[news.eclipse.platform] PDE Build, test fragments, and build cycles

[chris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Chris)]

Hey there.  Has anyone found a workaround PDE Build's build cycle 
limitation?

Currently PDE Build makes only one pass at building a given feature's 
plugins.  PDE Build also requires that only one non-binary dependency is 
allowed - in other words, plugins can have only one to-be-compiled 
dependency, but all others must be pre-compiled.

We have test fragments for each plugin that makes up our RCP application.  
Our test suite also contains a common plugin that provides utils to these 
tests fragments.  The snag is that this common test plugin depends on a 
couple plugins that make up the RCP app.  So...

RCP Plugin A --hosts--> Fragment A
Fragment A --depends--> Test Common Plugin
Test Common Plugin --depends--> RCP Plugin B
RCP Plugin B --depends--> RCP Plugin A

Crazy, I know, and, naturally, PDE doesn't like this.  Within Eclipse, 
"JDT handles cycles by appending a build loop after normal build action in 
presence of cycles. The loop keeps building incrementally until no more 
structural changes is detected in generated classfiles". (See 
https://bugs.eclipse.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=208011#c13.)

It's looking like we need to be creative with our test packaging.  My 
current thinking is that we have to break up the Test Common Plugin 
migrating the contents to our core RCP plugin which every RCP plugin 
depends.  This way all test fragments will have access to test utils.

Any ideas?

Swimming in circles,
Chris