How to enlarge eclipse java editor functionality using plugins?

Question

Hope somebody could help me, giving a hint and way out. Right now I'm involved in a ambitious project trying to create mixed math and programming IDE. After a huge prestudy we decided to use eclipse as a base, and somehow add Mathematica,maple functionality. Generally speaking we want to make entering math expressions (a = sin(Pi)+10^2) into java code possible. Also those expressions should be showed in LaTex view, right in the code to make it more readable for engineers, to illustrate the code we want to implement insertion images in comments. As we need all th java editor functionality, in my opinion it's correct to use standart eclipse java editor, and learn it to behave with other objects, e. g. images.

So my questions are: - Could somebody share experience developing similar products? - May be there are something like we are going to develop?

Probably I'll write more questions, especially tighter ones.

Answer 1

That is certainly an interesting sounding project. As Gilbert Le Blanc mentions, the Java Editor is highly optimized to edit Java code and is not meant to be extensible.

That being said, I can recommend two options (one that plays by the rules, and one that goes against them).

1. Instead of embedding your images directly in the Java editor, you could implement your own hover, through the org.eclipse.jdt.ui.JavaEditorTextHovers extension point (so it would work like JavaDoc hovers), or in a separate view that sits beside the editor (so it would work like the JavaDoc view). (This is playing by the rules.)
2. A while ago, I implemented a prototype editor that allows you to edit Java code with snippets of CAL (a functional JVM language) embedded inside of it. The snippets were stored in there own little window inside the editor. This was a prototype and not everything worked smoothly and it was also using Eclipse 3.2, but this is exactly the kind of thing that you want to do. It won't be easy to compile and run the code, but you can have a look at it....well, maybe. I have to find an EPL variant of the source code. Until then, just realize that hacking the Java Editor like this requires some specialized knowledge about the JDT and you need to be careful about how you do it so that you do inadvertently break other things.

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Edit

Here is a zip of the project I described. It will not compile as it is, but you can look at the source code:

Try this link. It should be viewable by the world.

The essential thing to realize is that swt StyledText widgets can themselves contain other widgets. This project leverages that in Java editors.

In particular, look at the class org.openquark.cal.eclipse.embedded.containing.ContainingEditor, which is a sub-class of CompilaitonUnitEditor. This particular class embeds a second text editor (the contained editor) inside of another editor (the containing editor).

Also, take a look at org.openquark.cal.eclipse.embedded.containing.ControlManager. This class manages the different controls inside of a styled text of the containing CompilationUnitEditor.

What this project does is creates a Java-like editor, and allows users to embed editors for another language inside of the Java editor. These editors are actually backed by text in the containing Java editor, but the text is covered by the contained editor.

The contained editors move up and down as text is entered into containing editor. Also, you can use the keyboard to gain/lose focus in a contained editor.

It's been several years since I looked at this code, but if you have any questions, drop me a line or add to this question.

Answer 2

Ok, as a follow-up to my post above, here is the Eclipse Plug-In Development Environment (PDE) project I developed for this. The Plug-in is named LaTeXHover and will pop-up a tooltip whenever you hover on top of a comment line that contains LaTeX such as:

// $latex i\hbar\frac{\partial}{\partial t}\left|\Psi(t)\right>=H\left|\Psi(t)\right>$ // $latex x=\frac{-b \pm \sqrt{b^2-4ac}}{2a}$

The LaTeX must be delimited using $latex and $ with no extra spaces. It uses jlatexmath for rendering.

I'll try to package the plug-in better and add that to the Git repo, and maybe contribute it to one of the Eclipse Plug-In projects. As last time, I don't have time now to do this, but at least it's out there now. Anyone wishing to continue the project from here is welcome to do so. J.D.

git://github.com/jdbertron/latexhover.git

Answer 3

I know exactly what you can do. First, you can turn-on the unicode character set. This will allow you to have variables such as greeks, which makes the code much more readable. [General->WorkSpace->Text Encoding = UTF-8].

// Apply spring soft constraint using Erin Catto's method with Semi-Implicit Euler :
// Figure out (ω,ζ) from node sizes, then k=mEff.ω², c=2.mEff.ω.ζ 
double ω = 2.0*π*f;         // ω (angular frequency) 
double k = meff * ω*ω;      // spring stiffness 
double ζ = (b1.ζ + b2.ζ)/2;         // Average out the damping coefficients
double d = 2.0 * meff * ω * ζ;  // damping coefficient
double γ=h*(d+h*k);             // CFM (Constraint Force Mixing)

Second, your suggestion to have a LaTeX formula visible within the code is also the next best thing. I know it's possible because I wrote one 3 years ago, but I can't find the code anywhere. I had posted it on a forum for eclipse plug-ins but it's gone now. The good news is that I'm writing it again, because I need it - that's how I found your post . This time I'm using jlatexmath which is better than what I used last time. The idea was/is that you can embed a formula in a comment as LaTeX, and the plug-in renders the LaTeX in a tooltip when you hover on it.

I'll post a link or code here when I'm done. Most of the work is figuring out how to make eclipse accept the new hover control. J.D.

Answer 4

The Eclipse Java Editor is made up of hundreds of Java classes. There's an implicit assumption in those hundreds of Java classes that the editor view is just for code.

In my opinion, you'll find it much easier to develop a Mathematica-type editor for your math images, and leave the Java editor alone. Your engineers can open two editors in Eclipse.

If my comments haven't dissuaded you, here's the Eclipse documentation for Eclipse Helios, otherwise known as Eclipse 3.6

The section you'd start with is called the JDT Plug-in Developer Guide.

The Eclipse web site is responding slowly as I'm typing this. You can also access the Help from inside of Eclipse Helios.

Help -> Help Contents