Installing Maven Support on Websphere Integration Developer

Summary and Background

A client for whom I am working currently is using Websphere Process Server 7 (WPS7) for a project.  The tools provided by IBM include Websphere Integration Developer  (WID) version 7, which is built upon Eclipse 3.4.  Unlike a standard Eclipse install, WID requires an actual installation process and will integrate with other Eclipse-based IBM tools like Websphere Transformation Extender (WTX).  Furthermore, WID is not just a plugin to any version of Eclipse:  it is a product extremely integrated with, and very tied to, the Eclipse version on which it is based.  It also requires use of the IBM Java JVM packaged with WID.  Note also that to build the modules required by WPS cannot be built by a Java compiler alone; they must be built by the WID tool.

This presents several challenges to the developer. First, if you are used to some of the features of the newer versions of Eclipse, you won’t find them here.  Most importantly, and a first step toward the point of this article, is that of Eclipse plugin support.  See, Eclipse changed their repository format for version 3.5.  Here’s a brief summary.  (I didn’t get too into the details of this; once I got things working I stopped pursuing answers.) Those who use the new repository format will not have their plugins available to older (3.4-) versions of Eclipse.  Couple that with the fact that plugin providers aren’t likely to test against such an old release of Eclipse, even if the repository supports it, means that those who are using WID 7 are kind of left out of some of the newer technologies that have been so critical to development groups in the past few years.

Fortunately, SCM still is available via Subclipse, and I am sure several others still are compatible.   But I digress.  Let’s get very specific here, and to the point of this article: Maven support via the popular m2eclipse plugin is categorically unsupported for Eclipse releases prior to 3.5, and the m2eclipse repository is in the newer format.  This makes it difficult, if not unlikely, to be able to install m2eclipse and resolve dependencies within the IDE.  (Forget about Maven build support for now and let’s just focus on dependency management.)

But all is not lost.  Thanks to some very good information located on Sonatype’s Discussion Board, it appears that a slightly older (yet functional) update site of m2eclipse still exists on Sonatype’s server, as does an update site for Subclipse integration.  These require org.eclipse.zest, which also has a compatible update site.  The sites are located at:

• http://download.eclipse.org/tools/gef/updates/releases (Zest)
• http://m2eclipse.sonatype.org/sites/m2e-e34 (m2eclipse)
• http://m2eclipse.sonatype.org/sites/m2e-extras/subclipse/0.12.0.20101207-1600/ (m2eclipse/Subclipse)

It is possible that these sites won’t be available forever.  If your company has invested heavily in WPS7 and does not plan to update to WPS 7.5+, which would include a newer copy of WID, you may want to archive these update sites for future installations.  There is no directly downloadable archived update site for m2eclipse at this time; however, I was able to obtain these archives using Eclipse Juno on Windows running the following command-lines:

eclipse.exe -application org.eclipse.equinox.p2.artifact.repository.mirrorApplication -source http://download.eclipse.org/tools/gef/updates/releases -destination file:c:/zest

eclipse.exe -application org.eclipse.equinox.p2.artifact.repository.mirrorApplication -source http://m2eclipse.sonatype.org/sites/m2e-e34 -destination file:c:/m2e-e34

eclipse.exe -application org.eclipse.equinox.p2.artifact.repository.mirrorApplication -source http://m2eclipse.sonatype.org/sites/m2e-extras/subclipse/0.12.0.20101207-1600/ -destination file:c:/m2e-e34-extras

Installation

First, WID can be, to use a phrase from a colleague, prone to require a few of the “dark arts.”  I encourage that you first back up your hard drive, and/or create a snapshot of your environment.  I have had the good fortune to be able to install WID on a Linux virtual machine so I could create snapshots and practice the process before running on my Windows corporate laptop. However, I have had a few colleagues need to reinstall WID, and suffice it to say that it is not a pretty or easy process.  You have been warned!  My installation was smooth but your mileage may vary.

To install m2eclipse from the update sites, you must be in a standard Eclipse perspective (like Java) and not in the Business Integration perspective.

From the Help menu, choose Update Software or Install Software (depending on the version of WID you are running).

• The first step is to install Zest.  Restart WID when indicated.

• The second step is to install m2eclipse.  Restart WID when indicated.

• The third step is to install the m2eclipse to Subclipse integration.  Restart WID when indicated.

Now you should be able to update your Maven settings through Window > Properties > Maven.

Here’s the test: a Mavenized project checked out and built in WID, with all dependencies and Maven view elements and decorators.

I hope this helps anyone working with WID7 and dependency management issues.  Let me know your successes and alternate means of achieving Maven support in WID7!  And, of course, your failures.

–DAVE