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Department of Computing Science
University of Alberta

Details On Eclipse Tutorials

The following are the more detailed versions of some of the tutorials at the Eclipse Tutorials page. These more detailed tutorials are linked to from the Eclipse Tutorials page. Here is a Table of Contents with links to each section that contains the details:

If you have problems, please ask your TA; if they can help, they will. Note that you are ultimately responsible for solving problems on your home computer, though.

Downloading and Installing Java

Ensure you read over the "installation/configuration notes" at the Eclipse Tutorials page before installing Java. The following is a guide for installing the Java SDK (Software Development Kit) 1.4.2_18, which is the same (or very similar) to the version installed in the labs.

  1. Go to the following URL at the Sun site: http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.2/download.html
  2. Click on the Download J2SE SDK link. It may mention that you are about to view a page over a secure connection. This is just fine, so click the OK button.
  3. Choose the appropriate Platform (for most of you, likely Windows) and Languange, then read the license agreements, and check the box beside I agree to the following Software License Agreements. Click the Continue button.
  4. Under Windows Offline Installation , click the j2sdk-1_4_2_18-windows-i586-p.exe link to download the executable which will install Java.
    1. Click the Save button on the File Download window that pops up. It may complain about "malicious code". In this case, ignore the warning and download the file.
    2. In the Save As window that pops up, navigate to a convenient location such as your C:\ drive or Desktop, and save the .exe file.
    (This file can be deleted once everything is successfully installed.)
  5. Once the file has been downloaded, a Download Complete window will pop up. In that window, click the Open button to execute the j2sdk-1_4_2_18-windows-i586-p.exe file that you just downloaded. This will start the installation process.
  6. Follow the instructions to install Java in C:\j2sdk1.4.2_18, or a similar location (below is a rough guide).
    1. Click I accept the terms in the license agreement , then click the Next button. (This is likely the same agreement you have already read and agreed to.)
    2. In the Custom Setup window, click the Next button.
    3. Ensure no browsers are selected in the Browser Registration window, and then click the Install button.
    4. When a window pops up saying "InstallShield Wizard Completed", click the Finish button.

Note that there are newer versions of Java available, yet this version likely works best with the version of Eclipse in the lab .

Downloading and Installing Eclipse

Ensure you read over the "installation/configuration notes" at the Eclipse Tutorials page before installing Eclipse. The following is a guide for installing Eclipse 3.1.2, which is the same as the version in-lab.

  1. Go to the Eclipse 3.1.2 download page. If this does not work, or for some other reason you want to get there "manually", you can use the following as a guide.
    1. Go to the main Eclipse page at http://www.eclipse.org/.
    2. Click on the Downloads tab towards the top of the page. (You can also click on a Downloads link under Getting Started, at the upper-right part of the page.)
    3. Search for then click on Other downloads, which is likely towards the bottom of the page.
    4. Search for "archived builds", and click on the following here link.
    5. Click on 3.1.2 .
  2. Click on eclipse-SDK-3.1.2-win32.zip .
  3. Save eclipse-SDK-3.1.2-win32.zip to your C drive.
  4. Unzip eclipse-SDK-3.1.2-win32.zip to your C drive, which will result in a C:\eclipse directory being created.

    If Winzip is installed, do the following:

    1. You'll likely be able to just click the Open button on the Download Complete window that pops up once the download has been completed. You may instead have to double-click on C:\eclipse-SDK-3.1.2-win32.zip
    2. In the WinZip window that comes up, click the I Agree button.
    3. In the next WinZip window that pops up, you can click the Extract button.
    4. In the Extract window, ensure the Extract to: field is set to c:\, and that Use folder names is checked, then click the Extract button.
    5. Once the extract is done, close WinZip.

    Otherwise, instructions for this vary.

    You can download WinZip from http://www.winzip.com/ (which unfortunately, now, seems to cost money. 7-Zip, at http://www.7-zip.org/ may also work.)

  5. Rename the C:\eclipse directory that was created to C:\eclipse3.1.2.
Once it seems like you have installed Eclipse correctly, you can delete eclipse-SDK-3.1.2-win32.zip if you wish.

Configuring Eclipse Like in the Lab

Ensure you read over the "installation/configuration notes" at the Eclipse Tutorials page before configuring Eclipse. Ensure also that you've installed Eclipse and Java (as specified above) before configuring Eclipse. The following is a guide for configuring Eclipse 3.1.2 as it is configured in the labs.

  1. If you have installed but haven't yet used Eclipse, download Workspace.zip, and unzip it in your C drive, resulting in C:\Workspace. Doing this is similar to saving and unzipping the Eclipse installation above.

    If you've already installed, run and have been using Eclipse, you have a few options for configuring it as it is in-lab:

    You can access the Eclipse help by going to the Help menu, and then choosing Help Contents.
  2. Set up the following Windows shortcut: 
    C:\eclipse3.1.2\eclipse.exe -vm C:\j2sdk1.4.2_18\bin\javaw.exe -data "C:\Workspace" -vmargs -Dfile.encoding=utf-8
     You can now double-click on the shortcut to run Eclipse.

Eclipse Lab Settings

Note that following the instructions at Configuring Eclipse Like in the Lab (the short version or the detailed version), will result in Eclipse being set up as described below.

The following Eclipse settings have been implemented in the labs (the version of Eclipse in-lab is 3.1.2):

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