As an IDE, Eclipse is used to work with files and folders. Eclipse creates the concept of a workspace (a group of related projects), a number of projects, and then files and folders underneath each. These resources are then used by builders to be able to create derived resources upon change, which is how Eclipse compiles .java source files into.class files.
In this chapter we shall:
Create a custom editor
Read the contents of a file
Create a resource file
Use a builder to automatically process changes
Integrate the builder with a nature
Highlight problems in the editor with markers
Using the workspace and resources
Everything in the Eclipse IDE is based on the concept of a workspace which contains a number of projects, which in turn contain files and folders. Generically, these are all resources which are represented with a path and then with either a set of contents or a set of children.