Eclipse/PDT has been running slow and decided to update. Don't want to spend the time,but it has to be done. Hopefully update is worth it

October 17, 2011 9:21 am via SeesmicReplyRetweetFavorite

@archetyped

Archetyped

Unfortunately, it was not as smooth of a ride as I would have hoped.

Eclipse and the 64-bit Monster

Earlier this year, I upgraded from Windows XP to Windows 7 (64-bit).  Nonetheless, I kept using my current version of Eclipse, and despite being only 32-bit, it chugged along without much of a hiccup.  Since I was updating Eclipse, I decided to check out the 64-bit version of Eclipse 3.7 (Indigo) and see if there was any difference.  There was one big difference– the 64-bit version of Java needed to be installed as well.  This created a short string of issues because my 32-bit Java-based programs would no longer run.  Reinstalling the 32-bit version of Java resolved those issues and it appears that both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Java are humming along without any conflicts.

PDT

My last experience with installing and configuring PDT was not a good one.  I suppose this may be why I haven’t updated in such a long time– once I got it working, I didn’t want to mess with it.  As I recall, I ultimately had to use on of the beta versions of PDT because the latest release at the time had some showstopping bugs.

Thankfully, I didn’t have any big issues getting PDT 3.0 up and running.  In fact, it was incredibly simple, and following the official installation instructions worked without a hitch.

Up and running on Eclipse Indigo (64-bit) and PDT! May add @Aptana later. Now back to #SLB!

October 17, 2011 10:04 am via SeesmicReplyRetweetFavorite

@archetyped

Archetyped

Aptana Studio

Aptana rules the roost when it comes to working with standard web files (specifically HTML, JS, & CSS), but PHP support has been somewhat lackluster in previous versions.  In fact, Aptana Studio 2 did not even include PHP support, so even the developers knew that Aptana was better without sub-par PHP support.

This was fine because I had already been using PDT for my PHP needs, so Aptana fit perfectly into my workflow when I needed to edit HTML, CSS, and JS files.

Initially, I was just going to run lean and mean with an Eclipse/PDT combo and install Aptana later on down the road.  However, it soon became clear that I needed a solution for working with web files, so I decided to install Aptana Studio 3.

This is where the ride got a little bumpy.

After installing Aptana Studio 3, I found that PDT was now reporting errors when opening PHP files.

Not good.

Unsupported Content Type Error

On the flipside, Aptana Studio 3 comes with New and Improved PHP support, so instead of fiddle with settings, I decided to simply uninstall PDT and put Aptana’s new PHP support to the test.

Nuts, installing @Aptana plugin caused PDT to stop working ("unsupported editor" error). I've uninstalled PDT to eval Aptana's PHP support

October 24, 2011 9:46 am via SeesmicReplyRetweetFavorite

@archetyped

Archetyped

Despite a few strange inconsistencies, I actually really like Aptana’s PHP support.  It was fast and smooth, and Aptana’s PHP content assist was better than PDT ever has been (for one, allowing me to easily tab between function parameters).

Unfortunately, there was a dealbreaker in regards to Aptana’s PHP support:

Will this back and forth ever end? Uninstalling @Aptana 3 because it conflicts with PDT & I NEED PDT's "Open Method" feature

October 25, 2011 11:15 am via SeesmicReplyRetweetFavorite

@archetyped

Archetyped

PDT’s “Open Method” feature is incredibly useful as it allows you to browse through all of a project’s classes and methods.  This is immensely useful when looking for potential methods to use when developing WordPress plugins or simply when you cannot remember the exact name of a specific method.

Open Method Wizard

So it was with a bit of a heavy heart that I uninstalled Aptana Studio 3 and settled for Aptana Studio 2 so that I could use PDT without conflicts and retain some facility for editing JS and CSS files.

Installing @Aptana Studio 2 for JS/CSS functionality. Fingers crossed...

October 25, 2011 11:16 am via SeesmicReplyRetweetFavorite

@archetyped

Archetyped

In the hopes that someone was listening, I made a (desperate) plea to Aptana

BTW,@Aptana,add Open Method functionality and I'll come back with open arms. For now I guess I'm sticking with Studio 2. Really liked 3 tho

October 25, 2011 11:49 am via SeesmicReplyRetweetFavorite

@archetyped

Archetyped

I also filed a feature request for Aptana.

Swooping in to the Rescue

Literally minutes later, the good folks at Aptana reached out and provided me with information that shone a small ray of hope on my predicament.

@archetyped That's a known issue and you should be able to ignore: http://t.co/AONocf9e. It's a WST bug.

October 25, 2011 12:38 pm via CoTweetReplyRetweetFavorite

@Aptana

Aptana

After a bit more research and requisite tweaking, I now have a solution for using PDT and Aptana Studio 3 at the same time!

Hopefully this is the end of digging into Eclipse configurations and I can actually get to work on my own projects now.

Adventures in Updating was originally published on Archetyped on October 25, 2011 04:02pm

The Conflict

After installing Eclipse 3.7 (Indigo) and PDT 3.0, I decided to go for the trifecta and installed Aptana Studio 3.  This latest version of Aptana Studio reintroduced PHP support (which is quite good), but lacked PDT’s immensely useful “Open Method” wizard.

Open Method Wizard

Just to rub salt in the wound, Aptana Studio 3 and PDT 3.0 don’t play nicely together, causing PDT to display an “Unsupported Content Type” error when opening PHP files.

Unsupported Content Type Error

Uninstalling Aptana Studio 3 resolved this issue.  Installing an earlier version of Aptana Studio also did not cause any errors so that was what I thought I was just going to have to live with.

A Ray of Hope

The folks at Aptana sent some information my way that pointed to a solution:

@archetyped That's a known issue and you should be able to ignore: http://t.co/AONocf9e. It's a WST bug.

October 25, 2011 12:38 pm via CoTweetReplyRetweetFavorite

@Aptana

Aptana

The solution

Using the information from the link they provided, I did the following to allow PDT 3.0 and Aptana Studio 3 to work in harmony with each other:

1. Remove Aptana’s PHP Nature from the Project

Via File > Properties > Project Natures with a project selected

Remove Aptana's PHP Nature

Make sure that PDT’s PHP nature is still checked.

Note: the instructions provided by Aptana say to also remove the Web nature, but this is not necessary for working with PDT.

2. Set PDT as the default editor for PHP files

Go to: Window > Preferences > General > Editors > File Associations, select *.php and set PDT’s PHP Editor as the default editor.

Eclipse File Associations for PHP files

3. Restart Eclipse

To make sure your changes are saved (if Eclipse crashes before you close it, your changes may be lost).

4. There is no step 4

PDT should open PHP files, Aptana should open HTML, CSS, & JS files, and all is well in the world.

The folks at Aptana say that they an “Open Method” wizard of their own in the works, which I am very much looking forward to as Aptana Studio 3 is otherwise quite awesome.

Using PDT and Aptana Studio Harmoniously in Eclipse was originally published on Archetyped on October 25, 2011 04:01pm

1. Go to Preferences > Aptana Studio > Themes
2. Change the Caret color

It turns out that Aptana uses their own caret color setting for the matching bracket highlights.  It’s not very intuitive, but at least it’s still possible to customize, as long as you’re okay with a differently-colored caret.

Setting Matching Bracket Highlight Color in Aptana Studio 3 was originally published on Archetyped on October 24, 2011 10:22am