How to Use External Builders in the DVT Eclipse IDE
Overview
You can configure any third party tool such as a linter or compiler as a DVT External Builder: invoke any script or command and back-annotate the source code with the errors or warnings it produces.
This video is a step by step how-to define and use external builders.
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This video was shot using DVT 20.1.41
Details
A DVT External Builder allows you to invoke any script or command and back-annotate the source code with the errors or warnings it produces.
Creating a New External Builder
From Project Properties
To create a new External Builder, right-click on the project, go to Properties > DVT > External Builders and click New.
From the Toolbar
Alternatively, from the External Builder drop-down button in the Toolbar, select Configure, then New.
Configuring the External Builder
You can choose to start from scratch, using a generic builder type, or from a pre-configured template.
On the Main tab, specify the commands to be executed at:
- Full build
- Incremental build
- Project clean
Leave the box empty if no action should be taken during a specific phase.
You can use variables when filling the text boxes, for example $ProjectName.
Press the Variables button for a searchable list.
On the Filters tab, you define the set of tool or methodology specific filters which are matched against the standard output of the executed command. This way, errors and warnings are identified and back annotated to the source code as problem markers.
Building and Rebuilding Projects
When rebuilding a project using the toolbar button, a full internal build gets executed first, then the full build command of each external builder in order.
The other two rebuild buttons allow you to run only the internal DVT builder or only the external builders.
Similarly, when saving a file, the internal incremental build is done, and then the external build incremental command is executed.
Viewing Output and Errors
The output of external builder commands is shown in the Console View.
Errors and warnings matched by the filters are colored and contain hyperlinks which allow you to easily jump to the source code where they originated.
Conversely, to jump from the editor to the console to get more context about the error or warning, you can right-click on a problem marker annotated on the left side of the editor.
All the markers are also available in the Problems View.
Note that the problem message is prefixed with the name of the builder which triggered it.