Troubleshooting Launch Shortcut Issues in Eclipse Plug-ins

If you’ve recently embarked on developing an Eclipse plug-in and encountered the frustrating Cannot add a launch shortcut error, you’re not alone. Many developers tackling Java application launchers for Eclipse 3.2 experience this issue, which can stem from various misconfigurations in the plugin.xml file or outdated practices. In this blog post, we’ll explore the problem in detail and break down the solution into clear, actionable steps to help you get your launch shortcuts functioning as expected.

Understanding the Problem

The user in our case was trying to implement a custom launch shortcut for their Eclipse plug-in but faced a roadblock, despite spending ample time investigating the relevant documentation, such as the Launching Framework.

Here are some key points about the issue:

• The user extended the JavaLaunchShortcut class but was struggling to ensure that their class was being instantiated correctly.
• The provided code snippet indicated a likely oversight in the plugin.xml configuration.

Key Takeaways

• Making sure that extensions in plugin.xml are correctly defined is crucial.
• It’s easy to overlook recent updates or deprecations in the IDE’s architecture.

Solution Breakdown

Here’s how you can resolve the Cannot add a launch shortcut issue with detailed steps:

1. Update Your plugin.xml

Make sure you have added the contextualLaunch under the org.eclipse.debug.ui.launchShortcuts extension point. This change is essential because the previous methods may have been deprecated.

Here’s how the modified section in your plugin.xml should look:

<extension
     point="org.eclipse.debug.ui.launchShortcuts">
  <shortcut
        category="mycompany.javalaunchext.launchConfig"
        class="mycompany.javalaunchext.LaunchShortcut"
        description="launchshortcutsdescription"
        icon="icons/k2mountain.png"
        id="mycompany.javalaunchext.launchShortcut"
        label="Java Application Ext."
        modes="run, debug">
     <perspective
           id="org.eclipse.jdt.ui.JavaPerspective">
     </perspective>
     <perspective
           id="org.eclipse.jdt.ui.JavaHierarchyPerspective">
     </perspective>
     <perspective
           id="org.eclipse.jdt.ui.JavaBrowsingPerspective">
     </perspective>
     <perspective
           id="org.eclipse.debug.ui.DebugPerspective">
     </perspective>
     <contextualLaunch />
  </shortcut>
</extension>

2. Check for Class Instantiation

If you customized your class, ensure it’s properly implemented:

• Confirm that the class you’ve created extends JavaLaunchShortcut.
• Use logging within the constructors and methods of your class to check if they are being called when you try to access the shortcut.

3. Binding and Commands

Consider extending org.eclipse.ui.commands for better functionality. By setting up the appropriate command bindings, you can ensure that your launch shortcut integrates seamlessly with Eclipse’s command framework.

Conclusion

By following the outlined steps, developers should be able to fix the Cannot add a launch shortcut issue in their Eclipse plug-ins effectively. Remember to constantly check official Eclipse documentation for any updates that may affect your plug-in development process.

With just a few adjustments to your plugin.xml, you will be on your way to enabling that launch shortcut successfully!

If you’ve encountered a similar issue or have additional tips for fellow developers, be sure to share your experiences in the comments below!