RCP或SWT构建eclipse插件

Question

I am new to eclipse plugin development. I want to develop a plugin which will generate XML files from the classes present in the workspace. It will have 2-3 UI forms which will take information from user while generating XMLs.

From what I have read till now, I think there are two ways by which we can develop plugins

1. SWT
2. RPC

I want to know which will be appropriate way to go for me ?

Answer 1

Both, they aren't mutually exclusive. SWT is the widget toolkit used in Eclipse, and RCP ("Rich Client Platform") is an application platform based on SWT that is also the foundation of the Eclipse IDE.

I'd suggest that you start with a project template. Get the latest "Eclipse for RCP and RAP developers" package from the Eclipse download site . Create a new plug-in project ( File > New > Plug-in Project ), check "This plug-in will make contributions to the UI" on the second page of the wizard, and on the last page, select one of the templates.

You should also have a look at the answers to How to write a plugin for Eclipse? to get started.

Please note that, while this approach still works with Eclipse 4, there are newer APIs to use if you target Eclipse 4 IDEs only. For documentation of this approach, see Eclipse 4 RCP (aka E4) documentation .