Overview
Most important for Java development is the JDK, the Java Development Kit.
Main tool for Java development is the IDE, for which I use Eclipse. Main reasons why I use this are:
- Support for EMF (Eclipse Modeling Framework)
- I have experience with it
JDK
The JDK can be downloaded from https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/downloads/.
After installing a new JDK version make sure to update the following environment variables:
Variable
JAVA_HOME
Example
C:\Program Files\Java\jdk-23
Eclipse
Main site eclipse.org.
Eclipse package and plug-ins
The Eclipse package to use is Eclipse Modeling Tools, which can be downloaded from https://www.eclipse.org/downloads/packages/.
After installation, add the following plug-ins:
m2e – Maven integration for Eclipse
When installing this from the MarketPlace (in version 2024-06) it says that it is not available. Just click continue anyway.
Other plug-ins
Checkstyle
A source code analyzer, to check on Coding Standards. Install from the Eclipse Marketplace.
To run Checkstyle on a file, right click on a class and select Checkstyle/Check Code with Checkstyle.
Currently 2 main problems in using it:
- White space at the end of a line
The editor adds white space for indentation - Order of imports
Editor puts java imports first, Checkstyle expects fully alphabetical
Eclemma
Code Coverage. Link for installing in Eclipse: http://update.eclemma.org/ (or install from the Marketplace)
Soyatec – eUML2
UML support. See http://www.soyatec.com/euml2/
Android development in Eclipse
The answer is ‘don’t do it’.
There was a time when Eclipse was the most used IDE for Android development, but now adays the support isn’t good anymore. I tried it (februari 2024) and it failed.
Instead use Android Studio.

