In this chapter, we covered how to get started with Eclipse plug-in development. From downloading the right Eclipse package (from a bewildering array of choices) to getting started with a wizard-generated plug-in, you should now have the tools to follow through with the remainder of the chapters in this book.
Specifically, we covered:
The Eclipse SDK (also known as Eclipse Classic) has the necessary Plug-in Development Environment to get you started
The plug-in creation wizard can be used to create a plug-in project, optionally using one of the example templates
Testing an Eclipse plug-in launches a second copy of Eclipse with the plug-in installed and available for use
Launching Eclipse in debug mode allows you to update code and stop execution at breakpoints defined via the editor
Now that we've learned about how to get started with Eclipse plug-ins, we're ready to look at creating plug-ins which contribute to the IDE; starting with SWT and Views, which is the topic of the next chapter.