Eclipse NullPointerException at getFontList

Question

Eclipse doesn't start anymore. I get a dialog box that points me to a log file with the following entry:

!SESSION 2009-12-08 08:49:16.263 -----------------------------------------------
eclipse.buildId=M20090917-0800
java.version=1.6.0_17
java.vendor=Apple Inc.
BootLoader constants: OS=macosx, ARCH=x86_64, WS=cocoa, NL=en_US
Framework arguments:  -product org.eclipse.epp.package.php.product -keyring /Users/cheezy/.eclipse_keyring -showlocation
Command-line arguments:  -os macosx -ws cocoa -arch x86_64 -product org.eclipse.epp.package.php.product -keyring /Users/cheezy/.eclipse_keyring -showlocation

!ENTRY org.eclipse.osgi 4 0 2009-12-08 08:49:19.993
!MESSAGE Application error
!STACK 1
java.lang.NullPointerException
    at org.eclipse.swt.graphics.Device.getFontList(Device.java:369)
    at org.eclipse.jface.resource.FontRegistry.filterData(FontRegistry.java:465)
    at org.eclipse.jface.resource.FontRegistry.createFont(FontRegistry.java:499)
    at org.eclipse.jface.resource.FontRegistry.defaultFontRecord(FontRegistry.java:563)
    at org.eclipse.jface.resource.FontRegistry.getFontRecord(FontRegistry.java:673)
    at org.eclipse.jface.resource.FontRegistry.get(FontRegistry.java:613)
    at org.eclipse.jface.resource.JFaceResources.getDialogFont(JFaceResources.java:273)
    at org.eclipse.jface.dialogs.Dialog.initializeDialogUnits(Dialog.java:925)
    at org.eclipse.jface.dialogs.TitleAreaDialog.createContents(TitleAreaDialog.java:131)
    at org.eclipse.jface.window.Window.create(Window.java:431)
    at org.eclipse.jface.dialogs.Dialog.create(Dialog.java:1089)
    at org.eclipse.jface.window.Window.open(Window.java:790)
    at org.eclipse.ui.internal.ide.ChooseWorkspaceDialog.prompt(ChooseWorkspaceDialog.java:91)
    at org.eclipse.ui.internal.ide.application.IDEApplication.promptForWorkspace(IDEApplication.java:275)
    at org.eclipse.ui.internal.ide.application.IDEApplication.checkInstanceLocation(IDEApplication.java:223)
    at org.eclipse.ui.internal.ide.application.IDEApplication.start(IDEApplication.java:103)
    at org.eclipse.equinox.internal.app.EclipseAppHandle.run(EclipseAppHandle.java:194)
    at org.eclipse.core.runtime.internal.adaptor.EclipseAppLauncher.runApplication(EclipseAppLauncher.java:110)
    at org.eclipse.core.runtime.internal.adaptor.EclipseAppLauncher.start(EclipseAppLauncher.java:79)
    at org.eclipse.core.runtime.adaptor.EclipseStarter.run(EclipseStarter.java:368)
    at org.eclipse.core.runtime.adaptor.EclipseStarter.run(EclipseStarter.java:179)
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:39)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
    at org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.Main.invokeFramework(Main.java:559)
    at org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.Main.basicRun(Main.java:514)
    at org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.Main.run(Main.java:1311)

I did clean up my font list in Font Book by disabling duplicate fonts. I also upgraded to Mac OS X 10.6.2.

Answer 1

The problem is most likely caused by a missing font, either by the "cleaning up" of the duplicate fonts, or by the upgrade to OS X 10.6.2.

I fixed it by removing the org.eclipse.core.runtime directory in the configuration dir next to the Eclipse executable. A post in the Aptana forums suggests removing .fonts.cache-1 and the .fontconfig dir in your home directory, but that did not work when I tried that first. The Eclipse config directory is recreated when restarting Eclipse, the latter are not.

The fonts I disabled yesterday were re-enabled today (in Font Book), maybe because of the OS upgrade.

Answer 2

In my case, the problem was caused by duplicated fonts. Using the Font Book tool, it was easy to fix.

To resolve this, do the following:

1. Open the Font Book tool ( Applications > Font Book )
2. From the menu, click Edit > Select Duplicated Fonts
3. The duplicated entries will be selected
4. From the menu, click Edit > Resolve Duplicates
5. Relaunch Eclipse

Answer 3

This procedure does the trick for me:

1. Close all running applications
2. Start Terminal from Applications > Utilities > Terminal

3. Run the following and enter your admin password:

   sudo atsutil databases -remove
   

4. atsutil server -shutdown to shut down the font registration system
5. atsutil server -ping to restart
6. Log out and back in

I'm using Aptana Studio 2.0.5.1278522500 on SL 10.6.4.

Answer 4

Those methods didn't work for me. I had to clear the font cache in the command line. Follow the instructions below:

How to clear font caches in Leopard