jar-ed JAR files.
If your plugin exports packages from the included JAR files (either per your build.properties or due to legal issues), the plugin must not be jar-ed because during development of dependent plugins those packages are not visible to Eclipse's classloader. Note: this behavior can not be observed when you run your plugins.
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How does Eclipse generate the ANT build script (aka build.xml)?
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