Using the deltapack in Eclipse 3.5

Eclipse Galileo was released yesterday and I have already seen a couple of questions on the newsgroups regarding how to install the delta pack.

What's a delta pack?

For those who don't know what it is, the delta pack is a zip file provided by the Eclipse Platform and it is used for developing RCP applications for multiple platforms. The delta pack archive contains all the platform specific fragments from the Eclipse SDK. It also includes a feature "org.eclipse.equinox.executable" which contains binary launchers for all the platforms. The archive is available for download through the Eclipse Classic "Other downloads" page.

The delta pack is required if you want to do headless product builds, or to export products from the UI:

If you don't have the delta pack installed, then the option to export your product for multiple platforms will not appear in the wizard.

How to install the delta pack

Ian Bull blogged about the improved Target Platform management system as #3 in his Galileo Feature top ten list. This is the recommended method of installing the delta pack.

1. Extract the delta pack archive into its own directory on disk.
2. Open the Target Platform preferences (Window -> Preferences -> Plug-in Development -> Target Platform).
3. Add a new target, or edit the active target.
4. Add the directory where you extracted the delta pack.