Eclipse requires an installed Java Runtime. I recommended to use Java 6 (also known as Java 1.6).

Download "Eclipse IDE for Java Developers" from the website Eclipse Downloads and unpack it to a directory. Use a directory path which does not contain spaces in its name as Eclipse sometimes have problems with that. After unpacking the download Eclipse is ready to be used; no additional installation procedure is required.

To start Eclipse double-click on the file "eclipse.exe" (Microsoft Windows) or eclipse (Linux / Mac) in the directory you unpacked Eclipse. The system will prompt you for a workspace. The workspace is the place there you store your Java projects (more on workspaces later). Select an empty directory and press Ok.

Eclipse will start and show the Welcome page. Close the welcome page by press the "X" besides the "Welcome".