There's a hot new drop of Eclipse to warm you up during these coldest days
of winter. Here are some of the more noteworthy things available in milestone
build M5 (February 9, 2007) which is now available for download.
See the build notes for details about bugs fixed
and other changes.
PDE
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| PDE editors facelift |
All PDE form-based editors have acquired a new
look and feel. Visual enhancements include the following:
- Gradient form headers
- Form title icons
- New section title bar design and colors
- Section header tool items using standard size icons
- Form header help icons
In addition, all PDE form editor pages comply with the latest UI recommendations
for margins and spacing.
|
|
| Field validation in plug-in
and product editors |
PDE now validates plug-in and product editor
form fields while input is being entered.
During validation, form fields are decorated according to problem severity
and provide status messages via tool tips.
All status messages are qualified with a field label and rolled up into
the form title header where they are available on mouse over.
As with source page validation, the problem severity used by field validation
is configurable on the Plug-in Development > Compilers preference
page. |
|
| Update site target provisioner |
You can now point to an update site, download plug-ins,
and install them into your target platform, all in a single step by using
the new Update Site Target Provisioning wizard.
The target provisioning wizards can be accessed via the Add button
on the Plug-in Development > Target Platform preference page.
|
|
| Analyze dependencies for JAR
archives |
When creating a plug-in from existing JAR archives (File > New > Project > Plug-in
Development > Plug-in from existing JAR archives), PDE now computes
the dependencies required to run the code in the archive.
Plug-ins targeted to run with an OSGi framework will have their dependencies
specified with Import-Package statements, while plug-ins targeted
to run with Eclipse will have theirs specified with Require-Bundle statements.
|
|
| Uses directive calculation |
PDE is now able to calculate the OSGi uses directive
for exported packages.
The uses directive is important because it models inter-package
dependencies to ensure that consistent class spaces are calculated for
each bundle. This helps prevent ClassCastExceptions when multiple versions
of a package or bundle are installed in the Framework.
The calculation can be initiated from the Organize Manifests
wizard (PDE Tools > Organize Manifests... from the
context menu of plug-in projects) or the Calculate Uses button
in the Exported Packages section on the Runtime page
of the plug-in manifest editor.
|
|
| Extensible launch shortcuts |
PDE now provides the org.eclipse.pde.ui.launchShortcuts extension
point to enable custom launch shortcuts and additional launch modes (e.g.
profile) to be integrated into the Testing section of
the plug-in manifest editor.
|
|
| Bundling JREs for cross-platform
Eclipse product export |
The Product editor now gives you the option
to bundle a JRE with your exported Eclipse product. JREs can be specified
on a per-platform basis.
|
|
| New launcher for your product |
When you export an Eclipse product that runs on top of Eclipse 3.3 via File > Export > Plug-in
Development > Eclipse product, PDE will now customize the
new Equinox launcher (described in a separate item) for your product. |
|
| Self-hosting with multiple versions of the same plug-in |
PDE now supports self-hosting scenarios that will allow you to develop
and run with multiple versions of the same plug-in in the workspace or
target platform.
Development scenarios where this new support is particularly useful
include:
- Workflows that require different plug-ins to compile against different
versions of the same plug-in
- Building an update site where you are constantly managing multiple
versions of the same plug-in in the workspace
|
|
| Multi-version support for build
contributions |
Support has been added to allow for multiple
versions of the same bundle to appear in a client's map file contribution
to the build and therefore retrieved to be part of the same build. Clients
wishing to take advantage of this functionality should specify a version
in the map file as well as in the referencing feature. |
|
| GET fetch support |
A new GET fetch factory was added to PDE Build
which allows clients to specify URLs in their map files contributions to
a build. The factory generates a call to the Ant Get task, and clients
are able to specify whether or not the fetched file should be unzipped,
which is especially useful for clients who are retrieving build input from
an HTTP server. |
|
| Pre-built bundle support |
Attributes have been added to the CVS fetch
task which allow clients to specify that the bundle they are referring
to in their map file is pre-built and should be downloaded directly to
the build directory. |
Platform
|
| Equinox launcher |
The native Eclipse launcher has been rewritten
to use JNI calls as much as possible. The Java VM will be started in-process
using the JNI Invocation API unless the -vm argument points directly to
a Java launcher.
