Eclipse: project builder out of template

Hey guys,

I'm working on an "eclipse-project-builder" to create the stub for applications in a fast way. What I want is something like a template to import or create in eclipse, this template is like the bones and the developer puts the flesh into it. There is one naming-requirement, before this is imported or created into eclipse some values in files and package structures shall be named due to a specified value.

Now there are several ways to do something like this:
1. Copy the project-template with placesholders and run ant with arguments over it before importing to eclipse
2. Eclipse plugin to create the project within eclipse and specifiy the naming attribute(s)
3. RAD project interchange

I thought I ask here to get your opinion, someone may have experience with it or even better solutions... Which solution would you suggest and why?

Thanks in advance.

Sounds like a job for Maven archetypes to me. They have this kind of capability.

Another thought. If you are not keen on converting your projects to Maven, you could use Ant to do what you want. Create your template(s), embedding property references (e.g., ${project.name}) within the text files. Then use an Ant script to copy the template into the Eclipse workspace, using the ExpandProperties FilterChain to replace the embedded properties wit the values for the project. Essentially, this is what Maven archetypes do automatically.

Hey Peter,

I had a look at maven archetypes, that's exactly something I'm looking for.

Thank you!