Eclipse: how to keep project source files and ant build.xml seperate from eclipse workspace?

Question

I'm trying to re-familiarize my self with the Eclipse environment and ant integration.

Question is: how to keep my sources dir + build.xml separate from the workspace?

What I have is a small java project and its build.xml file with all the sources placed under a separate project folder. I then started Eclipse and let it import my project via New Project -> "Java Project from existing Ant Build File"

All went fine, until when I wanted to build the project from inside Eclipse using build.xml. Ant starts complaining about not being able to find the source tree. After I examined the workspace I found that Eclipse had copied the build.xml into the workspace, so it's obvious that ant couldn't find any sources there. They are still under my project director and I do want to keep them there, if possible.

so whats the best way so make this setup work? workspace on one side, my project on the other?

Thank!

edit: Is what I want even possible ?

Answer 1

Instead of using "Java Project from Existing Ant Buildfile", just create a simple "Java Project". In the wizard uncheck "use default location" and enter the path (or browse) to the top level directory of your existing project (i.e., where your build.xml is). True, eclipse will create .project and .classpath files in your project directory (if they do not already exist), but the project will remain outside the eclipse workspace.

Case in point, this setup has worked really well in a very particular situation on a standalone system where the source tree resides in a common location but each user has a workspace in a protected location. Using the method described above, each user of this system can create a project in their own eclipse workspace, execute ant targets and subsequently remove the project from their own workspace without affecting other users' workspaces.

Answer 2

What about using links?

• Windows Symbolic Links
• Linux man page for ln

Answer 3

I do this all the time in C++ projects (no Java, sorry, but I think the concept is portable).

I have my workspaces in ~/workspaces/{workspace_name}. I have a single shared project file in ~/{my_projects, and then the source trees (multiple versions) are in ~/proj1, ~/proj2, etc.

Within each ~/proj* directory, I put a symlink to ~/my_projects/.project and .cproject (required for C++, not used in Java). So each source tree is sharing the single project file. Then in each workspace (one for each source tree), I configure the workspace by importing the project link. For example, ~/workspaces/proj1 imports ~/proj1/.project, but ~/proj1/.project is actually a symlink to ~/my_projects/.project.

So this keeps the source separate from the workspaces. When building, there's no real configuration to do -- I just have Eclipse run make in the appropriate node of the tree -- we already have our own command-oriented build system (we're not using ant, but the same principle should apply).

I source-control the ~/my_projects folder in a private area of the SCM, so other team members don't see it or fiddle with it -- many of them don't use Eclipse at all.