Plug-ins and Plug-in Sites 200 While the plug-in directory at Eclipse-Workbench.com may not be as comprehensive as the previous sites, it is a sizeable collection. Further, Eclipse-Workbench.com hosts a library of FAQs and articles related to Eclipse and the plug-in architecture. Notable Language Plug-ins For multi-lingual web developers, there is an Eclipse plug-in for almost every web development language. You will never have to leave Eclipse to build a web application. This is a listing of plug-ins for the more popular languages. All of these plug-ins are either free or open source. Language Plugin C/C++ Eclipse C/C++ Development Tools http://www.eclipse.org/cdt/ C# Improve C# Plugin http://www.improve-technologies.com/alpha/esharp/ ColdFusion CFEclipse http://cfeclipse.tigris.org/ J2EE Lomboz http://www.objectlearn.com/index.jsp Javascript JSEclipse http://www.interaktonline.com/Products/Eclipse/JSEclipse/Overview/ JS-Sorcerer http://www.dhitechnologies.com/ Perl EPIC http://e-p-i-c.sourceforge.net/ PHP (Besides PHPEclipse) TruStudio http://www.xored.com/trustudio Python PyDev http://pydev.sourceforge.net/ Ruby Ruby Development Tools http://rubyeclipse.sourceforge.net/ B The Eclipse Update Manager The Eclipse Update Manager is a mechanism used by Eclipse to keep track of its own plug-ins. The Update Manager keeps track of plug-in versions, informs you if a newer version is available, and helps you install new plug-ins. In fact, PHPEclipse recommends that you install its plug-in via the Eclipse Update Manager. In this appendix, we will take a look at how to use the Eclipse Update Manager to install plug-ins. We will use PHPEclipse as an example. We will also see how to use the Update Manager to update the plug-ins already installed as well as how to update Eclipse itself. To access the Update Manager, go to the Help | Software Updates | Find and Install… menu option. You will be given a choice to either update the currently installed plug-ins or search for new plug-ins to install. The Eclipse Update Manager Installing New Plug-Ins The Eclipse Update Manager works by keeping track of the home update site of each plug-in. Eclipse aggregates this information in a file named platform.xml in the /configuration/ org.eclipse.update directory. To install a new plug-in, we need to tell the Update Manager where to grab it. We will walk through this process using the installation of PHPEclipse as an example. Launch the Eclipse Update Manager. Select Search for new features to install and then click on the Next button. We will be presented with a list of software site bookmarks. By default, Eclipse.org update site is pre-loaded so that Eclipse can update itself. This is a graphical, bookmark representation of the information stored in the features directory. You can edit and manage all your update sites by returning to this screen. Each bookmark in this list will be checked in the future when Eclipse searches for updates. When we add a bookmark for PHPEclipse, we are not only installing the plug-in, we are also telling Eclipse to automatically check for updates in the future. If you stored a plug-in locally, you could also add a local file path as a site. You might want to do this if you were developing your own plug-in. 202 Appendix B Installing PHPEclipse Right now, we are going to add the official PHPEclipse update site as a repository. Click on the New Remote Site button. A small dialog box will appear allowing you to name the bookmark and enter a URL for the site. Give the bookmark a descriptive name. The URL for the PHPEclipse site is http://pipestonegroup.com/eclipse/updates. Enter this information into the dialog box and click the OK button to add the bookmark. Eclipse will query the site for available plug-ins. Select the plug-ins in the PHPEclipse package that you want to install. In this book, we use all of the plug-ins available, but at the minimum, you will need the QuantumDB plug-in and PHPEclipse plug-in. Click on the Next button to continue. Eclipse will query the update site for the latest version available of the software package, and display all of the available components for installation. 203 The Eclipse Update Manager Click on the checkboxes for the items you wish to install. Click on the Next button to continue. Read this license agreement. If you agree to the terms, make sure the first radio button is selected and then click on the Next button. 204 Appendix B Finally, you will confirm your update and verify the location to install the files. Verify your desired installation and its location. Click on the Finish button. PHPEclipse will be installed on your workstation. You may receive warnings about some downloads being unsigned and untrustworthy. This is a security feature of Eclipse, which helps prevent the installation of potentially harmful software. Eclipse will look for a digital signature at the download site. If it doesn't find one, it will ask you if you still want to install the plug-in. Eclipse will give you information about the download URL and who it thinks is the manufacturer. You can read this information and if you still feel comfortable with downloading the plug-in, continue with the process. Currently, PHPEclipse and its packages do not have a signature, but as long as you download it from the pipestonegroup.com site, you can trust the download. When the download is completed, you will need to quit and restart Eclipse in order to load the new plug-in. Updating Current Software The process of updating installed plug-ins is similar to installing new plug-ins. The update process also uses many of the screens seen in the installation process. However, since Eclipse already knows the update location, we do not have to enter any sites. Instead, we just tell Eclipse to query the sites and compare the installed version to the latest version. To start updating, go back to the Eclipse Update Manager. This time, select Search for updates of the currently installed features on the main selection screen. Eclipse will automatically start comparing the installed software with the creators' software. If it finds an available update, it will appear in an available updates list. 205 The Eclipse Update Manager On this screen you will be able to review the plug-ins that need updates. You will also see a detailed description of each plug-in. Select the checkbox next to each plug-in you wish to update and click on the Next button. From this point on, the process is exactly the same as installing plug-ins. Eclipse will present the software licenses for each plug-in, allow you to verify the installation location, and then start the download. Quit and restart Eclipse to take advantage of the new versions. If you have not updated in a while, you may want to repeat this update process immediately after restarting Eclipse. You may not have the most up-to-date version of certain plug-ins. Some plug-ins have a dependency on a certain prior version of the same plug-in, or may have a dependency on another plug-in's version. Only when nothing appears on the list of available plug-ins is your Eclipse installation completely current. 206 . http://www.objectlearn.com/index.jsp Javascript JSEclipse http://www.interaktonline.com/Products /Eclipse/ JSEclipse/Overview/ JS-Sorcerer http://www.dhitechnologies.com/ Perl EPIC http://e-p-i-c.sourceforge.net/ PHP (Besides PHPEclipse). Plug-ins and Plug-in Sites 200 While the plug-in directory at Eclipse- Workbench.com may not be as comprehensive as the previous sites, it is a sizeable collection. Further, Eclipse- Workbench.com. of FAQs and articles related to Eclipse and the plug-in architecture. Notable Language Plug-ins For multi-lingual web developers, there is an Eclipse plug-in for almost every web development