Prepare the Workbench

Before starting the tutorial, Eclipse must be properly set up for ProvideX development. The following is assumed:

• You are starting with a new Eclipse installation using default settings.
• You are familiar with the basic Eclipse Workbench mechanisms, such as views and perspectives.

If you are not familiar with the basic Workbench mechanisms, please review the Getting Started chapter of the Eclipse Workbench User Guide.

ProvideX Plug-in Configuration

1. If you still see the Eclipse Welcome page, click the arrow icon to begin using the Eclipse workbench.

2. Select the menu item Window > Preferences... to open the workbench preferences.

3. The ProvideX plug-in for Eclipse requires a local copy of ProvideX; ProvideX programs are the engine behind the plug-in.

   Select the ProvideX preference page.

   • Set the path to the ProvideX executable by clicking the Browse... button and specify the ProvideX executable to use.
   • Set the port to be used for the Listener port.
     The ProvideX plug-in for Eclipse uses a NTHOST-like connection to a process where a listener program is started. This allows for improved performance since there is no wait for the environment to be initialized. The listener application waits for Eclipse to send information about the next event to be processed. The listener will then start the execution of a helper application that will perform the requested task.
   
   

   
   

4. Select the ProvideX > Builder preference page and review / adjust the preferences to the appropriate values for your environment.

   Be sure to enable the options:

   • Compile Files that have no extension, if you have any source files without file extensions
   • Copy ProvideX Data Files
   • Copy Resource Files

   

5. Select the ProvideX > Import/Convert preference page and review / adjust the preferences to the appropriate values for your environment. Be sure to enable the preference Automatically convert ProvideX programs to text so ProvideX programs will be converted to text during the import step below.
   

   
   

   
   
6. Select the General > Workspace > Build preference page. Confirm that the Build automatically option is checked.
   
   

   
   

   
   
7. Select the General > Editors > File Associations preference page. Confirm that the file types *.pvc, *.pvs, *.pvt, and *.pvw are associated with the ProvideX Editor. These file extensions should be preset; if there are other file extensions that are used for ProvideX programs, they can be added now.
   
   

   
    

8. To associate a file type with an editor press the File Types, Add... button. The New File Type dialogue will appear - enter the file extension in the File Type field then click OK.
   
   
   
   
9. Press the Associated Editors, Add... button. The Editor Selection dialogue will appear -  scroll down and select the ProvideX Editor from the list then click OK.
   
   

   
   
   

10. Click OK to save the preferences.

Next Section: Create a ProvideX Project - Existing Source Code