Eclipse is a Java program; this means that in order to use Eclipse, you first need to install a version of the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). There are basically two ways of achieving this: you may either install a Java Runtime Environment (JRE) or a Java Development Kit (JDK). Actually, what you should install boils down to what you intend to accomplish with Eclipse. Since you want to use Eclipse for Java development, you should install a JDK (besides the JVM, the JDK includes other useful things; for instance, the source code for the standard Java libraries). To run Eclipse Juno, it is recommended that you install JDK 6 or a later version (many Eclipse users have been using the newer version—Java 7). To learn how to install a version of the JVM on your operating system, navigate to http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/index-137561.html.
If you have already installed a JVM, downloading and installing Eclipse will be quite straightforward:
- First, download Eclipse Juno from the Eclipse downloads page at http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/. We strongly recommend you to download the Eclipse IDE for Java Developers version. Also, make sure to download the right version for your platform and Java version (there are two versions: 32 bit and 64 bit). Actually, the download site is smart enough to detect the OS you are running, so it will default to the download options that are available to your platform. You will get Eclipse as a compressed file (it might be either a
.zipor.tar.gzfile). It is worth mentioning that there are several distributions of the IDE; each of these distributions is tailored towards a particular purpose. Therefore, the set of plugins that ships with each distribution varies. Some distributions are Eclipse IDE for Java EE Developers, Eclipse for Mobile Developers, Eclipse Modeling Tools, and Eclipse for Testers. - Second, unpack this file into the directory of your choice. As a result, you will get a subdirectory named
eclipsecontaining lots of subdirectories under it. After unpacking it, you are good to go. No further configuration is required. Easy, isn't it?Tip
There is a known issue with the built-in decompression utility shipped with the current versions of Windows. Therefore, you had better use another decompression utility when decompressing Eclipse. If you are a Windows user looking for a more robust decompression utility, give 7-Zip a try (http://www.7-zip.org/download.html). In addition, some people have reported that Eclipse has a problem with directory paths that contain spaces in their names. So if possible, try to avoid extracting Eclipse in a directory path containing spaces in its name.
To start Eclipse, double-click on the file containing Eclipse's icon (the file is named eclipse.exe on Windows and eclipse on Linux and Mac systems). Eclipse will prompt you to select a workspace. Within this context and in Eclipse's parlance, a workspace is the directory wherein your Eclipse projects will be placed. You had better create a new directory and name it eclipse_workspace (or something along the line) and point Eclipse to the location of your recently created directory. However, it bears mentioning that you can use any directory as an Eclipse workspace. It is also possible to enter the directory name directly in the workspace prompt, and Eclipse will take care of creating it for you.
After installing Eclipse, you are already able to beef it up by adding plugins of your choice. To do so, navigate to Help | Install new software…. We will cover plugins' installation in later chapters. For the time being, you just need to keep in mind that Eclipse can be extended right off the bat.
In the next section, we will highlight some of the changes that Eclipse has undergone. Of course, a lot has changed. However, let's not get bogged down with technical details. So in the next section, we will concentrate on describing only the most important and useful improvements (you will have to trust us on this one). If you are one of those people who crave completeness, you will be glad to know that we will also mention where you can get the complete list of improvements.