Mastering Eclipse Plug-in Development

Build modular applications on Eclipse by defining custom extension points and using OSGi services

About This Book

• Master Eclipse plug-in development with this example-based and practical guide
• Define new JFace wizards, custom extension points, and new commands for the Eclipse console
• Get to grips with OSGI services and events to dynamically wire applications and communicate between plug-ins

Who This Book Is For

If you are a Java developer who is familiar with the Eclipse plug-in environment, this book covers the advanced concepts that you need to know to achieve true expertise. Prior experience in creating Eclipse plug-ins is assumed for this book.

In Detail

Mastering Eclipse Plug-in Development shows you how to build an extensible application using custom extension points and dynamic OSGi services in Eclipse. Dynamic design patterns such as whiteboard and extender are covered along with specific techniques to deal with native and legacy code.

This book dives right into the details and teaches you how to define new JFace wizards and extend Eclipse with custom extension points. Then the book moves quickly on to the details of how to define new commands for the Eclipse console and how to include native code in a plug-in. You will engage with modular application design patterns and Thread Context ClassLoaders before getting the details on how to create as well as manage P2 sites and write help documentation for an Eclipse plug-in.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Plugging in to JFace and the Common Navigator Framework
Chapter 2. Creating Custom Extension Points
Chapter 3. Using OSGi Services to Dynamically Wire Applications
Chapter 4. Using the Gogo Shell and Commands
Chapter 5. Native Code and Fragment Bundles
Chapter 6. Understanding ClassLoaders
Chapter 7. Designing Modular Applications
Chapter 8. Event-driven Applications with EventAdmin
Chapter 9. Deploying and Updating with P2
Chapter 10. User Assistance in Eclipse