Eclipse Download

IDE stands for Integrated Development Environment. Think of it as a well-equipped workspace, crafting station, or maker space for computer programming.

While programs, apps, scripts, and other code can be written in a simple text editor, an IDE creates a much more robust, helpful quality of life change for people who code for a living or work with massive products.

Software development can be a lot more than small pet projects. To keep track of not just methods and packages, but entire concepts and connections, an IDE is extremely helpful.

IDEs also offer easier ways to see code differences, such as color-coding certain attributes. There are many brilliant, creative minds out there with amazing concepts who can deliver great things with accessibility, and IDEs make it easier for them to create rather than dealing with bland, same-color text.

What does Eclipse Do Differently?

Everyone thinks differently, and Eclipse is built on the mindset of JAVA developers. The Java programming language has its own specific nuances and best practices, and those best practices are built into Eclipse.

While Eclipse can be used by people who prefer other languages such as C++, Ruby, Python, or HTML, it has a “feel” that screams Java developer.

It also includes many pre-built code features such as libraries and packages that can be referenced and installed, rather than having to type a massive block of code you’ve seen thousands of times before.

Libraries, prebuilt modules, and other features are what sets IDEs apart for each other. So, why use Eclipse instead of anything else?

It all comes down to a combination of personal preference and the specific task you’re trying to tackle. Maven, for example, is handled easily by Eclipse with enough RAM. Many other IDEs struggle to complete the same task without a lot of configuration–which makes sense when people who use those other IDEs rarely touch Maven.

Emphasis on rarely. If there’s one thing that gets lost–or ignored–during comparisons, it’s nuance. A use case exists for anything, and outliers exist. Keep in mind what norms exist, and if you have a specific use case, there’s nothing wrong with changing to another environment.

Everything else is a personal touch. There’s an easy to view set of bookmarks, tooltips that aren’t too invasive for the average user, and an open call hierarchy function that helps you understand how and why some functions are used.

In other words, reading the manual is served to you on a polite platter along with where you need to look for deeper reading later.

Pros

• Amazing, modern interface.

  Most people have a favorite web browser because they like getting things done a certain way, and the tools in Eclipse are displayed efficiently. While there are other tools, it’s not like comparing Chrome vs Opera vs Firefox.

  There just aren’t many IDEs within Eclipse’s niche, so there isn’t much competition. The IDEs that are as organized as Eclipse are usually designed for a different purpose and not truly a competitor.

• The Eclipse RCP.

  Eclipse delivers the framework needed to write the specific code for your ideas without getting lost in all of the dependencies needed to make it work.

  After that, you have an easy way to dig through dependencies and make changes if you have a more efficient way to use the library.

  You’re not being forced to install an unwieldy system; you get the framework that most people need, and it’s not difficult to scale it down after.

• Continued updates with efficiency in mind.

  Like anything else, time changes projects.

  Competing IDEs such as NetBeans are still useful, but can be very sluggish out-of-the-box when compared to Eclipse.

  Are there ways to fix the performance issues in other IDEs? Sure, but in today’s fast-paced work, the less time spent on setup to just get started, the better.

Cons

The cons of Eclipse are less about what it does wrong, and more about the features in other IDEs. IntelliJ, for example, is a great environment that adds a lot of predictive text and suggestions.

It’s designed to help developers figure out what to do next in certain lines of code. Software development is a massive world, and for every developer, there are many ideas that could spring forward.

We don’t all need to be custom, creative chefs on the edge of high concept code 24/7; sometimes you just need to crank out code that does a job, and make it efficient without wasting time. IntelliJ is great for that, but misses a lot of the free quality of life features of Eclipse.

You can make IntelliJ almost as comfortable and customizable as Eclipse, but you have to pay for it to stay efficient.