Eclipse Plugin Guide

Table of Contents

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1. Introduction

1.1. About the MTA plugin for Eclipse

You can migrate and modernize applications by using the Migration Toolkit for Applications (MTA) plugin for Eclipse.

The MTA plugin analyzes your projects using customizable rulesets, marks issues in the source code, provides guidance to fix the issues, and offers automatic code replacement, if possible.

1.2. About the Migration Toolkit for Applications

What is the Migration Toolkit for Applications?

Migration Toolkit for Applications (MTA) accelerates large-scale application modernization efforts across hybrid cloud environments on Red Hat OpenShift. This solution provides insight throughout the adoption process, at both the portfolio and application levels: inventory, assess, analyze, and manage applications for faster migration to OpenShift via the user interface.

MTA uses an extensive default questionnaire as the basis for assessing your applications, or you can create your own custom questionnaire, enabling you to estimate the difficulty, time, and other resources needed to prepare an application for containerization. You can use the results of an assessment as the basis for discussions between stakeholders to determine which applications are good candidates for containerization, which require significant work first, and which are not suitable for containerization.

MTA analyzes applications by applying one or more rulesets to each application considered to determine which specific lines of that application must be modified before it can be modernized.

MTA examines application artifacts, including project source directories and application archives, and then produces an HTML report highlighting areas needing changes.

How does the Migration Toolkit for Applications simplify migration?

The Migration Toolkit for Applications looks for common resources and known trouble spots when migrating applications. It provides a high-level view of the technologies used by the application.

MTA generates a detailed report evaluating a migration or modernization path. This report can help you to estimate the effort required for large-scale projects and to reduce the work involved.

2. Installing the MTA plugin

You can install the MTA plugin in a connected or a restricted network environment.

2.1. Installing Java Development Kit

You must have the Java Development Kit (JDK) installed on your system prior to installing the Eclipse integrated development environment (IDE). Migration Toolkit for Applications (MTA) supports the following JDKs:

  • OpenJDK 11

  • OpenJDK 17

  • Oracle JDK 11

  • Oracle JDK 17

  • Eclipse Temurin™ JDK 11

  • Eclipse Temurin™ JDK 17

Procedure
  1. From the Oracle JDK download page, download the JDK tar.gz file suitable for your system.

    Note

    You need to accept the Oracle license agreement to proceed.

    Alternatively, you can download JDK by using the command-line interface:

    $ wget https://download.oracle.com/java/11/latest/<jdk-file>
  2. Extract the tar.gz file:

    $ tar -xzf <jdk-file>
  3. Optional: To make JDK available system-wide, move the extracted folder to the /opt directory:

    $ sudo mv <jdk-extracted-folder> /opt/<jdk-file>
  4. Set up the JAVA_HOME environment variable and add the JDK bin directory to the PATH variable:

    1. Open the .bashrc file:

      $ nano ~/.bashrc
    2. Add the following lines to the file:

      export JAVA_HOME=/opt/<jdk-file>
      export PATH=$PATH:$JAVA_HOME/bin
    3. Save the file and close it.

    4. To apply the new changes, reload the file:

      $ source ~/.bashrc
Verification
  • Use the java --version command to verify the installed JDK version:

    $ java --version

2.2. Installing Eclipse

Eclipse is an integrated development environment (IDE) that you can use to install the Migration Toolkit for Applications (MTA) plug-in used for migrating and modernizing applications.

Prerequisites
  • You have the Java Development Kit (JDK) installed on your system. For more information, see Installing Java Development Kit. MTA supports the following JDKs:

    • OpenJDK 11

    • OpenJDK 17

    • Oracle JDK 11

    • Oracle JDK 17

    • Eclipse Temurin™ JDK 11

    • Eclipse Temurin™ JDK 17

Procedure
  1. From the Eclipse download page, download the required Eclipse IDE tar.gz file, for example, Eclipse IDE for Java Developers.

  2. Extract the tar.gz file:

    $ tar -xzf <file_name>.tar.gz
  3. Optional: To make Eclipse available system-wide, move the extracted folder to the /opt directory:

    $ sudo mv eclipse /opt/eclipse
  4. Optional: To make Eclipse launch from the command line, create a symbolic link to the executable:

    $ sudo ln -s /opt/eclipse/eclipse /usr/bin/eclipse
  5. Optional: To launch Eclipse from you application menu, create a desktop entry:

    1. Create a new eclipse.desktop file:

      sudo nano /usr/share/applications/eclipse.desktop
    2. Add the following content to the eclipse.desktop file:

      [Desktop Entry]
      Name=Eclipse IDE 2024-03
      Type=Application
      Exec=/opt/eclipse/eclipse
      Terminal=false
      Icon=/opt/eclipse/icon.xpm
      Comment=Intergrated DEvelopment Environment
      NoDisplay=false
      Categories=Development;IDE;
      Name[en]=Eclipse IDE 2024-03

2.3. Adding Jboss Tools dependencies for the MTA plug-in

JBoss Tools dependencies are required by Eclipse during the Migration Toolkit for Applications (MTA) plug-in installation process.

