[jdt-core-dev] Library support

["Jerome Lanneluc" <jerome_lanneluc@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Someone said: 'we need to support libraries in Eclipse'. Great idea! But
before starting, we would need some feedback from the community on the
direction we should take.
So here are a set of initial questions with possible answers. Use cases for
these would be greatly appreciated.

1. What is a library?
- The simple definition is 'a set of jars'.
-  A more advanced definition is 'a set of jars and binary folders'
- Even more advanced: 'a set of jars, binary folders and other libraries'

2. Can a library be dynamically updated? Or is it statically defined?

3. Can a library be shared?
- in a workspace: you define 1 library in the workspace and share it across
projects
- in a team: one member defines a library and then check it in a repository
so that other team members can check it out

4. How do we represent libraries in the Java model?
- Using projects: the classpath of a project defines the set of jars (or
more) that make the library
- Using classpath containers: the JRE System Library is an example of a
library

We would appreciate your feedback on these issues.

Thanks,
Jerome