Among other advantages, this change allows for SWT widgets to be used
in the splash screen. As well, the splash screen can appear much earlier
if the product is set up properly. |
|
| OSGi R4.1 |
The Equinox Framework implements all the new
features being proposed in the OSGi R4.1 (Draft) specification. The most
noteworthy change is the standardization of the lazy
activation policy. |
|
| DragDetect API |
Custom widget implementers can now use Control.setDragDetect() to
disable the default drag detection and Control.dragDetect() to
implement their own. For example, a custom list control could start dragging
only when an item is selected. Typed events for drag detection are now
available (see DragDetectListener and DragDetectEvent).
This example
snippet created the snapshot shown below.
|
|
| Drag over and drag under effects |
Custom drag over and drag under effects can
now be implemented for any control. Custom widget implementers can provide
feedback that is appropriate for their control by subclassing DragSourceEffect and DropTargetEffect.
The default effects for the Table, Tree and StyledText controls
have been changed to use these classes (see TreeDragSourceEffect, TreeDropTargetEffect and
the corresponding classes for these controls). This StyledText example
snippet created the snapshot shown below.
|
|
| Color cursors on GTK |
You can now create color cursors on GTK. This example
snippet created the cursor shown in the snapshot below.
|
|
| Text SEARCH style |
On platforms that have this concept, Text controls
can now have the look and feel of a search field with the SWT.SEARCH style.
Adding the SWT.CANCEL style gives the user a way to cancel
the search. This example
snippet created the Text control shown in the snapshot
below.
|
|
| Mnemonics and the focus indicator |
Custom widgets respect the platform settings
when drawing mnemonics and the focus indicator. You do not need to do anything
special to get this behavior - the paint graphics context respects platform
preferences. See bug
118709 for more information. |
|
| Mozilla everywhere |
Mozilla can now be used as the underlying browser
control on Windows and OS X, providing that you have XULRunner installed
and registered. To use this just create your Browser with the SWT.MOZILLA style.
For more specific version requirements for running on OS X see bug
79213 comment 46. This example
snippet created the snapshot below.
|
|
| SWT on Vista (WPF) |
There is now an early access version of the SWT port to Windows Presentation
Foundation (WPF),
a new window system that comes pre-installed on Microsoft Windows Vista.
The port is in its early stages. Many things work, including the ControlExample,
but there is still a
lot more work to do. You can help by trying out the new code and entering
bug reports. The new code
is available in the Eclipse CVS repository (Using
SWT from CVS) but there
are no regular builds at this time.
Note that the Win32 port of SWT continues to work well on Windows platforms
and fully exploits
the new look and feel of Windows Vista.
|
|
| Native look for search
widgets |
The Workbench is utilizing the new SWT support
for native search look and feel on platforms that support it.
|
|
| Signing info |
The About Eclipse > Plug-In Details dialog
now shows signing info for all plug-ins in the system.
|
|
| Easy working set creation |
You can easily create a working set from the Add To
Working Set dropdown in the main toolbar.
|
|
| Custom splash screens |
API is now in place to provide custom splash screens using
SWT. We've used this to embed the build ID in the default Eclipse splash
screen.
|
|
| Open files with other editors |
You can now open files with editors that are not registered for the specific
file extension. Right-click on your file and select Open with > Other.
You will be presented with a list of editors to choose from.
|
|
| Forms enhancements |
Visual and functional enhancements have been
made to UI forms, including rendering and layout of the heading area, with
drop-down menu, drag and drop, and shared-header support. A new message
manager interface was added, along with a forms implementation that makes
validation easier for the developer and richer for the user by supporting
multiple messages and showing which field the error occurred in.
More
details. |
|
| Cheat sheet open from URL and
visual improvements |
A cheat sheet can be opened from the Web by
specifying its URL in the open cheat sheet dialog.
