Eclipse PyDev
Information Technology, Installation & Deployment

Install Latest Eclipse with Pydev on Ubuntu 22.04 for Python Development

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Eclipse with PyDev plugged is one of the most favorite IDEs for Python developers as it is simple to setup and has a lot of cool features for all kinds of development (including web and javascript application).

Although the Eclipse IDE can be installed very easily via snap with a single command, I recommend you to not go that way as the IDE would be not so stable enough and less customizable. In addition to this, the version of the Eclipse is not the latest and it is hard to upgrade it for later versions then,

In this tutorial I will guide you on how to install the latest Eclipse and select the best Eclipse package for your quick start with Python development.

Install Eclipse IDE and PyDev on Ubuntu 22.04

According to Wikipedia, Eclipse IDE is an integrated development environment (IDE) used in computer programming. It contains a base workspace and an extensible plug-in system for customizing the environment. It is the second-most-popular IDE for Java development, and, until 2016, was the most popular.

Eclipse is written mostly in Java and its primary use is for developing Java applications, but it may also be used to develop applications in other programming languages via plug-ins, including Python, JavaScript, C, C++, Perl, PHP, Ruby (including Ruby on Rails framework), etc.

In this tutorial, we will install the latest package of Eclipse IDE for Enterprise Java and Web Developers and PyDev pluggin. The reason I choose that package is that the package comes with a lot of pre-installed tools that is suitable for web application and backend development: JavaScript, TypeScript, JavaServer Pages and Faces, Yaml, Markdown, Web Services, JPA and Data Tools, Maven and Gradle, Git, and more.

Please note that Eclipse IDE does not come with Java Runtime Environment (JRE). We need to install it first. I prefer to have OpenJRE over the Oracle Java JRE.

Install OpenJRE 11

Why it is 11? At the time of writing this, the latest version of PyDev currently required exactly java 11, not the later nor the earlier. You of course should verify PyDev requirements and choose the right one if it would be changed at the time you read this. Now, start the work.

Update the system as usual

sudo apt update; sudo apt dist-upgrade

Here is the command to install openjre 11:

sudo apt install openjdk-11-jre

Please note that if you would develop Java applications, you may prefer to install the JDK (Java Development Kit) which also includes the JRE (Java Runtime Environment).

sudo apt install openjdk-11-jdk

Download and Install Eclipse IDE

To get the latest eclipse, please visit the download page: https://www.eclipse.org/downloads/ then download the Eclipse Installer. Please note that we prefer to have the installer that helps to create neccessary things such as desktop icon, launcher entry for us automatically and it could help us stay update for the newer versions released later.

After downloading it (it should be a *.tar.gz archieve), just extract it and find the installer executor named eclipse-inst to run it.

During installation, you will be asked for:

  • Choosing an Eclipse package: just select Eclipse IDE for Enterprise Java and Web Developers
  • Create Start Menu: just check it to let the installer create the launcher for you
  • Create Desktop Shortcut: select it if you want a shortcut to be created on your Desktop.

Depending on your internet connection, the installation may take up to 20 minutes as there would be about 400MB to be downloaded for installation.

Upon the installation is completed, you will be able to start it from the Desktop shortcut or from the standard application launcher in Ubuntu. Now, go to the next step to install PyDev plugin.

Install PyDev plugin

At the time of writing this post, the latest version of PyDev is 9.3. We can install it into Eclipse as follow:

  • Start your Eclipse IDE
  • Navigate to the menu Help > Install New Software and open it.
  • Hit Add button on the newly open window to add PyDev repository
  • Enter PyDev for name and https://www.pydev.org/updates for location and save it.
  • Follow the on-screen instructions to finish the installation.

Create your first Python project

Upon installation is completed, you can start creating your first Python project in Eclipse. Please watch my quick video here for the whole process of installation and setup.

If you are an Odoo developer, it’s time to follow my post on How to setup Odoo development environment on Ubuntu 22.04.

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