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Eclipse RCP: Target Platform - Eclipse vs. Equinox?

I am just starting with OSGi and Eclipse RCP. Can someone explain the difference between Eclipse and Equinox as the target platform when creating a new eclipse plugin project?
I still know that Equinox is an implementation of OSGi Eclipse.
In some articles, I read that eclipse rcp is also based on Equinox. So, where is the difference between the target platform you should choose in the new Eclipse Plugin project?

Best wishes

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java eclipse-plugin eclipse-rcp osgi equinox
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2 answers

This is an environement in which the module you will create will be created: see this

Eclipse Equinox is the runtime environment on which the Eclipse IDE and Eclipse RCP applications are based .
In Eclipse, the smallest modulation module is the plugin. The terms plugin and bundle are (almost) interchangeable. The Eclipse plugin is also an OSGi package and vice versa.

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  • for OSGi capable of running in Equinox (inside or outside Eclipse)
  • for Eclipse to run in an Eclipse-based application.

See Equinox Quick Start Guide :

The implementation of the Equinox OSGi framework forms the basis of the Eclipse RCP and IDE platforms, but in reality it is a fully autonomous OSGi implementation.

You can run the package independently of Eclipse:

java -jar org.eclipse.osgi_3.2.0.jar -console

After that, you will see the osgi> . This is an OSGi console awaiting command input.

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Choosing an "OSGi framework": This simply creates a new package without the necessary plugins or imported packages (if you do not select an activator, in this case the org.osgi.framework package will appear in the imported packages).

Choosing the version of Eclipse: After clicking next, the wizard gives you the checkbox "This plugin will contribute to the user interface" and allows you to create a rich client application

Without any other parameters, the Eclipse plugin will have org.eclipse.core.runtime as a required plugin. If you say that the plug-in will contribute to the user interface, then org.eclipse.ui is added to the necessary plug-ins. Saying that you want to create a rich client application, on the last screen the templates are different from each other, and you are forced to choose one to complete. Also your Activator will expand the plugin if you did not select the UI option and AbstractUIPlugin if you selected the UI option.

In the pools that are created in any case, there is nothing special, the wizard simply installs for you the required default required plugins / imported packages. Of course, as VonC pointed out that some dependency settings using the Eclipse route may not be compatible with other OSGi implementations.

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