Installing Eclipse Scala IDE on Linux

6/04/2014

Installing Eclipse Scala IDE on Linux

Prerequisites

Download the latest version of Scala IDE: Eclipse Scala IDE Find your OS (Linux), click on the link underneath it and choose Save File.

Unpack and install

Assuming archive name is scala-SDK-4.7.0-vfinal-2.12-linux.gtk.x86_64.tar.gz. You might need root access to perform installation. Move downloaded archive file to a shared folder (e.g. /opt/eclipse) and extract contents:

mkdir -p /opt/eclipse
mv /home/<user>/Downloads/scala-SDK-4.7.0-vfinal-2.12-linux.gtk.x86_64.tar.gz /opt/eclipse
cd /opt/eclipse
tar xf scala-SDK-4.7.0-vfinal-2.12-linux.gtk.x86_64.tar.gz
rm scala-SDK-4.7.0-vfinal-2.12-linux.gtk.x86_64.tar.gz
mv eclipse scala-sdk-4.7.0

At this point you should be able to run Eclipse Scala IDE with this command:

/opt/eclipse/scala-sdk-4.7.0/eclipse

If you run into permission issues you can change ownership of the folder with this command:

chown -R user.group /opt/eclipse/scala-sdk-4.7.0

Adding a desktop shortcut

If your desktop environment supports shortcuts you can add one for Scala IDE. Create new file in ~/Desktop folder called eclipseIde.desktop with these contents:

[Desktop Entry]
Version=1.0
Type=Application
Terminal=false
Name=Eclipse Scala IDE
Icon=/opt/eclipse/scala-sdk-4.7.0/icon.xpm
Name[en_US]=Eclipse Scala IDE
Icon[en_US]=/opt/eclipse/scala-sdk-4.7.0/icon.xpm
Exec=/opt/eclipse/scala-sdk-4.7.0/eclipse

Java Virtual Machine configuration

To use a different version of JVM open /opt/eclipse/scala-sdk-4.7.0/eclipse.ini in text editor and add or change these two lines:

-vm
/opt/jdk/jdk1.8/bin/java

Replace /opt/jdk/jdk1.8/bin/java with the path to your Java executable.

Memory configuration

If you feel like your Scala IDE is lagging you can give it more memory to work with. Open /opt/eclipse/scala-sdk-4.7.0/eclipse.ini in text editor and add or change these lines:

-Xmx4G
-Xms2G
-XX:MaxPermSize=1024m

Create new Scala project

To create new Scala project right click on empty space in Package Explorer window (on the left) and select New/Scala Project.

If you see messages about Scala library missing or having an incorrect version follow these steps:

right click on your Scala project and select Properties
select Java Build Path (on the left)
select Libraries (on the right) and scroll to the bottom
select Scala Library container and click Remove
click on Add Library, select Scala Library and click Next
select the correct version of Scala and click Finish