Prerequisites
  • You have the Java Development Kit (JDK) installed on your system. For more information, see Installing Java Development Kit. MTA supports the following JDKs:

  • OpenJDK 11

  • OpenJDK 17

  • Oracle JDK 11

  • Oracle JDK 17

  • Eclipse Temurin™ JDK 11

  • Eclipse Temurin™ JDK 17

Procedure
  1. Launch Eclipse.

  2. From the menu bar, select Help Install New Software.

  3. Add the JBoss Tools update website by specifying the https://download.jboss.org/jbosstools/photon/development/updates/ location.

2.4. Installing in a connected environment

You need a connected environment to install the MTA plugin.

The MTA plugin has been tested with the Eclipse integrated development environment (IDE) for Java Enterprise Developers 2023-03.

Prerequisites

The following are the prerequisites for the Migration Toolkit for Applications (MTA) installation:

  • Java Development Kit (JDK) is installed. MTA supports the following JDKs:

    • OpenJDK 11

    • OpenJDK 17

    • Oracle JDK 11

    • Oracle JDK 17

    • Eclipse Temurin™ JDK 11

    • Eclipse Temurin™ JDK 17

  • 8 GB RAM

  • macOS installation: the value of maxproc must be 2048 or greater.

Note

Eclipse is pre-configured for Java 17, and the plugin operates directly with Java 17.

You can also run the plugin with Java 11, which requires setting the JRE version to Java 11 when creating up a new Eclipse project or importing an existing one. See step 6 below.

Procedure
  1. Launch Eclipse.

  2. From the menu bar, select HelpInstall New Software.

  3. Next to the Work with field, click Add.

  4. In the Name field, enter MTA.

  5. In the Location field, enter https://marketplace.eclipse.org/content/migration-toolkit-applications-mta and click OK.

  6. Select the Java version to use.

    • If using Java 11, in the JRE list, select JavaSE 11.

    • If using Java 17, leave the JRE selection unchanged.

  1. Select all the JBoss Tools - MTA check boxes and click Next.

  2. Review the installation details and click Next.

  3. Accept the terms of the license agreement and click Finish.

  4. Restart Eclipse.

2.5. Installing in a connected environment

You need a connected environment to install the MTA plugin.

The MTA plugin has been tested with the Eclipse integrated development environment (IDE) for Java Enterprise Developers 2023-03.

Prerequisites

The following are the prerequisites for the Migration Toolkit for Applications (MTA) installation:

  • Java Development Kit (JDK) is installed. MTA supports the following JDKs:

    • OpenJDK 11

    • OpenJDK 17

    • Oracle JDK 11

    • Oracle JDK 17

    • Eclipse Temurin™ JDK 11

    • Eclipse Temurin™ JDK 17

  • 8 GB RAM

  • macOS installation: the value of maxproc must be 2048 or greater.

Note

Eclipse is pre-configured for Java 17, and the plugin operates directly with Java 17.

You can also run the plugin with Java 11, which requires setting the JRE version to Java 11 when creating up a new Eclipse project or importing an existing one. See step 6 below.

Procedure
  1. Launch Eclipse.

  2. From the menu bar, select HelpInstall New Software.

  3. Next to the Work with field, click Add.

  4. In the Name field, enter MTA.

  5. In the Location field, enter https://marketplace.eclipse.org/content/migration-toolkit-applications-mta and click OK.

  6. Select the Java version to use.

    • If using Java 11, in the JRE list, select JavaSE 11.

    • If using Java 17, leave the JRE selection unchanged.

  1. Select all the JBoss Tools - MTA check boxes and click Next.

  2. Review the installation details and click Next.

  3. Accept the terms of the license agreement and click Finish.

  4. Restart Eclipse.

2.6. Accessing the MTA tools

You can access the MTA plugin tools in the MTA perspective.

Prerequisites
  • You must restart the Eclipse IDE after installing the MTA plugin.

Procedure
  1. Click WindowPerspectiveOpen PerspectiveOther.

  2. Select MTA and click OK.

    The following components are displayed:

    • Issue Explorer displays the migration issues identified by the MTA plugin.

    • MTA Server is a separate process that analyzes projects, flags migration issues, and generates reports.

      You can start, stop, and view the status of the MTA server in the Issue Explorer.

    • Issue Details displays detailed information about a selected issue, including the hint, severity, and any additional resources.

    • MTA Report is an HTML report generated by the MTA plugin. From the report landing page you can navigate to detailed reports, such as Application Details, Issues, and Dependencies.

      Note

      The report is not generated by default. You must select the Generate Report option in the run configuration.

3. Analyzing your projects with the MTA plugin

You can analyze your projects with the MTA plugin by creating a run configuration, running an analysis, and then reviewing and resolving migration issues detected by the MTA plugin.

3.1. Creating a run configuration

You can create a run configuration in the Issue Explorer. A run configuration specifies the project to analyze, migration path, and additional options.

You can create multiple run configurations. Each run configuration must have a unique name.

Prerequisite
  • You must import your projects into the Eclipse IDE.

