How to Install Eclipse on Ubuntu Server

Overview

Eclipse is an open-source software development environment that is widely used by developers worldwide. In this tutorial, we will guide you on how to install Eclipse from the official website (http://www.eclipse.org/) on the latest version of Ubuntu Server.

Prerequisites

To follow this tutorial, you will need:

  • Ubuntu Server installed
  • A user account with sudo privileges

Step 1 - Install Java

Before installing Eclipse, you need to install Java on your Ubuntu Server. Run the following command as a sudo user to install the latest OpenJDK: 

$ sudo apt update 
$ sudo apt install default-jdk

Step 2 - Download Eclipse

You can download Eclipse from the official website (http://www.eclipse.org/). In this tutorial, we will download the Eclipse IDE for Java Developers, which is the most commonly used version of Eclipse.

To download Eclipse, run the following command: 

$ wget http://ftp.jaist.ac.jp/pub/eclipse/technology/epp/downloads/release/2020-06/R/eclipse-java-2020-06-R-linux-gtk-x86_64.tar.gz

Note: You can replace the above link with the latest version of Eclipse available on the official website.

Step 3 - Extract Eclipse

After downloading the Eclipse tar.gz file, extract it into the /opt directory with the following command: 

$ sudo tar -zxvf eclipse-your-version.tar.gz -C /opt/

Note: Replace "eclipse-your-version" with the actual name of the downloaded tar.gz file.

Step 4 - Create Eclipse Launcher

Create a new launcher named 'eclipse' in the /usr/local/bin/ directory using the following command: 

$ sudo nano /usr/local/bin/eclipse

Add the following lines to the file: 

#!/bin/sh 
export ECLIPSE_HOME="/opt/eclipse"
$ECLIPSE_HOME/eclipse "$@"

Save and close the file.

Step 5 - Set Permissions for Eclipse Launcher

Make the launcher executable with the following command: 

$ sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/eclipse

Step 6 - Run Eclipse

You can now run Eclipse by typing the following command in the terminal: 

$ eclipse

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Eclipse on Ubuntu Server.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we have shown you how to install Eclipse from the official website on Ubuntu Server. If you encounter any issues during the installation process, feel free to leave a comment below.