The GrepCode (GC) plugin for Eclipse allows Eclipse users to access the search facilities provided by GrepCode without leaving the IDE.
This tutorial describes how to install and use the plugin. The screeshots were taken using Eclipse 3.5 (Galileo).
Similar steps can be followed with Eclipse 3.4.x versions (Ganymede).
Once the GC plugin has been installed, you can use it to browse the source code of open source libraries, that you use in your project development.
Here is an example to illustrate this:
Assume that you are working on a project that involves an open source library, such as JGroups.
Your project registers jgroups-all.jar as its dependency, as shown below.
Your class "JGroupsTest" makes use of JGroups classes, such as "JChannel".
If you press F3 on "JChannel", you get the "Class File Editor" view which allows you to browse the outline of "JChannel" but not its source code.
Fear not :-) While in the "Class File Editor" view, you can just click on the "GC Search" button on your tools panel to ask the GC plugin to search within
GrepCode for the "JChannel" class. The results of the search are shown in the "GC Search" tab that opens within your IDE.
You can now select the version (2.8.0.CR4, 2.8.0.CR3, etc.), that applies to your project, to see the "JChannel" source code.
You can also expand the "GC Search" tab to more conveniently review the "JChannel" source code and the rest of the related views provided by GrepCode,
without leaving your Eclipse IDE.