Procedure
  1. In the Issue Explorer, click the MTA icon (MTA button) to create a run configuration.

  2. On the Input tab, complete the following fields:

    1. Select a migration path.

    2. Beside the Projects field, click Add and select one or more projects.

    3. Beside the Packages field, click Add and select one or more the packages.

      Note

      Specifying the packages for analysis reduces the run time. If you do not select any packages, all packages in the project are scanned.

  3. On the Options tab, you can select Generate Report to generate an HTML report. The report is displayed in the Report tab and saved as a file.

    Other options are displayed. See About MTA command-line arguments in the CLI Guide for details.

  4. On the Rules tab, you can select custom rulesets that you have imported or created for the MTA plugin.

  5. Click Run to start the analysis.

3.2. Analyzing projects

You can analyze your projects by running the MTA plugin with a saved run configuration.

Procedure
  1. In the MTA perspective, click the Run button (Run button) and select a run configuration.

    The MTA plugin analyzes your projects. The Issue Explorer displays migration issues that are detected with the ruleset.

  2. When you have finished analyzing your projects, stop the MTA server in the Issue Explorer to conserve memory.

3.3. Reviewing issues

You can review issues identified by the MTA plugin.

Procedure
  1. Click WindowShow ViewIssue Explorer.

  2. Optional: Filter the issues by clicking the Options menu kebab, selecting Group By and an option.

    Issue Explorer "Group By" options
  3. Right-click and select Issue Details to view information about the issue, including its severity and how to address it.

    The following icons indicate the severity and state of an issue:

    Table 1. Issue icons
    Icon Description
    Mandatory

    The issue must be fixed for a successful migration.

    Optional

    The issue is optional to fix for migration.

    Warning

    The issue might need to be addressed during migration.

    Resolved

    The issue was resolved.

    Stale

    The issue is stale. The code marked as an issue was modified since the last time that MTA identified it as an issue.

    Mandatory with quick fix

    A quick fix is available for this issue, which is mandatory to fix for a successful migration.

    Optional with quick fix

    A quick fix is available for this issue, which is optional to fix for migration.

    Warning with quick fix

    A quick fix is available for this issue, which may potentially be an issue during migration.

  4. Double-click an issue to open the associated line of code in an editor.

3.4. Resolving issues

You can resolve issues detected by the MTA plugin by performing one of the following actions:

  • You can double-click the issue to open it in an editor and edit the source code.

    The issue displays a Stale icon (Stale) until the next time you run the MTA plugin.

  • You can right-click the issue and select Mark as Fixed.

  • If the issue displays a Quick Fix icon (Mandatory with quick fix Optional with quick fix Warning with quick fix), you can right-click the issue and select Preview Quick Fix and then Apply Quick Fix.

4. Managing rules

The MTA plugin comes with a core set of System rules for analyzing projects and identifying migration and modernization issues.

You can create and import custom rulesets.

4.1. Viewing rules

You can view system and custom rules, if any, for the MTA plugin.

Prerequisites
  • To view system rules, the MTA server must be running.

Procedure
  1. Click the Rulesets tab.

  2. Expand System to view system rulesets or Custom to view custom rulesets.

  3. Expand a ruleset.

  4. Double-click a rule to open it in a viewer.

  5. Click the Source tab to view the XML source of the rule.

4.2. Creating a custom ruleset

You can create a custom ruleset in the MTA perspective.

See the Rules Development Guide to learn more about creating custom XML rules.

Procedure
  1. Click the Rulesets tab.

  2. Click the Create Ruleset icon (Create ruleset icon).

  3. Select a project and a directory for the ruleset.

  4. Enter the file name.

    Note

    The file must have the extension .windup.xml.

  5. Enter a ruleset ID, for example, my-ruleset-id.

  6. Optional: Select Generate quickstart template to add basic rule templates to the file.

  7. Click Finish.

  8. The ruleset file opens in an editor and you can add and edit rules in the file.

  9. Click the Source tab to edit the XML source of the ruleset file.

You can select the new ruleset when you create a run configuration.

4.3. Importing a custom ruleset

You can import a custom ruleset into the MTA plugin to analyze your projects.

Prerequisites
  • Custom ruleset file with a .windup.xml extension.

    See the Rules Development Guide for information about creating rulesets.

Procedure
  1. Click the Rulesets tab.

  2. Click the Import Ruleset icon (Import ruleset icon).

  3. Browse to and select the XML rule file to import.

    The custom ruleset is displayed when you expand Custom on the Rulesets tab.

4.4. Submitting a custom ruleset

You can submit your custom ruleset for inclusion in the official MTA rule repository. This allows your custom rules to be reviewed and included in subsequent releases of MTA.

Procedure
  1. Click the Rulesets tab.

  2. Click the Arrow icon (Dropdown) and select Submit Ruleset.

  3. Complete the following fields:

    • Summary: Describe the purpose of the rule. This becomes the title of the submission.

    • Code Sample: Enter an example of the source code that the rule should run against.

    • Description: Enter a brief description of the rule.

  4. Click Choose Files and select the ruleset file.

  5. Click Submit.