Archive for the ‘javascript’ Tag
Contributing to JSDT #1: Setting up Build Target
Filed under: Eclipse, Eclipse Development, JavaScript, Plugins | Tags: Eclipse, ide, javascript, jsdt, RCP, wtp
Comments (6) 
I’ve been experimenting with the JSDT to try some HTML5/CSS/JavaScript development. In order to poke around the JSDT code to understand it better, I spent a bit of time figuring out how to get things checked out, built and running. The instructions on the JSDT site are a bit sparse, so I thought I would document what I did.
I’m not on the JSDT team, so this may not be exactly how they do it. But it works for me.
Downloading Dependencies:
First you will need to set up your PDE Target.
The WTP Downloads page is where to start.
Download the following:
I unzipped these into individual folders, someplace where you keep pristine PDE targets separate from your daily running Eclipse. For example, I unzipped GEF into c:/code/buildTargets/GEF3.6.
Setting up the Target
Now, we’ll combine all these into a single PDE Build Target.
- Under Preferences – Plugin Development – Target Platform, select Add:
Select “Start with Nothing” , then Next.
In the Locations Tab, we will add each of the installed components from our buildTargets folder. Select Add – Directory – Next – then Browse the location.
(Note: when selecting, choose the eclipse folder under each target.)
Do this for each of the 6 downloads above.
Then give your target a meaningful name such as JSDT_Target.
Then click Finish.
In the Preferences dialog, change the active build target to the new “JSDT_Target” and hit OK.
Now your JSDT code– which we have not yet imported– will compile against the expected target platform.
Resources
- Modular Mind has some great articles on PDE build targets.
Next: Checking out the code.
Using JSDT #3 : HTML5/JavaScript Workarounds
Filed under: Eclipse, JavaScript, Plugins | Tags: css, Eclipse, html, html5, ide, javascript, jsdt, wtp
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I’m documenting steps to use the Eclipse JavaScript IDE to work with HTML5/CSS/JavaScript.
Building on the previous post, this post will create a simple HTML5/JavaScript Canvas example using the Eclipse JSDT. It will demonstrate some of the limitations I encountered using the JSDT for HTML5 and provide one workaround.
Update: Preliminary HTML5 support will be part of JSDT’s September 2010 release.
Previously
- Some JSDT resources.
- Instructions for installation and creation of a simple HTML example using JSDT.
Using the HTML5 Canvas
We’ll use HTML5’s new drawing canvas. If you want to learn more about HTML5 or Canvas, there are some links at the bottom of this page.
In this example, I’ve created a simple HTML5 page that draws 4 colored rectangles using JavaScript.
Create a new html file called canvas.html. with the following content:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Canvas test</title>
<!-- Pull in canvas support for IE -->
<!--[if IE]><script src="excanvas.js"></script><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
window.onload = function() {
var drawingCanvas = document.getElementById('canvas1');
// Is element in the DOM and does browser support canvas
if (drawingCanvas && drawingCanvas.getContext) {
// Init drawing context
var context = drawingCanvas.getContext('2d');
// Create 4 squares
context.fillStyle = "#00FF00"; // Green
context.fillRect(0,0,100,100);
context.fillStyle = "#0000FF"; // Blue
context.fillRect(0,100,100,100);
context.fillStyle = "#FF0000"; // Red
context.fillRect(100,0,100,100);
context.fillStyle = "#FFFF00"; // Yellow
context.fillRect(100,100,100,100);
}
}
</script>
</head>
<body>
<h1>HTML5 Canvas</h1>
<canvas id="canvas1" width="200" height="200">
<p>Your browser doesn't support canvas.</p>
</canvas>
</body>
</html>
JSDT’s HTML5 Limitations
The first thing I noticed is that JSDT is not HTML5 aware.
- The editor has a warning marker in the gutter because the HTML5 canvas tag is unrecognized:
- Hovering over pre-HTML JavaScript code, gets helpful (and slightly cryptic) API information. However, try to hover over the newer drawingCanvas.getContext, and you don’t see any API info.
