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I have used Eclipse in the past for different projects, most lately OpenOffice plugin development. I want to start developing apps for devices running Android, so I downloaded the Android Developer Studio (ADS). I see that it's obviously an independent distribution of Eclipse, and that's OK, but I would prefer to use only one Eclipse to write all my Java, etc. applications.

What are the preferred use guidelines to only use either one of the IDEs for both Android development and other Java development?

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    Eclipse ADT is now deprecated for development of Android apps. Use Android Studio. – greywolf82 Dec 20 '14 at 15:56
  • Besides difference in features or that Eclipse is deprecated. I would recommend switching to Studio for stability. In my experience Eclipse always had random issues and problems (take a search for '* cannot be resolved to a type' or 'android library issues'). – Mdlc Dec 20 '14 at 16:27

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You can download the Android SDK and plug it into your existing version of Eclipse. Before Android Development Studio I did this and it worked fine.

http://developer.android.com/sdk/installing/installing-adt.html

And here is a good tutorial for setting up Android SDK on an existing Eclipse:

http://www.ryanchapin.com/fv-b-4-740/Setting-Up-Android-SDK-and-Plugin-in-an-Existing-Install-of-Eclipse.html

PaulG
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  • Thank you! I thought using the new ADS was the recommended path of action. Do you have any thoughts or tips? –  Dec 20 '14 at 15:40
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    Honestly though, I've always preferred running multiple installs of Eclipse for each type of development. Easier to maintain in my opinion especially when it comes to updates. Also Eclipse doesn't create an entries in the registry, you can have as many installs as you want without them interfering with eachother. Just my opinion. – PaulG Dec 20 '14 at 15:43
  • I see. That is definitely not the workflow that I would find neither more consistent or desirable, but it seems to be the most common. –  Dec 20 '14 at 15:44
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If you are new to Android and want to start Android Development I suggest that you use Android Studio. It is an IDE that is based on IntelliJ IDEA. You can either download the Android Studio IDE or download the IntelliJ IDEA and use the Android Plugin.

Eclipse is not recommended any more because Android Studio is the new offical IDE.

You want to develop Java and Android using one IDE. So I recommend that you use the IntelliJ IDEA with the Android Plugin.

It is also useful to read the FAQ of JetBrains about Android Studio.

code monkey
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  • Unrelated but I can't help asking, why does it look like Eclipse if it's based in IntelliJ? –  Dec 20 '14 at 16:15
  • Also, do you have any tips or personal guidelines you can share? –  Dec 20 '14 at 16:16
  • Android Studio doesn't looks like Eclipse. Download both (Eclipse and IntelliJ) and compare the UI. Then you know what I mean. – code monkey Dec 20 '14 at 16:22
  • I just checked and you are right of course. Why was I under the impression they were the same? Perhaps Android studio used to be Eclipse based and only recently changed? –  Dec 20 '14 at 19:13