There are occasions when there is some code in a file that does not have any extension. Such files will have code written in a single language, but each such file may be written using a different language (like C, C++, assembly language, wiki markup, and HTML for example). Similarly, the problem also happens when there is a common extension in the file name, but different files use different programming languages.

The problem I want to solve is to avoid making each individual developer that has checked out a workspace from having to figure out what kind of file a source file is (there is either no extension, or the extension does not imply the source language used). To do so, the author of the file has the responsibility of putting the right magic in the file to let the file be opened properly. Since Eclipse has the ability to disable the formatter based on some embedded text in the file, I thought it should be possible to specify the file type as well. The `Open With` feature allows an individual developer to change how a file is interpreted, but must be done again each time a new workspace is checked out.

In Emacs or Vim, I can place magic strings at the top of the file to indicate how I want the file to be rendered within the editor. For example:

```
/* -*- c++ -*- */
/* vim: set ft=cpp: */

```

*Is there some equivalent magic for Eclipse?* My attempts at finding a solution constantly pointed out [how to disable the formatter](https://stackoverflow.com/a/3353765/315052). Clearly, my inexperience with Eclipse is capping my Google-Fu.