Weblogic Portal : 10.3.2 : Installation : Eclipse

" This certified set of Eclipse plug-ins is designed to help develop, deploy and debug applications for Oracle WebLogic Server. It installs as a plug-in to your existing Eclipse, or will install Eclipse for you, and enhances Eclipse's capabilities for Java, Java EE, Spring, ORM and Web Services. "

- Oracle Enterprise Pack for Eclipse

I discovered an anomaly during the installation of Oracle Weblogic Portal 10.3.2 and am Blogging about it. I installed the Oracle Weblogic Portal 10.3.2 and after installation, I discovered that the Eclipse IDE did not have anything that I could use to develop Weblogic Portal solutions !

Eclipse 3.5.2 is now used as IDE for Weblogic Portal 10.3.2. Eclipse with OEPE (Oracle Enterprise Pack for Eclipse) replaces Workshop and post-installation, the Eclipse IDE should come with all the required Weblogic Portal plugins installed.

You can start using the Eclipse IDE from :-

Windows : [ INSTALL_HOME ] / oepe_11gR1PS1 / eclipse / eclipse.exe

LINUX : [ INSTALL_HOME ] / oepe_11gR1PS1 / eclipse / eclipse.sh

However, after the installation I was in for a shock - I opened the Eclipse IDE, only to notice that I couldn't create any Weblogic Portal artifacts. I didn't see any of these familiar options :-

• Portal EAR Project
• Portal Web Project
• Portal Perspective

After much Googling, I came across an interesting OTN posts which pointed to the same solution :-

http://forums.oracle.com/forums/thread.jspa?threadID=1034882

During the installation Process:-

• The "installation Type" Screen is displayed.
• Select the "Custom" install type.
• The "Choose Products and Components" Screen is displayed.
• Under the WebLogic Portal section, select the "Workshop Portal Extension" Box
• Under the WebLogic Server section, select the "Samples" Box
• Proceed with the installation.

After the installation, when you run the Eclipse IDE, you'll notice that you have a full-fledged IDE at your disposal, with all the Portal Bells & Whistles.

I tried a lot to get this with the "Default Installation" type, but gave up after 4 iterations.

I feel this is a non-intuitive way to get a full Eclipse IDE for Weblogic Portal Development.

I can only imagine the impact it can have on newbies to Weblogic Portal, when they discover that there's a disconnect between the popular Tutorials and the IDE in front of them.

Anyways, as usual, the folks who take their time of to help others on OTN threw light on this and saved countless hours of time.