http://multiproject.sf.net
This BlueJ extension allows you to easily manage (i.e. create, import/export and switch between) multiple BlueJ projects. Some neat features help you to auto-position package windows or to handle bunches of jar files (e.g. when correcting exercises).
multiproject.jar (the extension)
multiproject.pdf (documentation and usage examples)
multiproject-srs-gr.pdf (Greek documentation / software requirements specification, thanks to Nakie Burduk)
BlueJ is a famous integrated Java environment for learning object-oriented programming. However, when dealing with multiple projects, there is no intended way to quickly switch between them. Keeping several projects open at the same time is a resource intensive approach and will even result in cascading windows scattered all over the desktop. Teachers and teaching assistants thus spend much time in project switching (when correcting exercises), and students tend to lose track of all their projects.
Furthermore, some students are encountering problems when submitting their weekly homework. The Submitter extension is difficult to use and configure, it cannot be used offline, and there is no control or feedback of what exactly has been sent. Nevertheless, exporting a project as Java Archive (jar file) is complicated as well, which sometimes leads to missing source files. Adding additional files (such as images or documents) fails due to issues locating the project's directory. As the students like to be on the safe side, they send in their files and projects manually and even use proprietary archive tools to pack them.
This is where the idea of a multi-project workspace extension began to take shape. The available projects should be accessible quickly and easily and be stored within a single directory (the workspace). Import and export functions should help users both backup and exchange complete projects as single jar files (while still being compatible with any default BlueJ installation). Some further functionality might allow teachers to handle bunches of jar files economically.
The Multi-Project Workspace was developed during my time being a teaching assistant to Prof. Dr. H. P. Gumm for his lectures in computer science at the Philipps-University of Marburg (Germany). It finally emerged to a fully-functional and user-friendly BlueJ extension and was acknowledged as an advanced practical work.
Manuel Haim, in April 2008
Contact me at McSquirrel at gmx dot de.