How to write a plugin for Eclipse? [closed]

Question

How can I start writing a plugin for Eclipse?

I've looked for documentation, but unfortunately there is very little or it's poor, so what articles can recommended?

Answer 1

I think a very good resource is also to look at the examples that are available via the new Plug-In Project wizard.

Depending on what you want to provide with your plug-in, you can choose from editor plug-ins, view plug-ins, plug-ins that provide a property page (just to name a few) and see how they're built and what extension points they implement.

Answer 2

I found a great Eclipse plugin tutorial named Extending Eclipse - Plug-in Development Tutorial.

Answer 3

The best step-by-step that covers almost every aspect of plugin development is the book "Eclipse: Building Commercial Quality Plugins".

It's available at most book shops and electronically at safari: http://safari.oreilly.com/9780321574435

Answer 4

Eclipse has a pretty good "Your First Plug-in" tutorial. If it is confusing, I'm sure they would greatly appreciate your feedback. Keep in mind that Eclipse is essentially Java, so if you don't have a good grasp of Java go for general Java tutorials first, and then come back to Eclipse development.

O'Reilly has two good Eclipse Plugin tutorials:

• Eclipse Plugins Exposed
• Develop Your Own Plugins for Eclipse

They not only go through the simple code examples, but give you screen shots of the process since a lot of work is done through wizard type interface windows.

If these aren't helpful, perhaps you could be more specific as to what is difficult to follow.

-Adam

Answer 5

There are some pretty good resources and tutorials on the main Eclipse and IBM's site. One of the best ways is to pick an open source plug-in that has some similar features to what you want to do and start to dissect it.

• PDE Does Plug-ins
• Plug-in development 101, Part 1: The fundamentals
• Eclipse Plugins Exposed, Part 1: A First Glimpse
• Developing Eclipse plug-ins