In Eclipse 4.4 RCP builds, "The service Plugin converter could not be acquired."

Question

We began getting the build errors below for our RCP applications after updating to the recent Eclipse 4.4 IDE Eclipse for RCP and RAP developers. These occurred on multiple Windows and Mac platforms, in a vanilla Eclipse IDE install with no additional plug-ins.

  generateFeature:
  [eclipse.generateFeature] The service Plugin converter could not be acquired.
  [eclipse.generateFeature] The service Plugin converter could not be acquired.
  [eclipse.generateFeature] The service Plugin converter could not be acquired.
  ... 

Builds in an Eclipse 4.3.2 IDE continue to succeed. The only thing that differs is the IDE. (The build is launched with "Run in the same JRE as the workspace", making the current IDE relevant.)

Googling for "Plugin converter could not be acquired" resulted in two links, neither of which was particularly helpful.

How can these errors be eliminated?

Answer 1

This took me awhile to track down. This answer is for the benefit of others.

Eclipse 4.4 removed built-in support for Eclipse 2.0 plug-ins without an OSGi bundle manifest. This is intended to encourage migration to OSGi bundles.

Migrating to OSGi bundles is the best approach.

Alternatively, a compatibility plug-in can be added to the IDE. To install it:

1. Help>Install New Software
2. Select the site The Eclipse Project Updates - http://download.eclipse.org/eclipse/updates/4.4
3. Expand the category Eclipse Tests, Examples, and Extras.
4. Check the item Eclipse 2.0 Style Plugin Support
5. Continue through the rest of the wizard.

References:

• Eclipse 4.4 Plug-in Migration Guide, Incompatibilities between Eclipse 4.3 and 4.4: Removed built-in support for Eclipse 2.0 Plug-ins
• Eclipse bugs:
  • Bug 407312 - Remove support for 2.0 old style plugin support
  • Bug 413006 - add org.eclipse.osgi.compatibility.plugins.feature to a Luna category
  • Bug 440156 - Identify 2.0-style plug-ins