Work on a remote project with Eclipse via SSH

Question

I have the following boxes:

1. A Windows box with Eclipse CDT,
2. A Linux box, accessible for me only via SSH.

Both the compiler and the hardware required to build and run my project is only on machine B.

I'd like to work "transparently" from a Windows box on that project using Eclipse CDT and be able to build, run and debug the project remotely from within the IDE.

How do I set up that:

• The building will work? Any simpler solutions than writing a local makefile which would rsync the project and then call a remote makefile to initiate the actual build? Does Eclipse managed build have a feature for that?
• The debugging will work?
• Preferably - the Eclipse CDT code indexing will work? Do I have to copy all required header files from machine B to machine A and add them to include path manually?

Answer 1

Try the Remote System Explorer (RSE). It's a set of plug-ins to do exactly what you want.

RSE may already be included in your current Eclipse installation. To check in Eclipse Indigo go to Window > Open Perspective > Other... and choose Remote System Explorer from the Open Perspective dialog to open the RSE perspective.

To create an SSH remote project from the RSE perspective in Eclipse:

1. Define a new connection and choose SSH Only from the Select Remote System Type screen in the New Connection dialog.
2. Enter the connection information then choose Finish.
3. Connect to the new host. (Assumes SSH keys are already setup.)
4. Once connected, drill down into the host's Sftp Files, choose a folder and select Create Remote Project from the item's context menu. (Wait as the remote project is created.)

If done correctly, there should now be a new remote project accessible from the Project Explorer and other perspectives within eclipse. With the SSH connection set-up correctly passwords can be made an optional part of the normal SSH authentication process. A remote project with Eclipse via SSH is now created.