Installing the C# Plugin
To install the Improve Technologies C# Plug-in, we will use the built-in update feature, the Eclipse update manager. To do so, you will need Internet connectivity, and to follow these steps:
1)   Open Eclipse by running eclipse.exe in the base of the eclipse directory.

2)   Open the Update Manager perspective (Help -> Software Updates -> Update Manager).

3)   In the "Feature Updates" view (bottom left), right-click in the view window and select: New -> Site Bookmark...

4)   Fill the Name field with "Improve's Eclipse Plugin Site", and the URL with "www.improve technologies.com/alpha/updates/site.xml". This XML file describes the plug-ins available for download from Improve Technologies, and will allow you access to those plug-ins now, and in the future.

5)   A new bookmark, "Improve's Eclipse Plug-in Site," has been added. Expand it untill you find the newest Improve C# plugin feature ("C Sharp Feature x.x.x"). If you select the feature, its description will be displayed in the "Preview" view. You can read the license agreement by clicking the link.

6)   In order to install the feature, click the "Install" button in the "Preview" view: click "Next" for each page; and then "Finish". On the last page ("Feature Verification"), click on the "Install" button. Eclipse will automatically install the feature, and you will be asked whether you want Eclipse to reboot or not. Say yes.

7)   Once Eclipse has rebooted, you can check that the feature has been installed: expand the item "Current Configuration" (in the "Install Configuration" view), and you will find the feature in the list of the installed features. If you expand "Configuration History", you will see all the previous configurations. You can save a specific configuration so you can restore it later: right-click on a configuration and click "save".

8)   The last step is to configure the new Eclipse C# perspective to use the .NET C# compiler that was installed with the .NET SDK earlier. To configure the C# compiler, navigate to the Eclipse Workbench preferences (Window -> Preferences) and select the C# Preferences item. This preferences window should now look similar to Figure 3. To specify the C# compiler (csc.exe), click the "Browse" button and navigate to the Microsoft .NET/Framework directory. On Windows 2000, that directory is C:\WINNT\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v1.0.3705\csc.exe. (The name of the directory under the Framework directory may vary depending upon what version of the .NET SDK you have installed.)

 

Sample C# .NET Application
Now we'll walk through the creation of an Eclipse project containing a single C# program. We'll verify our success by executing the completed program, and finally, we'll touch on a few of the available application development tools (keyword content assistance, task view usage, and file-level compiler arguments) that come with Eclipse and the C# plug-in.

To begin, we'll open a new project. As with any good tool, there are several ways to do this. You can click the "New Wizard" button directly (leftmost button below the menu bar), select the New Wizard drop-down (the drop-down arrow on right-hand side of New Wizard button), or use the menu bar (FileNewProject). The New Project window should now be open. Select "Simple" on the left and "Project" on the right. Click the "Next" button, assign a unique name for the project, and then click the "Finish" button.

Next, use the File menu or the New Wizard to create a new C# file. If you use the New Wizard drop-down or File menu, select the "Other" option (this is the equivalent of clicking the New Wizard button directly). Whichever path you take, the New window will provide two categories: C# and Simple. Select the "C#" category on the left and "C# File" on the right. Click the "Next" button and provide a name for the C# file. We'll use "CSharpTest.cs" for this example ("new_file. cs" is provided by default). Also, be sure that the correct project name is provided in the Container field. Finally, click the "Finish" button.

Now it's time to actually write the program. Enter the code displayed in Listing 1. When run, this code constructs a simple object with a single instance field of type DateTime containing a value corresponding to the current system time and date. The program output consists of a brief text greeting followed by the current time and date.

To save the file, click the disk icon at the top, use the menu system (FileSave), or hit Ctrl-S. When you save, Eclipse will also attempt to automatically compile the program (unless you turn this option off in the C# Preferences window). If there are any compilation problems, they will be displayed in the task view below the C# editor. Once you have resolved those issues, you are ready to execute the application. To do this, simply double-click on the CSharpTest.exe file that appears under the project you created. The result should be two lines of text. The first line displays a simple greeting and the second displays the time and date. To end the program, simply hit the return key.

Finally, there are a couple of features in Eclipse that you may find useful:

Conclusion
Web services are hot! (That's why you bought this magazine.) The .NET platform offers some intriguing possibilities for the development of XML Web services, and it's a good idea to explore it now and become familiar with the basic constructs. Unfortunately, the price tag on Visual Studio .NET is high, and setting up Visual Studio is a pain in the neck. The Eclipse Workbench, together with Microsoft's .NET SDK and Improve Technologies' C# Plugin, provides a powerful combination of tools that allows you to experiment with C# .NET application development, using a full-powered IDE - without paying a penny. Enjoy!