I've been using Eclipse Classic for developing applications in Java installing plugins as I need. Now I'm thinking to develop an application using Eclipse RCP UI. I've read some tutorials online but they suggest to use Eclipse for RCP/RAP developers.
I've looked at this Eclipse Packages Compare page but I haven't quite figured out why I can't use Eclipse Classic to develop Eclipse RCP applications.
What plugins do I have to install to use Eclipse Classic for Eclipse RCP application development?
There is very little (practical) difference between those two packages. Classic (AKA, Eclipse SDK) includes more source code for the Eclipse bundles themselves, such as JDT and PDE, which can actually be useful when developing your own plugins and RCP apps); RCP/RAP obviously includes RAP, which is critical if you need it but pointless if you don't. RCP also includes EGit (again, nice if you need it) and the XML Tools. I often start with the SDK (Classic) package and add stuff as I need it. There has even been talk of dropping the RCP package altogether, although it still hangs around.
What plugins do I have to install to use Eclipse Classic for Eclipse RCP application development?
Trust me, you're much better off unziping Eclipse for RCP/RAP developers in a different directory, and using that to develop your RCP application.
You're lucky that adding Eclipse plug-ins to your Eclipse Classic hasn't destroyed your Java development environment.
