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There are many users that are having problems to automatize the creation of plugins or specially RCP applications. PDE build system can help to solve this problems, but unfortunately, its currently is a very project intrusive system and its high coupled with Eclipse plugins structure. For example, the PDE build article draft, demostrates that is a technology very useful, but almost only usable by people familiarized with PDE and Eclipse lifecycle. Many developers, only want to export the plugin, like they can do from the product export wizard, but using an ant task. They don't want to download code from CVS or run tests, because probably that tasks would be already included in *their* continuous integration processes. And that processes shouldn't depend on Eclipse PDE build artifacts. So, it would be great to have something like: .... <cvs checkout> <compile> <test> <pde-export product="org.xxx" platform="linux"> <---- *** <install> ... *** A single task like this will make more easy the creation of RCP applications and plugins, and the integration of this processes on the user automation systems. Moreover, if in a future a new Eclipse version modifies the eclipse pde build mechanism, these changes will be absolutely transparent to user ant scripts, because this don't depend on pde build.
Eclipse M5 contains enhancements with respect to RCP app building that allows people to only have give their product file and a build.properties, and then they just have to call a well defined XML file. This also brought a lot of infrastructure that would facilitate the building of plugins however it still misses a wrappering scripts. Would you be interested in helping us?
I can give a try. what I need to do? I have completly forgotted this topic as I'm using my custom build scripts. Any hints? Martin
What is needed in this space is to create a new build.xml file (like the one provided in the productBuild folder) that given a list of plug-ins / features to build and their location on disk would generate a "wrappering feature" and would then build it. This is so close from the product build that I recommend you to start from the productBuild.xml and extend the necessary tasks (probably the eclipse.buildScript and the eclipse.generateFeature). If you have any question, don't hesitate to ask it here.
PDE build is now miles further of what it was before, and we currently don't have plan to make further enhancement in the space described here. Closing as remind.
As of now 'LATER' and 'REMIND' resolutions are no longer supported. Please reopen this bug if it is still valid for you.
