Build configuration

The feature build mechanism is driven by a build configuration.  The build configuration for an individual plug-in, fragment, or feature is found in a build.properties file for the corresponding element.

PDE project creation wizards generate the build.properties file when plug-in projects are created. The file contains information on how to compile source folders into JARs. This information can be indirectly updated in the Runtime page of the manifest editor. It can also be directly modified using the appropriate editor.

PDE provides a simple editor for the build.properties that has form and source views. The file itself follows the Java properties format. You need to provide a number of keys and their corresponding values. Multiple values are separated using a comma as the delimiter.

The most important keys to provide are those for mapping of source folders into run-time libraries. Those drive the build process, control where to find source code to compile and how to package it into the libraries.

The values defined for these keys are expressed as Ant "patterns". Standard formats give the expected results.  For example, "*.jar" indicates all jar files in the top level directory. The patterns are not deep by default.  If you want to describe all Java files for example, you should use the pattern "**/*.java".   The pattern "**" matches any number of directory levels.  Similarly, to describe whole sub-trees, use "xyz/".

 

 
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