Using open-source GNU, Eclipse & Linux to develop multicore Cell apps: Part 5

At the time of the completion of the book, the Cell IDE runs only on Linux. It's possible to run the IDE on a Cell system, but the IDE is Java based and resource hungry. The Cell's PPU isn't up to the task of rendering the GUI, so I recommend running the IDE on a general-purpose processor. Further, the operating system must have a suitable Java Runtime Environment (JRE) installed.The GNU port for Java, GCJ, isn't sufficient.

The Cell IDE is provided as one of the packages in IBM's SDK. It's not a separate application, but consists of plug-ins that augment an Eclipse installation.These plug-ins make it possible to create Cell-specific projects that can be built, debugged, and simulated with the SDK's tools.This discussion covers each of these tools and how to execute them through the Cell IDE. But first, you need to install Eclipse and the C/C++ Development Tooling (CDT).This part in this series begins by explaining how this is done.

(Note: The Cell IDE is one of the most frequently changing tools in the SDK, and has probably transformed drastically by the time you read this. However, the basic operations of Eclipse/CDT/Cell SDK have remained consistent, so a good part of this presentation should retain its value.)

Eclipse and the C/C++ Development Tooling
Before you can run the Cell IDE, you have to acquire and install Eclipse and the C/C++ Development Tooling (CDT). Eclipse is one of the most popular open source IDEs available, and the CDT makes it possible to build C/C++ applications with Eclipse.This section explains what these tools are and how to get them running.

Installing Eclipse. Eclipse was originally conceived as an IDE for Java alone, but its language support has extended to C/C++, PHP, Python, Fortran, Cobol, and even Ada. Eclipse consists of a small executable that draws its capabilities from code modules called plug-ins. The Cell IDE plug-ins customize Eclipse to build applications specifically for the Cell processor.

To download Eclipse, go to www.eclipse.org/downloads.This page presents the most recent version of Eclipse, but this might not be the version required by the Cell IDE.To be sure, check the IDE documentation that comes with the SDK. If the Cell IDE accepts the latest version, download the Eclipse offering called Eclipse for C/C++ Developers. This comes with the CDT already installed.

If the IDE requires an older version than the one listed, go to archive.eclipse.org/ eclipse/downloads/index.php. Scroll down to find the required version and download it to your computer. In this case, you'll have to install CDT separately.

Decompress the Eclipse archive and you'll find a folder containing the Eclipse executable. The path to this folder will be referred to as $ECLIPSE. Launch the executable, select a workspace directory to hold your projects, and close the intro screen.The Eclipse main window will appear, as shown in Figure 5.1 below.

Figure 5.1 The Eclipse user interface

Installing the CDT. The CDT is a set of plug-ins that provides Eclipse with capabilities related to C/C++ development.These capabilities include C/C++ project management, source editing, and a graphical debugger interface.The CDT doesn't compile or debug by itself, but provides point-and-click access to existing GCC-based tools.

If you downloaded Eclipse for C/C++ Developers, the CDT should already be available. To check, go to Help,About Eclipse Platform, Feature Details and search for the CDT feature (a feature is a set of united plug-ins). If the CDT feature isn't installed, you can acquire it by taking advantage of Eclipse's automatic update capability.This is provided through the Eclipse Help menu.

Go to Help, Software Updates, Find and Install and select the option Search for new features to install. Click Next, and the dialog will list possible update sites. If you find any site named after a moon of Jupiter or any other celestial body, select that site and click Finish. Choose the main site or a mirror and click OK.

The next dialog presents the features available for installation. Select any features that interest you, but make sure the C/C++ option is selected.This is shown in Figure 5.2 below.

Figure 5.2 Selecting the CDT

Click Next, accept the license terms, and click Finish.When the Verification dialog appears, click Install All. Restart Eclipse and the CDT plug-ins will be inserted into your installation.