Install into Eclipse environments

Install IBM MQ Explorer into your own Eclipse environment or Eclipse-based product to help with developing Java applications or to develop your own extensions.


Before you begin

If you are using a version of Windows with User Account Control (UAC) such as Windows 7, UAC is enabled, and your Eclipse-based product is installed into a directory under UAC such as C:\Program Files, then you must run the Eclipse-based product with elevated authority (Run as Administrator) before you install the IBM MQ Explorer feature into it. When installed, the product can then be run without elevated authority.Note: If you place the IBM MQ Explorer plug-ins in another Eclipse environment, to use the full set of CipherSuites, and to operate with certified FIPS 140-2 or Suite-B compliance, a suitable Java runtime environment (JRE) is required. IBM Java 7 Service Refresh 4, Fix Pack 2 or a higher level of the IBM JRE provides the appropriate support.


About this task

IBM MQ Explorer is built on Eclipse as a stand-alone application using the Eclipse Rich Client Platform. We can also install IBM MQ Explorer into your own Eclipse environment or an Eclipse-based product, to aid with developing Java applications with IBM MQ, or developing your own extensions to IBM MQ Explorer. To do this, you need an environment that is based on Eclipse 4.4.2 that includes the Graphical Editing Framework (GEF) tools. For details of which Eclipse-based products are supported, see System Requirements for IBM MQ.


Procedure

To install into a compatible Eclipse-based environment:

  1. Click Help and then click Install New Software in the Eclipse environment.
  2. Click Add and then click Archive, and then browse to the mqexplorer/eclipse directory inside the IBM MQ installation directory. Select the file MQExplorerSDK.zip.
  3. Click OK after optionally typing a name for the local site.
  4. A category of MQ Explorer is displayed. Expand this category and select MQ Explorer and optionally, the translations.
  5. Click Next and follow the instructions. Then, click the button to restart Eclipse (or the Eclipse-based product). If the installation fails due to a missing bundle, for example, org.eclipse.draw2d, you must install the Eclipse Graphical Editing Framework (GEF) tools.
  6. IBM MQ Explorer is available as a separate perspective. To view, click Open perspective, and then click Other.


What to do next

For local queue managers, this procedure is sufficient if IBM MQ Explorer is being used to administer remote queue managers. If there are local queue managers to administer, you must run the Eclipse-based product with the required environment settings for your operating system. In addition, the Eclipse-based product must be a 64-bit application to match the 64-bit local queue managers.

On Windows, set the PATH environment variable to include the bin64 and java/lib64 directories of your IBM MQ installation. We can use the setmqenv command to do this before you start the Eclipse-based product from the same command line. For example, if IBM MQ is installed in directory C:\Program Files\IBM\MQ, enter the following command: 
C:\Program Files\IBM\MQ\bin\setmqenv -s
On Linux x86_64 systems, set the LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable to include the java/lib64 and lib64 directories of your IBM MQ installation before you run the Eclipse-based product. For example, if IBM MQ is installed in /opt/mqm: 
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/opt/mqm/java/lib64:/opt/mqm/lib64:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH