<pre>
Author/s : Sherry Shavor, Jim D'Anjou,
Dan Kehn, Scott Fairbrother, John Kellerman, Pat McCarthy
Publisher : Addison Wesley Professional
Category : Miscellaneous Java
Review by : Thomas Paul
Rating : 8 horseshoes</pre>
The authors of this book are part of a core IBM group formed to share knowledge of the Eclipse universal
IDE. The first part of this book deals with using Eclipse from a
Java developers point of view. I found this was not any more helpful than the documentation available on the Eclipse web site. Eclipse works extensively with plugins that can be integrated into the Eclipse environment to provide new functionality. I would have liked to see something on some of the more popular plugins such as those used to run application servers. Even a list of where to go to get plugins would have been helpful. Unfortunately, this part of the book only covers the basics of what comes with Eclipse and does not discuss any existing plugins.
The second part of the book, about 450 pages, covers writing your own plugins. This part of the book is excellent. It covers not just the basics, but virtually everything you need to know to write plugins. Whether you wish to code a new toolbar, editor, specialized view, or wizard, it is all covered in this section. With this book you will be writing plugins in a fraction of the time you would have otherwise spent. The book also contains exercises which allow you to
test your new knowledge.
If your only goal is to use Eclipse then you don't need this book. If your desire is to write plugins then I wouldn't even try without it.
More info at Amazon.com More info at Amazon.co.uk [ June 17, 2003: Message edited by: Book Review Team ]