Eclipse update vs New installation
Taking advantage of eclipse Kepler'S SR2 release hook ( now on 02/28 ) I'm opening a topic to discuss an issue much like " Should I do a clean new installation or upgrade of my operating system?". The decision between a clean install vs update in-place of Eclipse.
The first is a more "secure" and laborious option, in which a clean installation of the IDE is done and reinstallation of all plug-ins . The second is certainly simpler, relying on the Eclipse update engine following the Route:
Help > Check for updates...
I know that a fresh install for a maintenance release may sound like an exaggeration, but I was one of the unlucky ones who had problems with updates in earlier versions of Eclipse. But for all purposes we can also discuss upgrades between releases :
- SOE-Why doesn't Eclipse update to Juno SR2?
- Soe-Eclipse Indigo Update from SR1 to SR2
- Eclipse Community Forums-can't update to Eclipse Juno SR2
In no way am I raising anything that considers an "Eclipse" problem, not least because a large part of the plug-ins that I am using are out of control of the group (as well as a large part of the software installed on an OS are out of control of the manufacturer).
I am interested in update strategies in practical terms. What is your upgrade practice? How often do you do it?
In this way, I would like to ask about the best practices and processes adopted for the Eclipse update. How to handle IDE updates?
- download a new release , discard plug-ins, workspaces and start from scratch? (Equivalent to clean installation of an OS by formatting HD)
- download a new release , install all plug-ins but keep the workspaces ? (Equivalent to keeping the
/homepartition during an OS upgrade ) - download a new release but try to keep plug-ins, features , etc? (Equivalent to a fresh install on an unformatted partition)?
- Update in-place through p2 repositories (equivalent to OS upgrade in-place)?
- N. D. A.?
I'm especially interested in how Eclipse users focused on open Source stacks, with installations containing multiple plug-ins from multiple vendors (say, plug-ins from Red Hat, Pivotal, Google, Typesafe, as well as from smaller vendors) handle update processes and IDE upgrades.
The path for users of large proprietary packages like OEPE and RAD is usually different, but opinions are also welcome.
1 answers
Well, as there was no answer I will share what I managed to accumulate knowledge.
Before upgrading, always back up your installation and your workspace.
In my specific case the update to the SR2 version of Eclipse Kepler was transparent and didn't break any plug-in (or at least didn't break anything I use on a day-to-day basis).
Anyway, the first time I opened my old workspace as views were corrupted and some features did not work, showing windows with error stacktraces. I recreated the workspace, made the pertinent settings and reimported all the projects, from that moment everything worked correctly.
About upgrades between releases
The provisioning system Equinox / P2 does the job of detecting and updating dependencies, as well as alerting the user over incompatible packages / dependencies that cannot be resolved.
As per eclipse FAQ the default engine for updating would actually be in-place , adding The Repository URL of the most current version of Eclipse (e.g.,, http://download.eclipse.org/releases/kepler / ) and searching for new updates.
That said, Given the enormity of the Eclipse ecosystem, they warn of the possibility of updates and upgrades are not possible, creating a need for a clean installation. Making a free translation of FAQ :
Occasionally, you will not be able to update Eclipse or certain features due to incompatible changes in update. In these cases you will need to download a new one installation. Download a new version of the website from download Eclipse ( http://www.eclipse.org/downloads ) and unzip it into a new directory. We strongly recommend against unpack over an existing version of Eclipse once effects unexpected side effects may occur, including (but not limited to): nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath and corrupted installation.
Complete update instructions are always included in the
readme_eclipse.htmlfile included with each Eclipse installation in thereadmeDirectory.
In the case of Kepler read me alerts users to copy the workspace for a new folder because opening the workspace in a newer version of eclipse means that you will have compatibility issues with the workspace in earlier versions.
Two other points of read me about migration are:
- the existence of the key
-DresolveReferencedLibrariesForContainers=trueto include referenced JARS in the classpath - packages installed manually through the plugins and dropins folders may stop working after installation, being always recommended to install them through the Eclipse menu to receive possible alerts about incompatibilities.