Eclipse Memory Issues

JDK 5 was the default Java version in use, upgraded to JDK1.6.0_21-b06 today and Eclipse started tanking. Starts up fine but after a few minutes would fail with the error 'Internal plug-in action delegate error on creation. PermGen space'. Right, seemed to indicate that I wasn't allocating enough memory for permgen. But the same program works fine with the very same memory settings under JDK 5, so this was definitely an upgrade problem. So much for my support of auto updates :-|

The default setting in eclipse.ini was
--launcher.XXMaxPermSize
256m
-vmargs
-Dosgi.requiredJavaVersion=1.5
-Xms40m
-Xmx256m

And 256m is generally sufficient for permgen, so what gives. Checked the configuration file to confim if the settings had taken effect (Click on Help -> About Eclipse -> Installation Details -> Configuration). Shows up the Xms and Xmx, but no MaxPermGen, hmmm... interesting.
eclipse.vmargs=-Dosgi.requiredJavaVersion=1.5
-Xms40m
-Xmx256m

Googled a bit. The eclipse wiki indicated that it was a bug with Oracle/Sun JDK 1.6.0_21 (had to be my version, duhhh), being tracked as 319514. The bug link is a pretty interesting read.

Apparently, as part of Oracle's rebranding of Sun's products, the Company Name property of the java.exe file, the executable file containing Oracle's JRE for Windows, was updated from "Sun Microsystems" to "Oracle" in Java SE 6u21. Now on Windows, Sun VM is identified using the GetFileVersionInfo API, which reads the company name (present under version details) from jvm.dll or the java executable and compares it against the string "Sun Microsystems". Post update 21, the company name was "Oracle" and the launcher does not recognize this string, hence the -XX:MaxPermSize setting is not honoured.

The workarounds are
- Switch back to '1.6.0_20'
- Change the commandline for launching or add the following line after "-vmargs" to your Eclipse.ini file:-XX:MaxPermSize=256m
- For 32-bit Helios, download the fixed eclipse_1308.dll and place it into (eclipse_home)/plugins/org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.win32.win32.x86_1.1.0.v20100503
- Download and install any of the upgraded versions i.e. version 1.6.0_21-b07 or higher from the java site (alternative link is http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index.jsp). Make sure you have b07 or higher by running java -version.

Went with the last option and so far life's good. The MaxPermSize setting shows up under vm options
eclipse.vmargs=-Dosgi.requiredJavaVersion=1.5
-Xms40m
-Xmx256m
-XX:MaxPermSize=256m

But got this bad feeling that when I move to JDK 7, there'll be a newer set of problems cropping up (From the Oracle site: In consideration to Eclipse and other potentially affected users, Oracle has restored the Windows Company Name property value to "Sun Microsystems" in further JDK 6 updates. This value will be changed back to "Oracle" in JDK 7.) Sigh, so much for compatibility.

Eclipse Decompiler Plugins

JADClipse plugin worked fine with Eclipse Galileo (3.5) on my old laptop, but failed on the Dell. The funny thing is JAD works fine from the command line, but cuts no ice with Eclipse. Tried by pointing Eclipse to the JADClipse update url, it downloads the jars yes but decompile it does not. Tried an eclipse -clean, still no luck.

All I can assume is JADClipse does't work on 64 bit machines, weird yes, but true.

An option you can choose to go with is JD-Eclipse plugin. Use Eclipse Update Manager to download JD and change the .class association to the JD Class File Editor.

BTW, if interested, steps to follow for setting up JAD with Eclipse on win32 machines.

Eclipse Maven Integration - Settings file does not exist

If you're trying to integrate Maven 2x with Eclipse and the following error pops up when installing a Maven project, read on. The error is 'cos Eclipse isn't aware of the Maven setup on your machine, so we set M2_HOME and add that under the classpath variables made available to Eclipse. For good measure, we also setup a local repository for Maven (that's unrelated to the fault below, just a good to have)

[ERROR] Error executing Maven.
[ERROR] The specified user settings file does not exist: C:\Users\xxxxxx\.m2\settings.xml

1. Navigate to the directory where Maven is installed - e.g. F:\apache-maven-2.2.1. Copy the absolute path. Create a new environment variable M2_HOME and modify the PATH variable

M2_Home=F:\apache-maven-2.2.1
PATH=%M2_HOME%\bin;...

2. Create a new folder 'repository' under M2_HOME.

3. Edit the file settings.xml present under M2_HOME\conf directory. The localRepository tag element would be commented by default. Uncomment this and modify the value to point to the absolute path of the repository folder u just created ( When a jar file is referenced, Maven first looks for it in the local repository, if not found, it downloads the same from the online repository. )

F:\apache-maven-2.2.1\repository

4. Next Eclipse needs to be told the path to the local maven repository. Select Window -> Preferences. On the LHS pane of the popup, select Java -> Build Path -> Classpath Variables. Check if the value under M2_REPO is the same as the localRepository defined in settings.xml. If not, from the LHS pane, select Maven -> User Settings and change the path to the settings.xml under M2_HOME i.e. F:\apache-maven-2.2.1\conf\settings.xml

That's it.

Oracle removes licensing for Workshop Eclipse Plug-ins

Translates to Workshop for WebLogic 10gR3 is 100% free
Includes free M7 NitroX - NitroX is meant to meet the needs of professional Java™ developers building web applications based on open standards such as JSF, Struts and JSP.
Works with Eclipse 3.3 as of date, 3.4 support expected with Oracle Enterprise Eclipse Pack 1.0
Also, all the features of BEA Workshop Studio are fully integrated into the Workshop 10gR3 product. ORM with Kodo / EJB3 / Hibernate, class mapping editors, entity editors, database tools, query editors, etc. Includes some capability to generate a Spring DAO layer from any mapping as well.
Flex Builder support no longer available
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Sigh, actually tired of toggling between Eclipse 3.3 and 3.4