Other - Finding Documentation

Page / - last modified by cds on 2016/04/20 12:22

Finding Documentation

last modified by cds

on 2016/04/20 12:22

Table of Contents

During the tutorial, we will cover each topic only briefly, so it is always a good idea to find more information online. Here's some more resources that may prove helpful:

Java™ Platform, Standard Edition 8 API Specification
As Java programmers, you will already know this one, but it's so important and helpful that it's worth repeating. The API documentation contains just about everything you need to know about the API provided by Java.

Eclipse Help System
Eclipse comes with its own help system that contains a wealth of information. You will be spending most of your time in the Platform Plug-in Developer Guide, which contains the following three important sections:

Programmer's Guide
When you encounter a new topic, such as SWT or JFace, the Programmer's Guide often contains helpful articles to give you a first overview. Recommended reading.

References -> API Reference
One of the two most important parts of the Eclipse Help System, the API Reference contains the Javadoc documentation of all Eclipse framework classes. Extremely helpful.

References -> Extension Points Reference
The other of the two most important parts of the Eclipse Help System, the Extension Point Reference lists all extension points of the Eclipse framework along with information about what they are and how to use them. Also extremely helpful.

Eclipsepedia
The official Eclipse Wiki. Contains a wealth of information on Eclipse programming.

Eclipse Resources
Provides forums, tutorials, articles, presentations, etc. on Eclipse and Eclipse-related topics.

Eclipse Layout Kernel
Documentation on how the layout infrastructure works and on how to write your own layout algorithms. This is our project, so if you find that something is unclear or missing, tell us about it!

You will find that despite of all of these resources Eclipse is still not as well commented and documented as we'd like it to be. Finding out how stuff works in the world of Eclipse can thus sometimes be a challenge. However, you are not alone: this also applies to many people who are conveniently connected by something called The Internet. It should go without saying that if all else fails, Google often turns up great tutorials or solutions to problems you may run into. And if it doesn't, your advisers will be happy to help.

As far as KIELER documentation is concerned, you will find documentation at the KIELER Confluence. The documentation is not as complete as we (and especially everyone else) would like it to be, however, so feel free to ask those responsible for help if you have questions that the documentation fails to answer.

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