Eclipse doesn't start on Ubuntu 18.04

It's another one of those fun new bugs caused by the new Java (it broke Arduino, too, in multiple annoying ways). The bug report is here: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/eclipse/+bug/1754886.

Essentially, there's some sort of recursive dependency with multiple versions of a library required by different parts of the program, and they won't fix the bug since "This is only one of the more obvious bugs affecting Eclipse" and they don't have enough people on it.

For some reason, they also have not packaged the newer Eclipse (we are an entire major version later at this point) except in the Snap Store (it shows up if you search Eclipse in the GUI software center), which is where the mentioned "other version of Eclipse" comes from.

Your options are to download Eclipse from their site or to install the Snap if you want to keep using the program (and Netbeans broke too, for the same Java reasons). I would personally install the version from their site, but snaps hypothetically are safer and easier to set up.

I struggled with this as well. Decided to do sudo apt-get purge eclipse... and used snappy packaging system

sudo apt install default-jre
sudo snap install --classic eclipse

.... icon will appear and you are ready to go

Problem solved. In my Ubuntu Software there were 2 versions of Eclipse, one in Portuguese and one in English.

I noticed the logo changed, installed the one with the new logo - in English - and it is working.