Executing Eclipse Plugin JUnit tests in real-time without needing to restart Eclipse (with no mocking)

One of the key capabilities that I wanted to have after Programming Eclipse in Real-Time (using an 'Groovy based' Eclipse Plug-in), was to be able to run JUnit tests (including tests using STWBot)  in the live (under debug) Eclipse instance (called test Eclipse below).

This would allow me to code in a very quick/efficient TDD workflow, since I wouldn't have to wait 15s to 30s to see execution results for new JUnit tests or major/minor changes to existing JUnit tests.

The good news is that by using the GroovyExecution API that I wrote for the TeamMentor Eclipse Plugin, I was able to dynamically load and run the class files of the JUnit tests to execute, which was already a massive milestone, since that gave me 80% of what I needed. But it was only after Adding and using new API methods, that are consumed by an Eclipse Plugin under development (without Eclipse restart) and having JRebel enabled, that I had the full dynamic environment (where changes to the main plugin code and changes to JUnit test code did NOT require an Eclipse restart).

Here is a walkthrough of how it works (still a bit rough around the edges , but already a really powerful workflow).

Groovy Script to create a view that shows the images available in the ISharedImages class

Today I needed to add a couple icons to the Eclipse Plugin I'm working on, and after a quick Googling a bit, I found that Eclipse already includes a number of images with its release, namely via its ISharedImages class.

As with the question at Overview of ISharedImages? I wanted to see a full list of images available, and although that answer points to a couple blog posts that have it (see here and here) that didn't answer all my needs, since (for example) I also wanted to know if the images were available in the Eclipse versions we currently support (Indigo, Juno and Kepler).

Adding and using new API methods, that are consumed by an Eclipse Plugin under development (without Eclipse restart)

This is a variation of the example shown in Using JRebel to HotSwap new Static String fields in an Eclipse Plugin (without Eclipse restart) and its such a cool/powerful workflow that it deserves a dedicated blog post.

Part of the Eclipse Plug-in development toolkit I'm working on, are couple APIs that are inspired/based on my previous work at the OWASP O2 Platform's FluentSharp APIs (available from NuGet).

The core idea of these Fluent APIs is to simplify to the maximum the code required to perform a particular action.

Using JRebel to HotSwap new Static String fields in an Eclipse Plugin (without Eclipse restart)

After Installing, compiling and failing to use DCE VM for Eclipse Plugin development it was time to give JRebel a go (which is a commercial plugin that costs about ~300 USD per year).

TLDR: It worked and I was able to run an Eclipse Plugin, make big changes in a class already loaded (like adding a new field/method), and have access to those changes without needing to restart Eclipse.