Eclipse plugin development for Eclipse

Question

How do I start developing a plugin for Eclipse? I need a tool that does not yet exist for my further development ... therefore my main problems:

• How to add perspective?
• How to add menu items?
• How do I add a view to the Show Views menu?
• How to add to the preferences panel?
• How to get information, for example:
  • Where is the workspace located?
  • What files are open in the editor?
  • What projects are minimized / expanded in the representation of left-wing projects?
  • .....
• What conventions (names ...) should be considered?
• How to configure update / deployment site?

Can you give me some tips, links, tutorials, etc.

Do not misunderstand me. I have been using Eclipse RCP to develop standalone applications for some time, so I am familiar with the technique, but I never started developing a plugin for Eclipse itself. Thanks.

Answer 1

The easiest way is to download and install the RCP edition from eclipse (which you are using).

With it comes a series of project templates that will accurately illustrate the topics you want to learn, both for stand-alone RCP and for the contribution of Eclipse itself.

See this article and its next part for example, to add contributions to the eclipse.

One of the key innovations of e4 is the separation between the application model and the implementation of application parts such as presentation.

The application model can be extended using fragments.
A snippet is a small application model and defines the elements that need to be added to the root application model. Snippets can add anything that can be part of the application model, such as handlers, menu items, or even windows.

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As for the standard Eclipse plug-in development templates , which are located in org.eclipse.pde.ui.templates , Mr_and_Mrs_D reports in the comments :

They are in New Project > Plug-in Project (give it a name!) > ...Next > Templates .
They are present in the Eclipse IDE for Eclipse Committers - and they really belong to the org.eclipse.pde.ui.templates plugin.