Solutions

introduction  actions  editor  wizard  messages

Available only under CVS

Our use of the word "Solutions" comes from its use in IBM's Visual Age for Java where solutions are projects that "logically" contain other projects.  Rather than loading and updating projects individually, solutions and the projects and nested solutions that they contain can be loaded and updated as a single unit.

Solutions are projects just like any other and can contain java code or another other type of resources.  In addition, solutions can be "nested" so that when the parent solution is loaded or updated, all projects and nested solutions are recursively loaded or updated.

Only shared projects (projects and solutions already stored in a repository) can be contained by a solution.  Projects that are not shared can not be added to a solution.

New solutions can be created using the New Solution wizard, while existing projects can be converted into solutions using the Convert to Solution wizard.

Solutions appear in the navigator along with all other types of projects, but are denoted by a small blue solution image overlay (label decorator) on top of the standard project folder image.  A small gray solution image indicates that a solution is not completely loaded, perhaps because a different version of a project or nested solution directly or indirectly contained by the solution  is loaded.  A small red solution image indicates that there is some error in the solution specification, such as a tag conflict.

Each solution has a solution.psf file that contains the specification for the projects and nested solutions contained by the solution along with their various versions.  Double clicking on the solution.psf file opens a solution editor to edit the specification for that solution.

Solutions label decorators may be turned on and off via the Workbench | Label Decorations preference page.

Acknowledgements:
Our Solutions functionality is based upon the Eclipse Team Project Set functionality and additional Project Set functionality provided by Dirk Baumann, Gregor Kohlwes, and Rolf Wilms at CSC SoftwareConsult GmbH & Co. OHG.  Our thanks to all for a great foundation on which to build.