[news.eclipse.tools] Re: workspace startup event

["Eric Clayberg" <clayberg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"Jeff McAffer" <jeff_mcaffer@xxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:9ngpfo$ioa$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> - Pure startup time is not the whole story.  It has been suggested that
long
> startup sequences should be forked into low-priority tasks.  A common use
of
> this feature would be to ensure that their plugin's initialization is done
> before their plugin is actually needed.

That is one reason...but hardly the only reason.

> Forking reduces the apparent
> startup time of the platform but eats subsequent CPU, disk IO and memory
> resources.  Good idea unless you have many such plugins but are actually
> only wanting/needing a subset during any particular session.

But what if you have a plug-in, that by its very nature, *will* be used in
*every* session?

> - Running code at startup requires that the plugin be activated.

Which is exactly what we need to/must do.

> - Loading the first class from a plugin is the trigger for plugin
> activation.  Plugin activation tells the plugin it is actually needed.

What if you have a plugin that is "needed" based upon the very fact that it
has been installed?

> - An overriding design goal for Eclipse is it that it scale well into the
> hundreds of installed plugins from a multitude of vendors or product
> families.

While eliminating entire classes of potential plugins?

> - The fact that several people want this feature indicates that there will
> be several plugins doing startup code.

The fact that several people want it, and you folks don't provide an
"official" solution means that a variety of (potentially conflicting)
hacks/cheats will be required.

> - In the current implementation all of the plugins with open views are
> activated as a byproduct of creating the views.

And what do you do if you have a plugin that does *not* have any views and
yet must be active at all times? Is the IBM world view of what can be a
plugin so limited as to preclude an entire class of potential plugins?

> This means that the users
> "working set" of plugins is activated on restart.

OK, so how can you add to that "working set" without requiring an open view?

> If the user was not using
> the plugin previously, it is not activated.

And if they were using the plugin, but that plugin does not manifest itself
in a view, then what?

-Eric