Eclipse Ganymede

26 July 2008 By Comments Off In Technology

The new Eclipse Ganymede is full of new features that make development very easy.

In this blog item, i shall list some of the Ganymede features that bring value to my developement.

  1. Breadcrumb: The eclipse breadcrumb makes it easy to browse packages, classes and members.
    Eclipse Breadcrumb

  2. Rich Hovers: The hovers on Datatypes, bean variables and debug variables shows a more detailed information in Ganymede.
    Javadoc hover on Datatypes

    Javadoc hover on Datatypes

    Hover on bean variables

    Hover on bean variables

    Hover on variables in debug

    Hover on variables in debug

  3. Different highlight colors for read and write occurrences of variables.
  5. Data Tools Platform (DTP): I used the Quantum eclipse plugin before for database access but it had some limitations and wasn’t very effective at certain times. (I’ve had problems exporting DDLs etc). But things seem to run a lot better with the Datatools project. Export to DDL is supported along with support to lots of databases and autocomplete in the sql editor.
    For more details on the datatools platform, read this article:
    http://www.vogella.de/articles/EclipseDataToolsPlatform/article.html
  6. Web Tools Platform: I love the new Web Page Editor. It has a preview and WSIWYG type editing and a palette to drag-drop HTML objects. This makes creating mockups or HTMLs a lot faster inside eclipse. Earlier, i used dreamweaver and NVU to do all WSYWYG web page editing but now can do it inside eclipse.
    Also, the support for Javascript has been greatly improved. You can right click on any web project and add javascript support to make the .js files and javascript in JSPs/HTMLs to be editable with autocomplete and other features.
    Also worth mentioning are the improvements in the Server configuration. One can now have a new tomcat server downloaded and setup automatically. It also makes tomcat configuration so easy.
  7. UML2 tools: There is an improved support for UML in ganymede. I used it to make class and deployment diagrams and found it easy to use. It looks as a good alternative to ArgoUML and i am yet to explore all features in ganymede UML2 tools.
    For more on eclipse class diagrams read this article: http://www.vogella.de/articles/UML/article.html
  8. JavaScript Features: A new javascript IDE called JSDT has been included in ganymede. Also, the BIRT project contains a JS debugger which i am yet to try.

Some of the features that seem interesting, but i haven’t got a chance to try them

  1. SQL Query builder : http://wiki.eclipse.org/SQL_Query_Builder_Component_API
  2. RAP – Rich Ajax Platform
  3. Support for external class folders
  4. Enhanced Error log view and filters
  5. Plugin Spy – (http://www.eclipse.org/pde/incubator/spy/)
  6. Eclipse Communication Framework – Shared editing and messaging with file transfer (link)

Also check out the following articles on Ganymede:

http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/library/os-eclipse-ganymede/

http://datacute.wordpress.com/2008/06/08/eclipse-ganymede-features/

http://xml.coverpages.org/EclipseGanymede2008.html

http://eclipse.dzone.com/articles/eclipse-34-hidden-treasures

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VNC over ssh

14 February 2008 By Comments Off In Technology

Here is what i do to connect to my remote ubuntu machine.

The first step is to configure the ubuntu machine/server for remote desktop.
This can be done by going to “System -> Preferences -> Remote Desktop” and setting the Remote Desktop Preferences to

Sharing ->
Allow other users to view your desktop (Checked)
Allow other users to control your desktop (Checked)
Security ->
Ask you for confirmation (Un-Checked)
Require the user to enter this password: (Checked)
Password: Specify the password

Next download and install putty (executable file) and Ultr@VNC.
You need to create a new Stored session in putty.
just enter the login credentials and then select the category “Connections -> SSH -> Tunnels”
Add a new forwarded port with the following:
source port: 5900
destination port: 127.0.0.1:5900
5900 is the port on which VNC listens.
Putty-VNC

I have written 2 batch scripts, one of which calls the other.
vnc.bat

;Start vnc-local.bat in a minimized window
START /MIN vnc-local.bat
;Wait for userinput after login in putty
PAUSE
;Start vncviewer to connect to localhost
"C:\Program Files\UltraVNC\vncviewer.exe"  /64colors /connect localhost /autoscaling

vnc-local.bat

;Start putty with the profile "Cheetah VNC"
"C:\Users\shauvik\Downloads\putty.exe" -load "Cheetah VNC"

I run vnc.bat which opens putty with the Cheetah VNC profile to which i login. After login, i go to the batch window and hit a key to start the other script which loads the vncviewer.
Somehow the /64colors option has no effect and hopefully i’ll figure it out someday.

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