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Taking advantage of the SR2 release hook from Eclipse Kepler (now on the 28/02) I am opening a topic to discuss a problem much like "Should I do a new clean installation or upgrade of my operating system?". The decision between a clean install vs update in-place of the Eclipse.
The first is a more "secure" and laborious option, where a clean installation of the IDE and reinstallation of all plug-ins. The second is certainly simpler, rely on the Eclipse update mechanism following the route:
Help > Check for updates...
I know a fresh installation for a release maintenance may sound like an exaggeration, but I was one of the unlucky ones who had problems with updates in previous versions of Eclipse. But for all purposes we can also discuss upgrades amid releases:
- SOE - Why doesn’t Eclipse update to Juno SR2?
- SOE - Eclipse Indigo Update from SR1 to SR2
- Eclipse Community Forums - Can’t update to Eclipse Juno SR2
In no way am I raising something that considers a problem of "the" Eclipse, because a large part of the plug-ins that I am using are out of control of the group (just as much of the Software Installed in an OS is out of control of the manufacturer).
I am interested in updating strategies in practical terms. What is your practice of updating? How often does it?
This way, I would like to ask you about the best practices and processes adopted for the Eclipse update. How to handle IDE updates?
- Download a new release, discard plug-ins, workspaces and start from scratch? (Equivalent to clean installation of an OS by formatting the hard drive)
- Download a new release, install all the plug-ins but keep the workspaces? (Equivalent to maintaining the partition
/home
during a upgrade so) - Download a new release but try to keep plug-ins, Features, etc? (Equivalent to a fresh installation on an unformatted partition)?
- Updating in-place through P2 repositories (equivalent to in-place upgrade of OS)?
- N.D.A.?
I am especially interested to know how Eclipse users focused on Stacks Open Source, with installations containing several plug-ins from several suppliers (say, plug-ins Red Hat, Pivotal, Google, Typesafe, as well as smaller suppliers) handle upgrade processes and upgrades of the IDE.
The way for users of large proprietary packages like OEPE and RAD is usually different, but opinions are also welcome.