Creating a very simple plug-in is easy enoughall you need is a working plugin.xml . To show how this works, you can use a text editor to create a new plug-in manifest, plugin.xml , for a fictional plug-in named org.eclipsebook.first . In this case, we'll set the plug-in's name, ID, version number, and the name of its provider like this: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <plugin id="org.eclipsebook.first" name="First Plug-in" version="1.0.0" provider-name="Steve"> </plugin> Just store plugin.xml in plugins\org.eclipsebook.first_1.0.0 and restart Eclipse. You can find the new plug-in in the plug-in registry, which is where Eclipse holds data about all current plug-ins. To see that data, select Help About Eclipse Platform and click the Plug-in Details button, opening the About Eclipse Platform Plug-ins dialog you see in Figure 11-1. Figure 11-1. The plug-in registry You can see the new, fictional plug-in in the registry, near the bottom. | If an Eclipse project has a plug-in manifest, it's considered a plug-in project. | | That's a nice exercise but it doesn't go very far in extending Eclipse. Developing a real plug-in involves creating multiple files, including multiple code files. The good news is that Eclipse has built-in wizards to help you out. |