Equinox OSGi Framework Launcher

PDE provides an Equinox OSGi Framework launcher which allows you to launch an OSGi framework and test or debug your OSGi bundle. As with all other launchers in Eclipse (e.g. the Java Application and Java Applet launchers,...), the Equinox OSGi Framework launcher can be invoked via a shortcut and its launch configurations are centrally managed in the Launch Configuration Dialog.

Note that in Eclipse, the words plug-in and bundle are used interchangeably. A plug-in is a bundle and a bundle is a plug-in.

Launching via a Shortcut

A quick way to test a bundle is by launching the Equinox OSGi Framework via Run As > Equinox Framework from the context menu of a plug-in project. To launch in debug mode, choose Debug As > Equinox Framework from the context menu of the plug-in project.

When a shortcut is used, PDE searches for existing Equinox OSGI Framework launch configurations and creates a new launch configuration only if none were found. If a single launch configuration is found, it is used. If multiple configurations are found, PDE presents a selection dialog containing all existing Equinox OSGi Framework launch configurations and prompts the user to choose one.

By default, PDE launches the Equinox OSGi Framework with the -console program argument. This option enables the OSGi console allowing you to execute many commands such as installing, starting and stopping bundles.

Customizing a Launch Configuration

In order to have full control over launching the Equinox OSGi Framework, you can create and customize a launch configuration in the Launch Configuration Dialog.

The Launch Configuration Dialog can be invoked via Run > Run... or Debug > Debug... from the top level menu. A new Equinox OSGi Framework launch configuration can be created by double-clicking on the Equinox OSGi Framework node in the tree viewer to the left.

An Equinox OSGi Framework launch configuration contains six tabs allowing you to customize all aspects of the test launch. Please refer to the following documents for more details:

- Plug-ins Tab
- Arguments Tab
- Settings Tab
- Tracing Tab
- Environment Tab
- Common Tab