Cool tool of the day:

Why is my Eclipse so Slow?

Optimizer for Eclipse

As much as many devs will say that eclipse is the best IDE, it still sucks when it comes to starting up.
Luna is an improvement over some of the earlier versions but it can still leave you waiting for it to start.

This is a topic I have visited before (Setting up Eclipse check list (Part 1), Eclipse Configuration settings) but now comes "Optimizer for Eclipse". A plugin by  Zeroturnaround (the people who brought us JRebel) so it has an impressive pedigree.

The plugin works by tuning the startup settings for eclipse. Again this can be done by hunting these settings down but its nice to have them all in one place.
Once installed it prompts you to select a number of options, restarts eclipse and tells you if you saved any time. It then disappears to site under the Help menu.

On my first use of it I turned off class validation and found that Eclipse started 1 full minute faster.

So I'm pleased!

How to install

Either install using:

• Marketplace
  Open Help → Eclipse Marketplace…
  Search for Optimizer for Eclipse.
  Press Install.
• Update site
  Open Help → Install New Software…
  Add this repository.
  Complete the plugin installation.