How to install Eclipse with XMLSpy and Python Plug-ins

Basically Eclipse is a java development program that many many companies use to wirte their software. It's so popular in fact that many people write plug-ins that allow you to modify and write code in other languages (including, hooray, XML and Python, imagine that!)

Both are available for free, though the installation of Eclipse is a bit tricky.
Some basic instructions:
***Oh yeah, all my directions assume you're using Windows. Since Civ4 is only available on windows right now, I think that's a fair assumption. Also, you have to open both them in IE instead of firefox. It's a small price to pay...***
1) Install Java (needed to run and use Eclipse, since it is primarily a Java development tool) Instructions
Only go through step 16 if you want, no real need to test it. You can test it when you install Eclipse. If Eclipse runs, then you installed it correctly. If it doesn't. You messed up.
2) Install Eclipse
Instructions
***please note that the instructions in #1 and #2 are not written by me, they are written by my teacher. He gets all credit (and all blame )***
3) Install XMLspy home edition Link
4) Install the XMLspy Eclipse plugin (same link as #3)
***For steps 3 and 4, I assume you are smart enough to find the auto installers on the page I gave you***
5) Install the PyDev plugin- this is a little more tricky, but not too much. We can do this two ways: the easy way or the hard way [thunk] The eeeeasy way. (sorry back to the future reference)
Open eclipse, go to the help menu, select Software Updates -> find and install. Select "new features to install" select new remote site, and copy the following into the url: "http://pydev.sf.net/updates/" (minus the quotes) name it pydev or somethins similar. Press okey, make sure it's checked, and hit finish. Eclipse should to the rest.
***For problems with step 5, you can check pyDevs homepage***

For any problems, you can post here or PM me or whatever.

Yeah it's a pain in the ass at first, but it will improve your programming 100%
compared to programming on wordpad or whatever. Color-coding, auto-format, etc... It's soo pretty
Plus if you plan on doing any programming (esp of java) for a career, it's a good idea to be familliar with Eclipse, lotsa companies use it.

Also, the advantage to having both plugins on one program is that you can open up XML AND python files at the same time, and switch tabs between the two (like in firefox). It makes life simple, simple, simple.

Hope this helps
j

J_Period said:

. Also, you have to open both them in IE instead of firefox. It's a small price to pay...***

Click to expand...

Who says it's a small price to pay? IE is evil Oddly enough however, the first one worked ok in firefox but the second didn't.

Nice slides, although in the installing java one, 11 and on is also irrelevant (eclipse can detect your java install by itself I think).

I've been too lazy to actually bother downloading pydev under windows (I do have it under linux), as I expect you can't get it to recognize the Civ4 python functions (do correct me if I'm wrong, I hope I am) and without that, its just a slow loading version of scite for me as I haven't done enough xml work to need more than the coloring.

Well, I have it mostly setup. It seems like it should be able to do code completion on Civ types from reading the compiled python files in Assets/Python/System, but it isn't working out for me. Not sure if I've configured everything properly. Also going to have to experiment to see if I can get it to use the mod's Python directory as its working directly without intervention so there isn't a prep step between coding and in-game testing.

Any suggestions for these, J.?

The civ types aren't in Assets/Python/System - they are in Assets/CvGameCoreDLL and I don't think you can load them from python.

What are all those .pyc files in System then?

Wait.. did you say CvGameCoreDLL.dll?!?

You mean I can use a dll brower on this thing?

Yep, and I uploaded a list of what seemed to be all the functions that might possibly be exported to python to here. (from Dependency Walker)

Belizan said:

What are all those .pyc files in System then?

Click to expand...

They are python modules you can use in your py files, but they are more general APIs.

Thanks, was exactly was I was browsing for.

One thing to note about XMLSpy. It seems that there is no XMLSpy 2007 Home edition and so that free option seems to be gone. I think that Microsoft has an "XML Notepad 2006" available but I'm not familiar with it past the name.

torin23 said:

One thing to note about XMLSpy. It seems that there is no XMLSpy 2007 Home edition and so that free option seems to be gone. I think that Microsoft has an "XML Notepad 2006" available but I'm not familiar with it past the name.

Click to expand...

In addition, the XMLSpy 2006 Eclipse plug-in is very unstable in recent versions of Eclipse (3.2 and above). But that's okay... it doesn't really integrate with Eclipse anyway. Using it standalone seems just as good. And you can still Google the 2006 Home Edition installation file. Get it while you still can!

At least PyDev (and its commercial add-on, PyDev Extensions) are still going strong!

jray said:

In addition, the XMLSpy 2006 Eclipse plug-in is very unstable in recent versions of Eclipse (3.2 and above). But that's okay... it doesn't really integrate with Eclipse anyway. Using it standalone seems just as good. And you can still Google the 2006 Home Edition installation file. Get it while you still can!

At least PyDev (and its commercial add-on, PyDev Extensions) are still going strong!

Click to expand...

After installing the 2006 Home Edition installation file, I am told I need to activate it. Clicking on "Request a Permanent Key" leads to a page where I can only download the trial version of 2007.