Extending SQL Explorer is easy! With just a little Java knowledge and a little database knowledge, you can get a long way.
SQL
Explorer 3.0.0 was designed with extensibility in mind. Several eclipse
extension points have been made available to make it easy for you to
create that feature you've always wanted.
Here are some example extension points that are available:
For each of the available extension points, you can find a small tutorial on how to use them in the next sections.
The
SQL Explorer code has been divided in two parts. The first part is the
SQL Explorer core. This is the main SQL Explorer plugin which contains
all non database specific features. You can find this in CVS as the
sqlexplorer project.
The second part are the database specific plugin fragments. These are
in cvs under sqlexplorer_<dbname>. Currently 3 db
specific fragments are already available: Oracle, DB2 and MySQL.
If you want to add features to an already existing database
fragment (or why not the sql explorer core?), the best way to get
started is too check out the source code from CVS.
Once you've added your features and everything works like you want it,
you can combine your changes in a patch and upload them on sourceforge.
Your patch will be included in the next release and as of then every
SQL Explorer user can enjoy your new cool features.
On the other hand, if you want to create a database specific plugin for which SQL Explorer doesn't have any support yet, the best way to get started is to create a new fragment project. A small tutorial on how to start is available in the next section.