Eclipse Che provides developer workspaces with everything needed to a code, build, test, run, and debug applications. To allow that, the developer workspaces provide four main components:
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The source code of a project.
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A web-based IDE.
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Tool dependencies, needed by developers to work on a project
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Application runtime: a replica of the environment where the application runs in production
Pods manage each component of a Che workspace. Therefore, everything running in a Che workspace is running inside containers. This makes a Che workspace highly portable.
The embedded browser-based IDE is the point of access for everything running in a Che workspace. This makes a Che workspace easily shareable.
| By default, it is possible to run only one workspace at a time. To change the default value, see: Limits for the workspaces of an user. |
| Features | Traditional IDE workspaces | Eclipse Che workspaces |
|---|---|---|
Configuration and installation required |
Yes. |
No. |
Embedded tools |
Partial. IDE plug-ins need configuration. Dependencies need installation and configuration. Example: JDK, Maven, Node. |
Yes. Plug-ins provide their dependencies. |
Application runtime provided |
No. Developers have to manage that separately. |
Yes. Application runtime is replicated in the workspace. |
Shareable |
No. Or not easily |
Yes. Developer workspaces are shareable with a URL. |
Versionable |
No |
Yes. Devfiles exist with project source code. |
Accessible from anywhere |
No. Installation is needed. |
Yes. Only requires a browser. |
To start a Che workspace, following options are available:
Use the Dashboard to discover Che 7.9:
Use a devfile as the preferred way to start a Che 7.9 workspace:
Use the browser-based IDE as the preferred way to interact with a Che 7.9 workspace. For an alternative way to interact with a Che 7.9 workspace, see: Remotely accessing workspaces.