How to create a basic eclipse plug-in

Software Used

• Eclipse – version 3.3
• Java – JDK 1.5
• Operating System – Windows Vista

To create a basic eclipse plug-in launch your eclipse and open new project wizard. To open a new project wizard go to File menu > New > Project .
Select Plug-in Project from the list and click on the Next button.

File > New project

On the next page of the wizard enter the name of the project. Ideally a plug-in project name should be in a form com.company.something etc which would be a id for the plug-in as well.Once enter the project name click on Next button.

Next Page

Every plug-in may contain a plug-in.xml file and a java file. Along with these basic files, plug-in must have a META-INF/MANIFEST.MF file. The next wizard page allows to enter the details to generate MANIFEST.MF file and the java file.

Plugin.xml and META-INF properties