Eclipse - Disappeared from dock(mac) replaced with unix executable file called "java"

Disclaimer: I'm relatively new to programming and code editors, though I've worked with AS3/Flash Builder without any problems.

This week I downloaded Eclipse 3.2.1 (OSX). For the past couple days I've had fun implementing some basic programs from Standford. Last night, while working on one, Eclipse started acting fickle and not compiling properly. The code was an exact replica of the ColorChangingSquare.java example, showing no errors, yet it wouldn't run. It was getting late, so I just closed it all down after saving. Today, I started first by sprucing up the IDE with some color themes as EPF files. I thought it would be best to start over on the previous project as I couldn't find any errors and it wasn't more than 30 lines. So I deleted the file and all associations before it FQ and the dock icon was replaced with a different file.

It was a unix executable file called "java" and housed in my system's frameworks library. When selected, it traced something out in terminal. I can edit that in if that helps.

Anyways, after scouring the internet for help and finding nothing directly related to this type of failure, I decided to open up the original file that was still tucked away in the download folder. It appeared to restore the program, but when opened it presents the error: "Problems occurred while trying to save the state of the workbench. Internal Error org/eclipse/core/filesystem/EFS". Then it loops back to the Unix Executable File.

Should I just delete it all and start over or is there a w开发者_开发问答ay to patch this issue? Any assistance with this is greatly appreciated.

EPF files are used to store preferences; if you tried to import some new style of preferences it might have messed up your Eclipse preferences. These preferences are stored in the workspace, so creating a clear workspace should fix your issue (I believe).

BTW, if you are using Eclipse for learning to program in Java, I strongly recommend you to download a more current version of Eclipse, preferably 3.7 or maybe 3.6 from http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/

It is also possible, that the EPF file was not compatible with your old version of Eclipse, just the system did not understand it, and trying to apply it to the new version it would be better.