Defaults for Eclipse run configurations

Question

I'm writing a Java library with a lot of jni code. Pretty much every test case needs to load my jni dll, and I have a lot of test cases. In order to run the test cases out of Eclipse's Junit launcher, I have to create a run/debug configuration and edit the VM arguments and environment variables.

I would like a way to set the VM arguments and environment variables to a default for the entire project and have new run configurations include the default entries. From what I can tell, Execution Environments maybe do something like this but I seem to need the PDE to get them to work(?)

Specifically, I want to enable assertions on my project by default and include the path to my native dll in the PATH environment variable. I can't use the "Default VM Arguments" setting in the JRE definition panel because my dll depends on a number of others and java.library.path isn't used for dependency resolution, PATH is. Is there a way to make Eclipse do what I want?

Answer 1

So, here's what I did.

First, my specific problem was that I have a lot of run configurations, I create new ones on the fly, and I needed certain system properties set for unit tests. Setting them under the 'args' tab of run configurations was undesirable for my workflow. Also, I wanted the same command-line args set for all of my tests. I also don't run my app from inside eclipse. It's a dev-environment only.

So my solution was to add it to the command-line of my JRE. Preferences -> Java -> Installed JREs. Clicking edit gives you a window where you can specify default VM args. I just set the system properties I need for testing there.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

How long does it take to run all of your tests for the project?

If the answer is Not long then create a project-wide JUnit launcher. If occasionally you would need to do a run on a single test case ( in order to debug or something ), you can copy all your settings from the project's junit launcher. I think you can even clone your project launcher to run a specific test case.

1. Run->Run Configurations...
2. Create new JUnit launcher.
3. On 'Test' tab select Run all tests in selected {...}
4. Connfigure JVM options, classpath, environment etc. for this launcher
5. Optional, but highly recommended. On Common tab -> Save as -> Shared file , and check-in launcher with your project

One more thing I would do is to define a system property in launcher VM arguments, check for this property in @Before function and throw exception if the property is not set. This way you will know that your test fails because it is not using the right launcher.

Answer 3

If I understand your question correctly, I think Alexander is on to the idea with cloning the project launcher. Eclipse lets you duplicate launch configurations with a single click - simply setup one configuration with the parameters you require and click the button in the top left to duplicate it whenever you create a new one.