- And the internal browser doesn’t support HTML5:
- (To run inside the internal browser, Right Click canvas.html and select Run As – Run on Server)
Working around JSDT’s HTML5 Editor Limitations
I’m still trying to figure out the best way to get some nice HTML5 editor functionality (like hover help, content assist, etc), which is the primary reason I would use an IDE over a simple text editor.
Whatever I find out, I’ll post. If anyone has experience with this, I’d love to hear about it.
Working around JSDT’s HTML5 Browser Limitations
It’s simple to work around the fact that JSDT’s internal browser does not support HTML5. Simply switch to a different browser.
From in Eclipse, select Window – Web Browser – and then select either IE or the system browser.
In my case, the system browser is a recent version (3.6.8) of Firefox which has good HTML5 support. I run it. Success!
HTML5 Resources
There are many HTML5 resources available. Here are a couple I used:
Next: Adding a 3rd party Library
Using JSDT #2 : Run First Project
Filed under: Eclipse, JavaScript, Plugins | Tags: css, Eclipse, html, html5, ide, javascript, jsdt, wtp
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I’m documenting the steps I’ve taken in using the Eclipse JavaScript IDE to work with HTML5/CSS/JavaScript. Today, I’ll step you through installation and running a very simple HTML project.
Previously
- I compiled some JSDT resources.
Installation
The Eclipse JavaScript tools are called JSDT (JavaScript Development Tools). You can get them several ways. They come as part of the Eclipse Web Tools Project (WTP). If you are already running Eclipse, you could use Update manager to install the JavaScript plug-ins into your current Eclipse installation. I decided to download the JSDT product to keep it simple and see how well it worked by itself.
- Unzip the download into a suitable location. For simplicity, I unzipped into c:/jsdt.
Starting the product
- Navigate into c:/jsdt/eclipse and double-click eclipse.exe to start the product.
(I’m using Windows. The process is different but close enough that a user smart enough to use a different OS can figure it out.)
- The first screen prompts you for a workspace. I changed to default to c:/workspaces/html5. Hit OK.
- You should then see the JavaScript IDE, with no projects, ready to go.
Create HTML project
Now we’ll create a very simple static HTML page.
- Select File – New – Static Web Project, and you should see this dialog:
- Name the project simple and hit Finish.
- Now select the simple project and right-click. Select New – Html File:
- Name the html file simple.html:
- Hit finish.
- Double click on simple.html to open it in the editor. Change the title to “Simple Title” and enter “Simple” into the body. Save it.
Test it inside Eclipse
Now we’ll test Simple using server and browser provided by Eclipse.
- Right Click simple.html and select Run As – Run on Server:
- This will bring up this dialog. Accept the defaults and hit Finish.
- This will start a jetty server and open a browser view. You should see the “Simple” page in the browser.
Next
The next entry will add some JavaScript and HTML5 functionality.
Using JSDT #1 : Resources
Filed under: Eclipse, JavaScript, Plugins | Tags: css, Eclipse, html, html5, ide, javascript, jsdt, wtp
Comments (5)
I’ve been doing some HTML5/CSS/Javascript programming lately. I decided to take the JSDT (JavaScript Development Toolkit) for a test drive.
My plan is to document the steps I went through from installation through running some JavaScript from the IDE.
Today, I’m posting some of the more useful links I found when getting familiar with the project.
Download
The JSDT comes as part of Web Tools. You could also use Update Manager to pull the JSDT plugins into an existing Eclipse.
I decided to download the JSDT product to see how well it worked by itself.
Resources for Users
- A dated but good DeveloperWorks article on JSDT:
- Some dated demo videos on the Eclipse site.
- The JSDT documentation (is also included in the product).
- Explains how to set up an embedded project (HTML + Javascript)
Potential Problems?
While doing some research, I ran across several articles talking about the difficulty in getting the JSDT to integrate with 3rd party libraries.
I’ll find out more about this as I progress.
Resources for JSDT Developers
Next
Next I will step through the basics install JSDT, create and run an HTML page.
Eclipsed 