Workspaces

BlackBerry® projects can be developed directly in the Eclipse® workspace. The Eclipse workspace is a folder that you create on your hard disk drive. All project information and Java® files that you generate are stored in this folder. Workspace files (.jdw) that are created by using the BlackBerry® JDE Plug-in for Eclipse® 1.0 or the BlackBerry® Java® Development Environment are no longer supported.

Projects

The BlackBerry® Java® Plug-in stores all project properties in the BlackBerry application descriptor. The BlackBerry application descriptor is an .xml file that you can edit directly in the Eclipse editor. BlackBerry project files (.jdp) that are created by using the BlackBerry JDE Plug-in for Eclipse 1.0 or the BlackBerry Java Development Environment are no longer supported. You can import these legacy projects into Eclipse 3.5 by using the Import Legacy BlackBerry Projects feature of the BlackBerry Java Plug-in.

Alternate entry points

Alternate Entry Points (AEPs) are a property of the BlackBerry project rather than a separate project. AEPs can be managed by editing the BlackBerry_App_Descriptor .xml file in the Eclipse editor.

Working sets

Eclipse working sets replace BlackBerry project configurations. Working sets allow you to build, package, and run a group of projects.

Packaging

In Eclipse , building projects refers only to the process of creating .class files. To create BlackBerry projects, including the .cod files, you must package the project.

Launch configurations

You can use the enhanced launch configurations to run various combinations of BlackBerry device application projects and BlackBerry® Device Software in the BlackBerry® Smartphone Simulator.

Reloading a BlackBerry device application without restarting the BlackBerry Smartphone Simulator or resetting the BlackBerry device

When you run or debug a BlackBerry® device application that is loaded in the BlackBerry® Smartphone Simulator or on aBlackBerry device, you can make changes to the BlackBerry device application and restart the run (BlackBerry Smartphone Simulator only) or debug process without restarting the BlackBerry Smartphone Simulator or resetting the BlackBerry device.

Support for BlackBerry Smartphone Simulator sets that are installed outside of the Eclipse environment

You can download and install a BlackBerry® Smartphone Simulator that is not included in the BlackBerry® Java® SDK that you installed in Eclipse® and use it in the BlackBerry® Java® Plug-in .

Resetting the BlackBerry Smartphone Simulator

You can restore the default settings for the BlackBerry® JRE™, reset the security settings, and delete the application and the data files that are created when you run a BlackBerry device application in the BlackBerry® Smartphone Simulator.

Loading a BlackBerry device application automatically on a BlackBerry device for debugging

When you debug a BlackBerry® device application on a BlackBerry device that is connected to your computer by a USB cable, your BlackBerry device application loads automatically onto the BlackBerry device. To use this feature, you must install the BlackBerry® Java® SDK 5.0 or later on your computer.

Packaging BlackBerry application projects for multiple versions of BlackBerry Device Software

You can create a BlackBerry® device application that is compatible with multiple versions of the BlackBerry® Device Software. The BlackBerry® Java® Plug-in creates all the necessary files for distribution to BlackBerry device users that run the versions of the BlackBerry Device Software that you include in your BlackBerry application project.