How to get started with a bare-bones Eclipse + PyDev

Question

I am planning to move from SPE to Eclipse + PyDev for better code completion. I think SPE's code completion is rather weird.

Anyway, how should I get started with Eclipse + PyDev? I browsed http://www.eclipse.org and I found that Eclipse is made up of some base/core system and plugins are added for more functionality. I also stumbled upon http://www.easyeclipse.org which offers a ready-to-use Eclipse + PyDev distribution.

I have two options: the easy way and the hard way.

EASY WAY
Just download from http://www.easyeclipse.org. Problem is, I can't decide which version to use, v1.2.2.2 or v1.3.1?

HARD WAY
I want to keep a lean Eclipse installation, so I want to start out with a bare-bones download, then add plug-ins as I advance in skill. As of the moment, all I want in an IDE is the following:

1. Proper code completion, and
2. An easy shortcut key to run the current program. It should be something like F5 or F9.

Eventually, I will want to use more advanced tools, but I want to add plug-ins when I need or want to learn them:

1. Debugging
2. Unit testing
3. Version control

What plug-ins should I install to get the specific features I just mentioned?

Answer 1

The leanest Eclipse installation is the Platform Runtime Binary at around 50MB (look for it in the middle of the page). Install it and then once in eclipse go to Help->Install New Software... and use http://pydev.org/updates as link to install PyDev and you are done. Not very hard at all.