Why does eclipse create a .settings directory

Question

hello, i have noticed that eclipse recently creates a .settings directory with 1 file inside and i am wondering if i should add this to version control? SVN?

also, is this new? i have been using eclipse for quite a while, but never noticed it.

the contents of the file in the directory is this:

#Sun Oct 11 14:57:03 CEST 2009
eclipse.preferences.version=1
org.eclipse.jdt.core.compiler.codegen.inlineJsrBytecode=enabled
org.eclipse.jdt.core.compiler.codegen.targetPlatform=1.6
org.eclipse.jdt.core.compiler.codegen.unusedLocal=preserve
org.eclipse.jdt.core.compiler.compliance=1.6
org.eclipse.jdt.core.compiler.debug.lineNumber=generate
org.eclipse.jdt.core.compiler.debug.localVariable=generate
org.eclipse.jdt.core.compiler.debug.sourceFile=generate
org.eclipse.jdt.core.compiler.problem.assertIdentifier=error
org.eclipse.jdt.core.compiler.problem.enumIdentifier=error
org.eclipse.jdt.core.compiler.source=1.6

shouldnt these settings be workspace-wide and not project specific?

Answer 1

Those are project specific settings for eclipse. You do not need to include them in svn, as each users eclipse will create these when they checkout project, or they may even use another IDE and not need them. If you are the only one using the project then it won't matter if you include them though.

Answer 2

This file records project specific settings vs. workspace preferences.

I noticed that this file is usually created when you convert a regular Java project to Java EE project.

The only time I would check this file in is when the project's compiler/warning settings are different from the default workspace settings.

This may be the case when some legacy projects cannot be compiled with the latest and greatest java compiler, or when the source code generated by a 3rd party produces a lot of warnings that are benign but pollute your Problems view.

If you are going to use project specific settings, then definitely check this file in. Otherwise delete it.