java - Purpose of the "Build Automatically" option in eclipse

Question

What is the purpose of Build Automatically option in Eclipse (Project-->Build Automatically)? Mine will always be checked. But when ever I have some java code changes I still have to do a full build. I was told that it should always be checked. I don't see any benefit in doing so. Please somebody explain.

Answer 1

Yes, you still have to do a build - but it's done automatically when you save (not an external build like an Ant build, but the "internal" build). If you didn't want to build on save, you'd uncheck the box. Having it build automatically makes some people nervous, I believe.