Plug-in Development
Under the covers, Eclipse is a completely modular system with dozensâif not hundredsâof plug-ins working together on top of a small dynamic runtime. Each plug-in defines public extension points, which are like the sockets on a power strip. Other plug-ins contribute extensions that, well, plug into those sockets. Thus the system organically grows functionality as more plug-ins are added. At the same time, the runtime is scalable, so you never have to worry about blowing a fuse.
The Plug-in Development Environment (PDE) bundled with the Eclipse SDK lets you define your own plug-ins in order to extend Eclipse. PDE supports defining and using extension points, debugging your plug-ins, packaging, and more.
Tip
The source code for Eclipse is freely available; in fact, it's bundled with the SDK package you installed. This is a great resource for learning plug-in programming. File â Import â External Plug-ins and Fragments brings parts of the code into your workspace.
- Online help
Help â Help Contents â Platform Plug-in Developer Guide
- Web sites
Get Eclipse IDE Pocket Guide now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