Sub steps in a cheat sheet are now clearly separated using horizontal
lines. Sub steps can now be previewed. The background colors in the cheat
sheet view have been adjusted to make the active step stand out more. |
|
| Print multiple help topics |
You can now print multiple topics in the help
window with a single action. The new print drop-down button above the table
of contents allows you to print a complete topic sub-tree at any level,
and will automatically generate a table of contents in the printed document.
|
|
| Help navigation topics |
The help window will automatically generate
a topic if one was not specified in the table of contents. The topic will
contain the title and links to the immediate sub-topics to help the user
navigate.
|
|
| Text drag and drop in text editors |
It is now possible to drag and drop text to
and from text editors:
This feature can be controlled via General > Editors > Text
Editors > Enable drag and drop of text preference. |
|
Configurable and extendable
hyperlink detection
|
Hyperlink detection in text editors can now
be configured via General > Editors > Text Editors > Hyperlinking preference
page:
Clients can use the org.eclipse.ui.workbench.texteditor.hyperlinkDetectors extension
point to add their own detectors and can enable their viewers using the
corresponding methods in the source viewer configuration along with the org.eclipse.ui.workbench.texteditor.hyperlinkDetectorTargets extension
point. |
|
| Text editors restore caret
position |
The caret position is now restored when restarting
the workbench or opening a copy of the current editor via the New Editor command. |
|
| Highlighting of individual changes
in text merge |
Compare editors now have the capability to highlight
individual changes. This can be enabled on the Text Compare tab
of the General > Compare/Patch preference page.
|
|
| Flat presentation in model-based
synchronizations |
A flat presentation has been added to model-based
synchronizations. For CVS, model-based synchronizations are the default.
|
JDT
|
| Rename refactoring inside Java
editor |
When run in a Java editor, The Refactor > Rename action
now starts in a lightweight fashion directly inside the editor.
All references to the renamed identifier are updated in real time inside
the editor. Pressing the Enter key or clicking the link executes
the refactoring on the whole workspace. To configure more options, the
Rename dialog can still be opened.
The popup window can be minimized and it can be moved to various locations
around the identifier and to the lower-right corner of the editor. To
use the Rename dialog all the time, you can disable this feature on the Java preference
page. |
|
| Project-specific
settings for Save actions |
The actions executed when a Java editor is saved
can now be configured per project:
This makes it easy to enforce a
project-wide standard by sharing the settings across a team. |
|
| New clean ups
and save actions |
Two new Clean Ups have been implemented:
- Remove trailing whitespace
- Sort members
You can choose to remove trailing whitespace on all lines or to ignore
empty lines. Sort members can sort either all members of a compilation
unit, or ignore fields, enum constants, and initializers (because sorting
such members may result in semantic changes).
Remove trailing whitespace and sort members are also available as Save
actions. |
|
| Format by comment
type |
It is now possible to enable and disable comment
formatting for each comment type individually. The available comment types
are:
- Javadoc comment
- Block comment
- Single line comment
- Header comment
 |
|
| Deprecated
and non-modifiable classpath variables |
System-defined classpath variables can now
be deprecated and/or declared read-only via the org.eclipse.jdt.core.classpathVariableInitializer extension
point.
Users should replace deprecated classpath variables by better mechanisms
such as Libraries.
For some variables (e.g. JUNIT_HOME), the Problems view even offers
quick fixes to migrate existing projects. |
|
| Completion using favorite static
imports |
Content Assist can now propose completions
for static members from a list of favorite imports that can be configured
on the Java > Editor > Content Assist > Favorites preference
page.
For example, if you have added java.util.Arrays.* to
this list, then all static methods of this type matching the completion
prefix will be added to the proposals list:
The import preferences from the Java > Editor > Content Assist preference
page are honored when inserting such a proposal. |
|
| Completion in catch clause |
Content Assist inside a try-catch clause can
now infer exception type names based on exceptions detected to be thrown
in the corresponding try block. These exceptions are now listed before
other possible exceptions.
Note that it will automatically filter out the exceptions caught prior
to the completion location, as shown in this example:
|
|
| Improved detection of unused
private constructors |
The compiler is now better able to detect unused
private constructors. It now tolerates more than the trivial pattern for
blocking instantiation (private constructor with no parameters). Basically,
unless a non-private constructor also exists, it will ignore unused private
constructors.
Hence, the following scenario does not produce any warnings:
But the following case will be flagged by compiler:
Also note that Clean Up can discard any unused constructors:
|
|
| Unused local types detection |
The support for detecting unused private/local
constructs has been improved to also flag unused local inner types, as
shown in the following example:
|
|
The above features are just the ones that are new since the previous milestone
build. Summaries for earlier 3.3 milestone builds: