Core Java

Eclipse Oxygen XML Editor plugin tutorial

In this example we are going to see how you can install and use an XML editor for your Eclipse IDE. XML is a mark-up language that has its own unique characteristics, and it’s used in a vast number of applications, mostly web based, but in recent years it plays a crucial role generally in universal, platform independent information exchanging between systems. A developer can be greatly supported by an IDE when  editing XML files or projects, as it offers features like code completion, code generation etc. Of course, a decent IDE XML Pluging would not only allow you to edit pure raw XML files, but also of XML-like files like HTML, XHTML, WSDL, XSD, XSL and even CSS.

There are many XML Editors as Eclipse plugins that do the job and most of them are quite good. In this example though, we are going to use a famous one, Oxygen XML Editor

1. Oxygen XML Editor Eclipse plugin installation

In this tutorial we are going to use Eclipse Kepler 4.3, but the installation process is pretty standard for most versions. We are going to show you how to install Oxygen XML Editor in Eclipse, and a glimpse of how you can use it.

1. In order to install Oxygen XML Editor in Eclipse, go to Help -> Install New Software…

Figure 1: Install New Software
Figure 1 : Install New Software

2. Click Add… .Paste this URL : http://archives.oxygenxml.com/Oxygen/Editor/InstData10.3/Eclipse/site.xml in the Location text field.

Figure 2. Add Repository
Figure 2: Add Repository

3. Select all the plugins you want to install and click Next.

Figure 3 : Select plugins
Figure 3 : Select plugins

4. You will see an overview of your installation.

Figure 4 : Installation Overview
Figure 4 : Installation Overview

5. Accept the Licence Agreement and click Finish.

Figure 5 : Accept the Licence Agreement
Figure 5 : Accept the Licence Agreement

6. Give it some time to install the new Software.

Figure 7 : installing...
Figure 6: Installing…

It is likely the a Warning will pop up during installation. Click OK to ignore it.

Figure 8 : Ingore Warning
Figure 7 : Ingore Warning

8. When the installation finishes, you will be prompt to restart your Eclipse IDE. Click Yes.

Figure 9 : Restart Eclipse IDE
Figure 8 : Restart Eclipse IDE

2. Create a Simple XML Project

When your Eclipse IDE restarts, this is how you can create a new XML Project.

1. On the Project Explorer, Right Click on the Project’s name -> New -> Other. Find the oXygen sub-menu and select XML Project and then click Next.

Figure 9 : New XML Project
Figure 9 : New XML Project

2. Type in a name for the Project, and select the several details and options.

Fugure 10 : XML Project Name
Fugure 10 : XML Project Name

3. You will be prompt to change the Perspective of your IDE to oXygen XML. When your IDE is on that perspective you can see all the new widgets and windows that will help you enhance your XML editing experience. As you can see there is a great plethora of templates :

Figure 11 : XML Templates
Figure 11 : XML Templates

And the visual aids are remarkable :

Figure 12 : Visual Aids
Figure 12 : Visual Aids

Figure 13 : Visual Aids
Figure 13 : Visual Aids

The feature list is impressive as well and it includes:

  • Tree based outliner.
  • XSLT/XQuery Debugger Perspectives.
  • Context sensitive content assistant with Insight-like mechanisms.
  • Configurable Document Templates.
  • Automatic Generation of Required Content.
  • Preview Transformation that shows how XML, HTML are renderd on a browser.
  • WSDL Editing and Testing.

You can see a full list of oXygen features here : http://www.oxygenxml.com/xml_editor/eclipse_plugin.html

This was an example of Eclipse Oxygen XML Editor plugin.

Nikos Maravitsas

Nikos has graduated from the Department of Informatics and Telecommunications of The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. During his studies he discovered his interests about software development and he has successfully completed numerous assignments in a variety of fields. Currently, his main interests are system’s security, parallel systems, artificial intelligence, operating systems, system programming, telecommunications, web applications, human – machine interaction and mobile development.
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