Classpath Checker Eclipse Plugin v1.4.3

Description

    The Classpath Checker eclipse plugin detects classpath inconsistencies in Java projects.

    That means it is able to:
  1. Detect if a jar file is missing in your classpath. In case a class in your classpath depends on other classes that are not present in the classpath, the plugin warns you and gives you the missing class names.
  2. Detect if you have some duplicated classes in all your jar files. In case of duplicated classes, this plugin warns you. If there are version conflicts in the duplicated classes, it helps you to determine which is the wrong Jar to remove from your classpath.

Why do I need this plugin?

As you know, current java projects depend of more and more external libraries, and 3rd party products. Obviously, each 3rd party product embeds its own libraries, consequently it becomes very difficult to be sure there are no classpath problems in the application. One terrible behavior is when the libraries order becomes important in the classpath! That's why Classpath Checker can help you.

Installation

    This plugin has been tested on Eclipse 3.3.0 (Europa) only.

    To install the Classpath Checker plugin:
    Click here if you have the version (v1.1.0)

  1. In Eclipse, click on Help -> Software Update -> Find and Install...
  2. Choose the Search for new features to install option, and click Next.
  3. Click New Remote Site.
  4. Enter the following: and click OK.
  5. "Classpath Checker" should appear under Sites to include in search.
    Click the checkbox next to it to select it, and click Finish.
  6. You should see Classpath Checker under Select features to install.
    (You may have to click on one or two triangles to make it visible in the tree.)
    Select the checkbox next to it and click next.
  7. Select the I accept option to accept the license and click Next.
  8. Make sure the location is correct where you're installing it. The default (your workspace) should be fine. Click Finish.
  9. The plugin is not digitally signed. Go ahead and install it anyway.
  10. Click Yes to make Eclipse restart itself.

How to use it?

After installing the plugin, you have to right click on your java project, then select "Properties".
The following dialog is displayed, select the "Classpath Checker" section, and then check the "Activate classpath checker".

Then after a full build, you can provoke it, by clicking on "Project/clean..." in the eclipse menu, you get errors or warnings on your project.

For each problem you can right click and select "Show Conflict Details". This action opens the view "Classpath Checker Details" that display more information on the problem.

In order to help you to find what is the problem, you can click on an impacted jar that will open its associated Manifest file. That is usefull to check the jar versions. To have a better understanding of what is the problem, you can click on a class that will open the description view of the selected class.

Version History

1.4.3 Support of Eclipse Ganymede (The "Show Conflict Details" popup menu was not availaible)
1.4.2 Bugs fix
1.4.1 Bugs fix
1.4.0 New Feature: "Libraries to exclude" groups the libraries by category
New Feature: The build is now optimized and runs only when there is a change in the classpath
New property: To search only for duplicate classes
New property: To search only for missing classes
Bugs fix
1.3.0 Property change: "class exclusion pattern" replaced by "libraries to exclude"
Bugs fix
1.2.0 New Feature: Detect missing classes in the classpath
New Property: To limit the number of error or warning
New Property: To ignore warnings Bugs fix

Installation steps if you have the version 1.1.0:
1.1.0 Improve performance
Bugs fix
1.0.0 Initial Version
Detect multiple class versions in the classpath

Additional Information

Please send an email to classpathchecker@free.fr for your comments, suggestions and/or bug.
Visit the author's web site: http://pascalemily.free.fr