Work in Eclipse IDE

You can do your OpenText Core Software Delivery Platform work directly from the Eclipse IDE packages.

Overview

Using the Eclipse plugin, developers can connect to a workspace, view OpenText Core SDP items, and make updates.

The plugins are open source. To access the source code, see https://github.com/MicroFocus/octane-eclipse-plugin.

The plugins support two-way integration:

The plugin updates all data in the host Eclipse application.
Changes made in Eclipse impact data in OpenText Core SDP.

Prerequisites

This section lists the prerequisites for setting up a connection to Eclipse.

Verify that your operating system is supported:
- Windows 7, 8, 10
- macOS 10.12

Verify that your software is supported:

App / Plugin	Version
OpenText Core SDP Eclipse plugin	12.55.4 and later
OpenText Core SDP	12.55.4 and later

Verify that other software is supported:

Software	Version
Java	11 and later

Download and install the plugin

You can download and install the plugin using any of the following methods:

From the Eclipse Marketplace
From inside the Eclipse IDE
From inside the Eclipse IDE for remote installation

From the Eclipse Marketplace

From within the Eclipse IDE, choose Help -> Eclipse Marketplace.
In the Find box, search for the OpenText Core Software Delivery Platform plugin. Follow the on-screen instructions to install it.

From inside the Eclipse IDE

From within the Eclipse IDE, choose Help -> Install New Software.
Enter the URL for accessing the OpenText Core SDP IDE plugin for Eclipse in Work with and click Add.

The URL is https://microfocus.github.io/octane-eclipse-plugin/update-site.
Enter a name for the software in the Add Repository dialog box.
Click Select All and Next twice.
Accept the terms, and click Finish.
Restart the Eclipse IDE.
Continue to Configure the connection.

From inside the Eclipse IDE for remote installation

To install the plugin at remote locations without Internet access, download a compressed archive of the plugin onto a storage device.

Access this URL to download the archive:

https://github.com/MicroFocus/octane-eclipse-plugin/tree/gh-pages
Click Clone or Download.
Select Download ZIP.
Unzip onto the storage device.

For example, F:/MyEclipse/octane-eclipse-plugin-gh-pages
For each remote computer, start the Eclipse IDE and select Help->Install New Software.
In Work with, enter the URL for accessing the OpenText Core SDP IDE plugin for Eclipse.

To do this, click Local and go to the update-site folder:

<AnyName> - file:/F:/MyEclipse/octane-eclipse-plugin-gh-pages/update-site/

Click Add.
Click Select All and Next twice.
Accept the terms and click Finish.
Restart the Eclipse IDE.
Continue to Configure the connection.

Configure the connection

After installing the plugin, a new category of settings is available in Eclipse. This category contains the fields you need to connect Eclipse to OpenText Core SDP.

To configure the connection:

In Eclipse, choose Window -> Preferences -> OpenText Core Software Delivery Platform Settings.
Enter the URL for the OpenText Core SDP server. The URL can include the query parameters for the relevant space and the workspace, in which case the Space and Workspace fields are automatically populated. Either of the following formats is valid:
- ```
https://<server>:<port>
```
- ```
https://<server>:<port>/ui/?p=<spaceID>/<workspaceID>
```

Log in method	Description
Browser	The OpenText Core Software Delivery Platform login window opens, enabling you to enter your credentials. Use this option for both SSO and non-SSO, federated environments, and for session timeouts. Tip: In the login window, you can also click the Click here to use your system default browser link to open an authentication page for logging in. Enter your credentials, close the browser, and you will be logged in.
Username and password	Enter your credentials for logging in to OpenText Core SDP directly. This option retains your credentials so you do not have to enter them each time.

Description

Browser

The OpenText Core Software Delivery Platform login window opens, enabling you to enter your credentials. Use this option for both SSO and non-SSO, federated environments, and for session timeouts.

Tip: In the login window, you can also click the Click here to use your system default browser link to open an authentication page for logging in. Enter your credentials, close the browser, and you will be logged in.

