Question

I’m currently working on a plug-in for Eclipse that translates some custom Java code (which doesn’t necessarily run/compile), to runnable Java code. In particular, the plug-in allows code to be written using classes created or imported during the translation. In general, the pre-translation code runs/compiles fine provided the writer uses import statements at the top of their class files. However, it would be convenient for my users if it was not necessary to import these classes. At the moment, the lack of import statements results in (obvious) compiler errors. Would it be possible to empower my plug-in to either a) suppress/ignore these errors, or b) have Eclipse find these classes automatically, without the use of import statements? I should point out that the translated code would these include the required import statements–but this is not a problem for me. I’m also aware that this could lead to lazy programmers and some bad habits.

To clarify, consider the following example of pre-translated code:
File f = new File("Somefilename.txt"); which clearly requires the possibly imported class File. Without an import statement (import java.io.File;), Eclipse reports that File can not be resolved to a type. This is the error I’d like to hide in files pertaining to projects created for use with my plug-in. (The translated code would include import java.io.File; so that it would be runnable)

In closing, I should point out I’m not necessarily looking for code (though I wouldn’t be opposed to it), but rather some links to some relevant tutorials (if they exist), or helpful tips/ideas. Also, as this is my first plug-in, it’s entirely possible that what I’d like to do is not possible and that I don’t realize it–if this is the case, please let me know, preferably with some justification.

Thanks!

Answer 1

You can of course create the imports programmatically using ICompilationUnit, but if that is not an option, you might be able to provide a custom classpath container that provides the classes you’re inserting using either the default package or the target package. (Obviously, this is a very desparate measure.)