Eclipse is an integrated development environment (IDE). It is written primarily in Java and can be used to develop applications in Java and, by means of the various plug-ins, in other languages as well, including C, C++, COBOL, Python, Perl, PHP, and others.

  1. Download Eclipse IDE for Java Developers from http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/. We will be using version 3.6, release "Helios".

  2. On your C: drive, create a folder called "Programs". We will be using this folder also for Processing and Arduino. So please do so.

  3. Open the Zip file you just downloaded, extract the "eclipse" into "C:\Programs". ( /!\ NOTE, not "C:\Program files").

  4. In "C:\Programs\eclipse\", you should be able to find "eclipse.exe". Otherwise check carefully the previous steps.
  5. Create a shortcut to "eclipse.exe" on your desktop.
  6. Start Eclipse from your desktop, you should see a splash showing:

    EclipseSplash.png

  7. Then you will be asked where you would like to store your projects. Any folder would do, but I would suggest to create a "workspace" folder in your "Documents" or "My Documents". No matter where it is, remember it.

    EclipseWorkspace.jpg

  8. After that you should be welcomed by Eclipse. Click on the icon "Workbench" at the right, we will be ready for the business.

    EclipseWelcome.jpg