Книга: Embedded Linux development using Eclipse

Summary

Summary

In this chapter we’ve looked at a couple of features of the Device Software Development Platform (DSDP), an Eclipse project specifically focused on issues of embedded software development. We started out by looking at how Eclipse handles software updates and installing extensions. Using update sites makes the process of extending Eclipse relatively painless and transparent because the update mechanism takes care of resolving any dependencies in the software you want to install. You can also instruct Eclipse to automatically check for new updates to installed software on a regular basis.

DSDP itself is divided into several subprojects. The Remote System Explorer (RSE) is a collection of tools that allows you to work with resources such as files and folders on remote systems. You can copy files to and from the remote system with a simple drag-and-drop paradigm, edit files directly on the remote system, and run and debug applications remotely.

The Native Application Builder (NAB) enables you to develop platform-independent graphical applications in an intuitive and graphical manner. NAB is an Eclipse wrapper for WideStudio/MWT, an open source project focused on developing platform-independent graphical applications for embedded devices. You can create and test your application on your host environment initially, and then rebuild it for the appropriate target environment.

There are two other subprojects under DSDP that focus on aspects of mobile device development. These are still in a very early “incubation” phase.

Up to this point we’ve talked about how to use the features that are already available in Eclipse. Suppose you want to add some new functionality to Eclipse. The next chapter looks at the process of developing Eclipse plug-ins.

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