The BlackBerry Plug-in for Eclipse lets you test and debug a BlackBerry Java application using the Eclipse IDE.

The plug-in lets you download additional BlackBerry SDKs through an Eclipse update site, which allows you to develop against multiple BlackBerry Java OS codelines within a single development environment.

Want the Eclipse Plug-in for Mac instead?

If you have an existing Eclipse environment, you may download and install the BlackBerry Plug-in for Eclipse and the BlackBerry SDKs of your choice by adding the BlackBerry update site.

Don't have an existing Eclipse environment? No problem, you can download the full installer, which includes Eclipse 3.7, BlackBerry Plug-in for Eclipse 2.0.0 and the BlackBerry 7.1 SDK conveniently packaged in a single installer.

How to get up and running

After you have the BlackBerry Plug-in for Eclipse installed you can add additional BlackBerry SDK versions through the update site. Each additional SDK version will allow you to develop against the respective BlackBerry OS version within your existing Eclipse environment.

It is important that you develop using the right version of the BlackBerry SDK for your intended target market. Applications built against a particular version are forward-compatible with newer BlackBerry Java OS versions, but they are not backward-compatible with older versions.

For example, an application built in BlackBerry JDE 6.0 runs on a BlackBerry smartphones running BlackBerry Device Software 6.0 and later. It does not run on a BlackBerry smartphones running BlackBerry Device Software 5.0 and earlier. Be sure to develop your applications using the BlackBerry JDE version that matches the lowest version of BlackBerry Device Software you want to support.

Newer versions of the JDE provide additional APIs and features. The APIs and features which were introduced with each BlackBerry Java OS version are described here.

The BlackBerry Java Development Environment (JDE) lets you create and test BlackBerry Java apps for BlackBerry OS smartphones.

The BlackBerry JDE is no longer under active development. If you are new to BlackBerry Java development you should use the BlackBerry Plug-in for Eclipse.

What the BlackBerry JDE includes

The BlackBerry JDE provides a development environment for a particular BlackBerry OS codeline. The BlackBerry JDE includes a BlackBerry simulator, a BlackBerry MDS simulator, and profiling tools for building and testing BlackBerry Java apps.

When creating and building your application, it is important to choose the correct version of the BlackBerry JDE to ensure that your application is compatible with your intended target market. Applications built using the BlackBerry JDE are forward-compatible with newer BlackBerry Java OS versions, but they are not backward-compatible with older versions. More

You can test your app on a simulator or on a physical device. If your application will be made available on different BlackBerry device types, it is important that you test your application on each type of device.

BlackBerry device simulators allow you to easily test your application on a variety of BlackBerry device types without the need for access to physical devices.

Note: BlackBerry simulators are currently only available for Windows PCs. Mac OS is not supported at this time. If you are developing using Mac OS, you will need to test your application on a physical BlackBerry device.

Loading your application on to a BlackBerry device

If you want to test your application by running it on a physical device, use the BlackBerry Plug-in for Eclipse and follow these instructions.

Debugging your application with a BlackBerry device

If you want to debug your application on a physical device, you need debug files from a BlackBerry simulator that match your device's BlackBerry OS version. Download BlackBerry Simulators here.

If you are developing using Mac OS, can download debug files here.

Once you have debug files, debug your application following these instructions.