Eclipse for Rails for Linux!
I’m spending more time with Ubuntu for Rails development and I started to miss some of the tools I use. I know RadRails has a Linux version but I’m still not completely happy with that offering.
I’m not releasing this on the public site just yet because I think I might want to test it out a little more. If you’re interested in trying this out, read on!
Installation is easy but has many steps. I only support this under Ubuntu Dapper. It works on Edgy and may work under other environments provided that the prerequisites are met.
First, make sure you have mongrel installed along with Subversion and xterm. For Ubuntu users, that’s pretty simple:
sudo gem install mongrel
sudo gem install sendfile
sudo apt-get install subversion xterm
You’ll need to install the Sun Java runtime library because the GCJ one is terrible. This may involve updating your sources
sudo vi /etc/apt/sources.list
Add these three repositories to the end of your file (Dapper only)
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu dapper universe multiverse
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu dapper-security universe multiverse
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu dapper-updates universe multiverse
Next, update your sources and install the Sun JRE.
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install sun-java5-bin
Accept any licenses.
Now you have to make Ubuntu use the appropriate Java runtime.
sudo update-alternatives –config java
Choose the number that corresponds to the JRE from sun. It should be the one that says java-1.5.0-sun in the path.
Once that’s done, you can install Eclipse for Rails. Navigate to your home folder and install the software.
cd ~
wget http://www.napcsweb.com/files/rails/eclipse/eclipse-for-rails-linux.tgz
tar zxvf eclipse-for-rails-linux.tgz
You can now get things up and running. In KDE or GNOME, start up a terminal window and launch Eclipse for Rails
cd ~/rails/eclipse
./eclipse
If you want to make a shortcut for this, just remember that the working directory must be set in the shortcut or the workspace won’t load.
Have you looked at EasyEclipse?
http://www.easyeclipse.org/site/distributions/ruby-rails.html
@Rob:
Yup, seen it and I keep reviewing it to find out how it stacks up. But I’ve been maintaining this in one form or another since August of 05. I’m hoping eventually something like EasyEclipse or RadRails will get better so it will meet my needs and the needs of those I support with this product so I can stop working on it.
this is exactly perfect, what I’ve been looking for. my only problem is about the last statement about the shortcut, as in gnome I can’t get it to properly open with the workspace. how can I specify a working directory in a shortcut? ./eclipse –help doesn’t show me anything, I was thinking it’d be like ./eclipse –workspace=~/workspace or something.
this is perfect, exactly what I was looking for! thank you so very much! :) the eclipse with radrails plugin was just becoming a nightmare, and nothing else really matches up. thanks again.