Deploying a plug-in

To deploy a new plug-in in your environment, you need to create an update site and install it on the development workstations. But first, you must reference your plug-in in a feature and add this feature in an update site.

Procedure

Follow these steps if you do not have a feature, nor an update site to deploy your plug-in.

  1. Creating a Feature
    1. You must be in the Plug-in Development perspective to create a Feature project.
    2. Select in the menu the choice File > New > Project… to choose the project to create.

      In the window that opens up, select Feature Project in the section Plug-in Development. Then click Next to open the creation wizard.

      Figure 1. Selecting the Feature Project
      Selecting the Feature Project
    3. In the Feature Properties page, enter a Project name and click Next.
      Figure 2. Properties of the Feature
      Properties of the Feature
    4. In the Referenced Plug-ins and Fragments page, select the plug-in to reference.
      Figure 3. Referenced Plug-ins and Fragments
      Referenced Plug-ins and Fragments
    5. Then click Finish to start the feature creation.

      The new feature and its components are added in the Package Explorer.

      Figure 4. Feature components
      Feature components
  2. Creating an Update Site.
    1. You must be in the Plug-in Development perspective to create an Update Site project.
    2. Select in the menu the choice File > New > Project… to choose the project to create.

      In the window that opens up, select Update Site Project in the section Plug-in Development. Then click Next to open the creation wizard.

      Figure 5. Selecting the Update Site Project
      Selecting the Update Site Project
    3. In the first page of the creation wizard, enter a Project name and click Finish to start the creation of the update site project.
      Figure 6. Properties of the update site project
      Properties of the update site project

      When the creation is finished, the Site Map tab is displayed in the Update Site editor where you must add the features to be published.

    4. To add the feature created in the previous step, create first a new category by clicking the New Category button. Modify the ID and Name of the category.
      Figure 7. Creating a CategoryCreating a Category
    5. Select the category and click Add Feature…
    6. Select a feature in the list that opens up and click OK.
      Figure 8. Selecting a feature to add
      Selecting a feature to add

    7. Then click Build All to launch the generation of the update site, i.e. the files to be published on other environments.

      The new update site and its components are added in the Package Explorer.

      Figure 9. Update Site components
      Update Site components

      For a complete information on the features and the update sites, consult the sections "Reference > Wizards and Dialogs > New Project Creation Wizards" and "Reference > Editors" in the Plug-in Development Environment (PDE) User Guide of Eclipse documentation.

  3. Installing the update site on the development environment
    1. On the developer workstation, open the Pattern Driven Programming perspective of rational programming Patterns.
    2. Select in the menu the choice Help > Install New Software…
    3. In the Available Software page that opens up, you must add first, in the list, the update site to take into account (if it is not yet referenced).
      To do so, click Add... and select the directory of the update site by clicking the Local... button.
    4. Enter a name to facilitate its reuse and then click OK.
      Figure 10. Selecting the location of the update site to add
      Selecting the location of the update site to add
    5. Select the new added element and click Next.
    6. In the Install Details page, click Next.
    7. Accept the terms of the license agreement and click Finish.
    If you have a web server, copy the update site on this server to facilitate the deployment.
    Attention: You need to restart Rational Programming Patterns for the changes to take effect in your development environment.

    For more information on new software installation, consult the section "Workbench basics > Tasks > Updating and installing software Installing new " in Eclipse documentation.


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