IDE Integration

Introduction

Maemo provides support for integrated development environments (IDEs) as additional functionality that can be installed when needed. For application developers maemo provides support for the Eclipse development environment. Maemo Eclipse integration fully supports application development with C, C++ and Python. The Eclipse environment integrates to the both maemo SDK on the host PC and on the Tablet.

This document describes the components and steps needed when adding Eclipse integration support to the maemo development environment for C, C++ and Python development. Maemo Eclipse Integration defines meta packages to ease the install of the integration components and tools but if required these packages can also be installed separately.

Maemo Eclipse Integration supports maemo 4.0.x Chinook and 4.1.x Diablo SDK releases and both N800 and N810 Internet Tablet devices.

Maemo Eclipse Integration includes the following parts:

  1. Eclipse IDE for C/C++ Developers
  2. maemo PC Connectivity
  3. maemo ESBox plugin for Eclipse
  4. maemo Pluthon plugin for Eclipse
  5. maemo C++ and Python programming language support

Eclipse IDE for C/C++ Developers

Maemo Eclipse integration requires Eclipse 3.3.x and CDT 4.0.x versions. Instructions to install or update Eclipse IDE on the host PC can be found on the Eclipse IDE for C/C++ Developers pages at eclipse.org.

Notice that if only the maemo Pluthon plugin for Eclipse is used (it does not reguire maemo SDK installation on host PC) then platforms other than Debian-based Linuxes can be used (e.g. Unixes, Windows and Mac), if it is possible to setup USB Networking and ssh connections between the host PC and Tablet.

More information on using the Eclipse IDE with C/C++ can be found in the Eclipse C/C++ Development User Guide.

maemo PC Connectivity

The Maemo PC connectivity packages are tools and other components that each developer needs to install on his Tablet to enable connectivity between the host PC and Tablet. Maemo PC connectivity includes, for instance, components needed for setting up USB networking with ssh, support for disk mounts between the host PC and Tablet and support for the Scratchbox Remote Shell.

For Eclipse integration to work the maemo PC connectivity components need to be installed and configured on the host PC and Tablet. Instructions on doing that can be found on the maemo PC Connectivity page.

maemo ESBox plugin for Eclipse

The Maemo ESBox plugin for the Eclipse IDE integrates the Eclipse development environment with the maemo SDK scratchbox based development environment. The ESBox plugin fully supports application developers using the C, C++ or Python programming languages. Developers may do all their development work inside Eclipse, starting from the project creation using templates, up to debugging an application on the Tablet and packaging the final application for maemo.

To integrate Eclipse to the maemo SDK, the maemo ESBox plugin needs to be installed to the Eclipse IDE using the standard Eclipse plugin installation. Detailed instructions on doing that can be found on the ESBox project home page.

To enable C++ and Python development with Eclipse the maemo C++ and Python development environments need to be installed on the maemo SDK and Tablet. Instructions on adding support to Maemo for development environments other than C can be found on the maemo Programming Languages page.

maemo Pluthon plugin for Eclipse

The Maemo Pluthon plugin for the Eclipse IDE integrates the Eclipse development environment with the Tablet for maemo Python development. With Pluthon, Python developers do not need to use the maemo SDK and scratchbox as their development environment. The Maemo Pluthon plugin fully supports the application development process with Python where a developer uses the Eclipse IDE to write code but runs, tests and debugs the Python application directly with the Tablet.

To integrate Eclipse with the Tablet for on-device development without maemo SDK or scratchbox, the maemo Pluthon plugin needs to be installed in the Eclipse IDE using the standard Eclipse plugin installation. Detailed instructions on doing this can be found on the Pluthon project home page.

To enable on-device Python development with Eclipse, the maemo Python development environment needs to be installed to the Tablet. Instructions on adding support to maemo for development environments other than C can be found on the maemo Programming Languages page.


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