The Eclipse platform is designed so you can add plug-ins that provide functionality for the software development tools community. Commercial software vendors can build, brand, and package products using the platform as a base technology. These products can be sold and supported commercially.
The Eclipse SDK can be downloaded and used as a Java IDE and Eclipse plug-in development tool, but it is not marketed as a commercial product. The platform provides the raw ingredients for a product without a box, label, or price tag. It defines a file and directory structure that lets you easily customize the platform's about dialog and splash screen to brand your product.
The license governing the Eclipse platform gives you a lot of freedom over how to build and configure a product. However, Eclipse based products will coexist more easily on a user's system if the products use similar standards for packaging, configuring, and installing their products.