[news.eclipse.newcomer] Re: RCP or IDE?

[J Michael Dean <mdean77@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

If you are going to use much of the IDE functions in Eclipse (it sounds like
you are building a devleopment environment) then I see little point in using
the RCP approach.  Why worry about the user opening some default views or
installing new plugins?  You can write your own perspective, and most users
will just use it.

The RCP approach means you have to build everything - it is an excellent
environment, but the full Eclipse system brings a lot to the table without
any work.

Just an opinion, obviously.


On 8/2/06 5:08 AM, in article
8f444a6b44bb5e4d835eabf3d8996875$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "ruthie"
<ruthie@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Hello.
> I need some some help getting started with the eclipse environment.
> I intend to write an Eclipse front end for a set of verification tools. It
> will include a perl editor and some "active" views of the underlying model
> (backend). The main task of the the end users will be to model a hardware
> component's  structure and behavior.
> 
> First I want to decide whether to use the IDE framework or the RCP subset.
> On one hand, I will need most of the standard IDE plugins (resources,
> help, search...). On the other hand, I will not need <all> the IDE plugins
> (team support, update manager). I also want to control the menus so I can
> prevent the user from performing some actions like opening some of the
> default views, or even install their own plugins.
> 
> My questions are:
> - Can anyone point me to concepts I should look up in the documentation to
> understand the control I have over the RCP and the IDE?
> - What might be the overhead (if any) of starting off with an RCP and
> later converting it to an IDE?
> 
> Thanks for your time,
> ruthie
> 
> 
>