Username and password

Enter your credentials for logging in to OpenText Core SDP directly. This option retains your credentials so you do not have to enter them each time.

Click Test connection.

You can now work with OpenText Core SDP from within Eclipse.

Work on your items

You can perform the following actions on your items from the My Work tab.

Action	Details
Open the My Work tab	Select Window > Show View > Other. Expand Octane: My Work and select the connection. The My Work tab opens, displaying work assigned to you. Use the check boxes in the My Work tab to filter which items you can see. When you start another session, the Eclipse plugin remembers what you were working on last time, and opens tabs in the OpenText Core Software Delivery Platform pane accordingly. Most OpenText Core SDP items are available from the IDE. You can see the comments in which you are mentioned. From a comment, you can go to the item that has the comment. To do this, double-click. Tip: To indicate that you are working on a particular item, and associate code changes with the item, right-click the item in the My Work list, and select Start work. When you are done, right-click and select Stop work.
View an item's details	Double-click an item to open its details in a separate pane. Click the Select fields button to select which fields to display. These settings only affect you. When you start another session, the OpenText Core SDP Eclipse plugin remembers your field selection. Tip: You can also open the item directly in OpenText Core SDP in a browser. Right-click the item in the My Work pane, and choose: View in Browser (System). This opens the item in a new browser window. View in Browser (Eclipse). This opens the item in a new pane in the current Eclipse IDE. To return to the regular Eclipse IDE view, right-click the item and select Details View.
Search for items	You can search all items and display the results, showing only the relevant items based on search criteria. The search runs in the scope of the current Eclipse project only. Tip: The search looks through all items, not just the ones assigned to you. You can use the search to assign an item to yourself, or click Add to My Work from the context menu. Enter a search string in the search box. The search results are opened in a list. The plugin remembers the last five searches you ran. Click the search arrow to select one and re-run the search.
Update your items	As you implement stories and fix defects in Eclipse, update your items. Move the status of an item from one phase to another, according to the defined workflow. Update field values. Limitation: You cannot edit the Feature field. If a rule exists that makes a field read-only, and you modify its value, the plugin notifies you when you save the item. Click Comments to view and add comments.
Download Gherkin test scripts to implement automation	Gherkin tests can be initially created in OpenText Core SDP, and then automated using Eclipse. In the My Work pane, right-click a Gherkin test, and select Download script. The downloaded script name is in the format `<TestName>-<TestID>.feature`.
Download BDD scenarios to implement automation	You can create and run BDD (behavior-driven development) tests in OpenText Core SDP using Gherkin scenarios, using the Cucumber-JVM framework. In the My Work pane, right-click a BDD scenario, and select Download script. The downloaded script name is in the format `<BDD Name>_<BDD ID>`.
Start work and commit changes	You can declare to the SCM system, such as Git, that you have started work on an item in an Eclipse project. When you commit changes for that item, automatically-generated text can be copied and pasted into the commit message for the item. In the My Work pane, right-click a user story, a quality story, a defect, or a task. Select Start work. A "play button" is displayed on the item icon. The item is also displayed as a button in the toolbar in Eclipse. You can click this button to open the item's details in a tab. To generate the text for the commit message and copy it into the clipboard, right-click and select Commit Message to Clipboard. Tip: You must make the item active to copy the commit message. Commit your changes. In the Git Staging area, paste the contents of the clipboard into the Commit Message area. The format for the commit message contains the type and the item ID, followed by a colon (:). After the colon, enter more details for your commit message. For tasks, the item related to the task (such as a story or defect) is also included. To cancel the commit message, in the My Work pane, right-click the item and choose Stop work. You can also manually edit commit messages, without using auto-complete. For details, see Track commits to your SCM system.
Dismiss items	Remove items from your My Work list if they are no longer relevant. Right-click the item and select Dismiss. The items are removed from My Work, but are not deleted in OpenText Core SDP.