Eclipse error message and package descriptions are uninformative for users trying to install plugins
Affects | Status | Importance | Assigned to | Milestone | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
eclipse (Ubuntu) |
Fix Released
|
Medium
|
Unassigned |
Bug Description
Binary package hint: eclipse
I am using Ubuntu 9.10, and have package 'eclipse' version '3.5.1+
I started out by installing 'eclipse-jdt', because I wanted to do some Java development. I didn't install the eclipse metapackage. Why not? Because the metapackage includes the package 'eclipse-pde', whose description reads like this:
"This package provides tools for easy development of plug-ins for Eclipse."
Since I didn't plan on developing plugins for Eclipse, I figured I didn't need it.
I then asked my favorite search engine whether there was a Git plugin for Eclipse (there is, it's called EGit). However, when I tried to install this plugin (via the "Help->Install New Software..." menu command in Eclipse), I got a mysterious error:
"The artifact file for osgi.bundle,
The problem was that I did not have the 'eclipse-pde' package installed. Once I installed this package, everything went smoothly. Note: each time I tried to install the plugin, I started by deleting my '~/.eclipse' folder; I wanted to make sure this wasn't due to some configuration issue.
While my story has a happy ending, a quick search of the Web with the error text "The artifact file for osgi.bundle,
"The Eclipse Platform is an open and extensible platform for anything and yet nothing in particular. It provides a foundation for constructing and running integrated software-
And here is what the 'eclipse-platform' package adds to that:
"This package provides only the Eclipse Platform. It does not include any development plug-ins. These are available in different packages:
* eclipse-jdt Java Development Tools
* eclipse-pde Plug-in Development Tools
* eclipse Complete development environment
This package is the base for all eclipse plug-ins."
Given these descriptions, I think it is not unreasonable for a user to assume (as I did) that the 'eclipse-pde' package is only needed for people who wanted to write their own Eclipse plugins.
Hope this helps.
--Josh
Changed in eclipse (Ubuntu): | |
importance: | Undecided → Medium |
status: | New → Confirmed |
Changed in eclipse (Ubuntu): | |
status: | Confirmed → Fix Committed |
Hi
We have a committed a change set to our repository to fix this. You can read the new descriptions here[1]; please let us know if you feel they are inadequate.
NB: This change is currently expected to go into the release after Lucid; we may decide to back-port it into Lucid itself.
~Niels
[1] http:// git.debian. org/?p= pkg-java/ eclipse. git;a=blob_ plain;f= debian/ control