Developing ImageJ plug-ins using Xcode 3
A short guide for configuring projects in Xcode 3 (older versions)
I. Create a new project
- Launch Xcode.
- Create a new project: File -> New Project...
- Choose 'Java Tool'. The name is important; project directories and build paths depend on it.
- In Xcode 3, the build process is handled via Ant; compilation/building steps are defined in the build.xml file.
II. Modifying build.xml
The default structure of build.xml performs more steps than initially needed to compile a plugin for ImageJ.
Only the following phases are essential:
- Link to external classes/packages (i.e., to ij.jar).
- Compile source files.
- Copy classes to the ImageJ/plugins/plugin_name directory.
Four directories will be created in the project directory: build, bin, ressources, src.The links to the dist, jars, and lib directories can be removed.
An according build.xml file is available here.Only the ImageJ path in the <property name="imagej" location="/Users/../ImageJ"/> tag needs to be modified.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<project name="tutorial" default="javadoc" basedir=".">
<property name="src" location="src"/> <!-- java source folder -->
<property name="bin" location="bin"/> <!-- intermediate build products -->
<property name="dist" location="dist"/> <!-- build product location -->
<property name="javadoc" location="javadoc"/> <!-- javadoc location -->
<property name="resources" location="resources"/> <!-- location of additional resources (images etc.) -->
<property name="imagej" location="/Users/../ImageJ"/> <!-- ImageJ folder -->
<property name="dest" location="${imagej}/plugins/${ant.project.name}"/> <!-- destination folder -->
<property name="compile.debug" value="true"/>
<!-- References to external libraries -->
<path id="lib.path">
<pathelement path="${imagej}/ij.jar"/>
</path>
<!-- Initialization target, for any prelimary setup needed to build -->
<target name="init" description="Preparation">
<mkdir dir="${src}"/>
</target>
<!-- Compile .java files inside the $src directory -->
<target name="compile" depends="init" description="Compile code">
<mkdir dir="${bin}"/>
<javac deprecation="on" srcdir="${src}" destdir="${bin}"
source="1.5" target="1.5"
includeAntRuntime="no"
classpathref="lib.path" debug="${compile.debug}">
</javac>
</target>
<!-- Build JAR file, include resources -->
<target name="jar" depends="compile" description="Build jar">
<mkdir dir="${dist}"/>
<jar destfile="${dist}/${ant.project.name}_.jar">
<fileset dir="${bin}"/>
<zipfileset dir="${resources}" prefix="resources"/>
<zipfileset dir="." includes="plugins.config"/> <!-- Required to configure the "Plugins" menu in ImageJ-->
</jar>
</target>
<!-- Copy JAR file to plugins directory -->
<target name="installJAR" depends="jar" description="Copy JAR file to plugins directory">
<copy toDir="${imagej}/plugins">
<fileset dir="${dist}">
<include name="*.jar"/>
</fileset>
</copy>
</target>
<!-- Copy class folder to plugins directory -->
<target name="installClass" depends="compile" description="Copy classes plugins/project directory">
<mkdir dir="${dest}"/>
<copy toDir="${dest}">
<fileset dir="${dist}">
<exclude name="*.jar"/>
</fileset>
</copy>
</target>
<!-- Generate documentation -->
<target name="javadoc" depends="installJAR" description="Create Javadoc">
<mkdir dir="${javadoc}"/>
<javadoc destdir="${javadoc}" classpathref="lib.path">
<fileset dir="${src}/">
<include name="*.java"/>
</fileset>
</javadoc>
</target>
<!-- Directories deleted when cleaning -->
<target name="clean" description="Remove build and dist directories">
<delete dir="${bin}"/>
<delete dir="${dist}"/>
<delete dir="${javadoc}"/>
</target>
</project>
III. ImageJ naming conventions
- Executable classes in a project should end with an underscore, i.e., "name_.java".
- Files cannot be renamed from Xcode 3, but changes in the Finder are reflected.
IV. Selecting the build path
- In this example, several build paths are available, the default being "javadoc", which can be changed in the second line of the build file.
V. Documentation
- The documentation requires comments to be in the javadoc format.
VI. Example
- A project with the files from this tutorial is available here.