Installing Eclipse

First things first. Eclipse is a Java-based application, and therefore requires a recent Java Runtime Environment or “JRE.” If you plan on using Eclipse to write web applications in ColdFusion, then the bare bones JRE from www.java.com will suffice. If you decide you want to write full-blown Java applications in addition to your ColdFusion apps, then you must download the full Java software development kit. The JDK includes the JRE for running Java applications, as well as a compiler for building actual Java applications. The JDK may be downloaded from java.sun.com.

Now that you have Java installed, head over to www.eclipse.org/downloads and grab the latest copy of Eclipse. Any version of Eclipse with plug-in development environment (PDE) support will suffice. (The two versions tested for this article included the Classic version, as well as the "PDT" bundle which is essentially a version of Eclipse pre-compiled with PHP editing support.) Once downloaded, unzip the Eclipse archive to a permanent location, such as C:\program Files\eclipse for Windows or /home/your-username/eclipse for UNIX. Once unzipped, create shortcuts to the Eclipse binary on your Desktop. Note that the entire Eclipse package is completely self-contained in one folder. As such, there are no installation routines, registry settings, or other invasive system hooks.