Why does eclipse create a .settings directory?

Question

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?

Answer 1

The .settings folder is used by various plugins to set persistent 'Properties' as opposed to 'Preferences' to specify project specific settings that should be preserved.

This is usually a directory you most definitely want checked into svn/cvs/git etc as it will ensure that all users who check that project out into eclipse use the right project specific settings.

In our case we use it to supply a minimum compiler version of 5 since some devs are on Java 5 versus 6 etc but we want things compiled to 5 for our servers. We also use it to enforce some coding standards and auto-formaters which makes version diffs much easier to read.

In your specific case you selected 'Enable Project Specific Settings' under "Properties->Java Compiler" by right clicking on the project and choosing properties.