Well, People Keep on asking, which IDE(Integrated Development Environment) should be a good choice to start android development. There has always been an issue with the beginners. Google's Android Studio came alive in December 2014 and Eclipse has been there even before that. So developers who has been working on android development are using Eclipse for a very long time. The day Google announced it's first stable version of Android Studio, It was really difficult for the developers to switch from Eclipse to Android Studio as the IDE are quite different. But later on, developers started realizing the strength of Android Studio. So Let's talk about it a little more.
User Interface(Ui)
Eclipse is not an Android IDE but a java IDE. Using Eclipse's Android plugin, we can integrate Android Development Environment in Eclipse. That's why it's interface is quite complicated to catch up with. Developers who has been using Eclipse for long time finds easy to work in that environment as they got used to it.
On the other hand, Android Studio is specifically designed for only Android Development. First-time app developers, definitely finds Android Studio quite easier than manually configuring Eclipse. The User Interface is so native that you will find it helpful.
Apache Ant vs Gradle
Java Developers who has been coding for a very long time are very well aware of Apache Ant build System, which comes with Eclipse(via plugin). It actually helps in building process like a Make but the difference is that Ant uses XML files to describe build process and normally the file is build.xml.
whereas Android Studio is way ahead in build system too. It uses the Gradle build system along with Groovy DSL. It is more advanced and offers better convenience as compared to Eclipse's Apache Ant.
Workspace(eclipse)/Modules(android studio)
Eclipse has sub-projects and workspaces. In Eclipse, the components and the libraries of the android project have to compiled in 'jar' files. Adding 3rd party libraries is to be done manually by downloading and adding it into the libs folder of the project.
While in Android studio, each module needs to have it's own Gradle build. Adding 3rd party libraries has become very easy with gradle. Just add the reference to the module's build.gradle file, state the required version, and it will automatically fetched from the remote repository, compiled and included without having to worry about it. Gradle saves a lot of time. After adding the reference into the build.gradle, do not forget to sync the file.
| Structure | Eclipse | Android Studio |
| Android Manifest | [project] | [module]/src/name |
| Assets | [project]/assets | [module]/src/main/assets |
| Java source files | [project]/src | [module]/src/main/java |
| Resources | [project]/res | [module]/src/main/res |
| Included jars | [project]/libs | [module]/libs |
Apart from the names, they are pretty the same.
Code Completion/Refactoring feature:
Theres is not much of a difference in both of the IDE in this regard. Both Eclipse and Android Studio offers a pretty high-end java auto complete feature for developers. But if you really want to make a decision on this basis, do choose Android Studio over Eclipse, the code completion of Android Studio is better than Eclipse- due to the in-depth IntelliJ IDEA support. IntelliJ IDEA makes code completion less prone or Android Studio. This gives it an Edge over Eclipse.
Performance
Android Studio is way ahead to Eclipse. Eclipse is slow and hangs a lot. The hardware configuration required for Eclipse is quite more than Android Studio. Eclipse require a large amount of RAM to run as it is much larger IDE than Android Studio. It also require a high CPU speed, particularly at the time of exporting apk files. Also there has been reports of Eclipse getting crash or erratic behaviour.
Where Android Studio is still in development but much better in performance than Eclipse. It also crashes and freezes some times but provide more promising results as compared to Eclipse. It takes around 2-3 minutes for building the final release versions of projects. Performing the same task in Android Studio does not take more than 40 seconds(even for the long and complicated codes).
Lint feature:
Android Studio uses Lint by default. You can include lint in your gradle file. If Lint finds some warnings, it will automatically abort your release process.
Need for Lint:
It forces you to use good Android development practices(like defining all your dimensions in separate XML files, or avoiding hardcoded strings). Lint also helps in pointing out the unused resource files, which at the end results in smaller APK file. Lint also handles the mistakes or unused permissions in the manifest file,etc. In order to produce quality code, you should use Android Studio with Lint in spite of Eclipse.
Cloud Platform Support:
Eclipse as well as Android Studio, both have Google cloud Support. Whereas Android Studio has it built in and Eclipse has Google plugin that can be integrated to get cloude platform support. Therefore, regarding this Both are in the same place.
App Testing and Debugging
One of the most important steps in the software development environment is testing to avoid bugs and error. In Android Studio you can define your tests in separate classes and launch them while building your applications. This way errors and bugs can be detected with ease. Android Studio let you do this in build stage of application while Eclipse does not have similar tool for easy app testing.
Conclusion:
Android Studio is getting better IDE than Eclipse. Eclipse realizes this and not going to give up easily. So it is not easy to say which is going to be the better in future. But according to the present status, Android Studio seems much promising to exists in future. Google is putting all efforts in eliminating Eclipse Android IDE.
On Google's android development site, they have already stated :
"Important: Support for the Android Developer Tools (ADT) in Eclipse is ending, per our announcement. You should migrate your app development projects to Android Studio as soon as possible. For more information on transitioning to Android Studio, see Migrating to Android Studio. "
Hence, for beginners, i would recommend Android Studio but if you are already using Eclipse then do complete your project in Eclipse and then try Android Studio Platform.
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