What is "eclipse-plugin"
Eclipse is not a monolithic program, but a small kernel containing a plugin loader surrounded by a plethora of Java plugins. This small kernel is an implementation of the Osgi R4 specification and provides an environment in which plugins run.
Each plugin contributes to the whole in a structured way, being able to rely on services provided by another plugin and, in turn, being able to provide services that other plugins can rely on.
Plugins allow extension of Eclipse functionality in several ways:
- Providing additional user interface elements,
- allowing working with new technologies,
- enhancing existing plug-in functionality and more.
Eclipse source code is readily available and can be integrated into Eclipse itself to facilitate plugin debugging.