How do I find out where is the source for some Eclipse element?

Question

I want to modify some code in the Eclipse JDT itself (In the "Debug Configurations" Dialog). I know how I can download the sources using CVS and all, but I wonder: what is the easiest way to find which packages I should download?

I guess I can guess that that particular element is, say, in the org.eclipse.jdt.debug package. But, is there a more "scientific" way to do that? Say, maybe a plug-in that lets me click on any widget in the Eclipse user interface and it will tell me what's the class behind it?

Answer 1

You need the Plugin Spy. A very handy tool which shows you the implementing class (and plugin/JAR) of any UI element in Eclipse. This article explains how to use the plugin spy and the sources.

When downloading Eclipse, get the "Eclipse SDK" package. It contains all the sources as JARs which you can browse or even import (as stated in the article above).