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I prefer eclipse over android studio, my question is if I can still use it to build projects for future development - for example the recycleview library. It is supported in eclipse too, but will future google libraries continue to support it?

My second question is, if I'm using eclipse to make an app, will it be run on new devices too, as the project structure is different in eclipse and android studio.

My final question is how can I use libraries from android arsenal if I don't use android studio (all the libraries there are for maven and gradle)?

Tim
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joeystar
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  • Google is making a big push for android studio. Although there are still people who develop on Eclipse, Android Studio will soon be the common platform (meaning Google will kill off Eclipse) – Moonhead May 04 '15 at 21:14
  • Maybe , question is if its make diffrence what ide im using for developing – joeystar May 04 '15 at 21:20
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    Google can't "kill off" Eclipse itself, it's not theirs to kill. However, they do strongly suggest people move to Android Studio. Back in December 2014 they claimed the ADT plugin for Eclipse is no longer in active development. They seem to have toned down their stance a bit since then but who knows for how long. Once Android Studio v1.0 released, I switched over. It took some time but there is a lot to like about it. – Robert Nekic May 04 '15 at 21:28

1 Answers1

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I prefer eclipse over android studio, my question is if I can still use it to build projects for future development - for example the recycleview library. It is supported in eclipse too, but will future google libraries continue to support it?

In the end, it is all just Java, XML, and other such resources. The RecyclerView library is no exception- it is just a library that can be used in any IDE.

The IDE you use for development is just a tool to view and edit these project files. Separately, you use a build system to build the application. Your IDE, the build system, and the project files are completely separate and one doesn't depend on the other to create a functioning application. In fact, you can build an Android application without an IDE at all.

The biggest issue you might run into here is the format of libraries such as RecyclerView. In the Eclipse days (note that Eclipse Android projects typically use Ant for building), most libraries came as either JAR files or Android libraries (of source code). With the release of Android Studio and the Android Gradle plugin, everything is shifting towards Gradle dependencies.

Also be aware that Google is not going to continue supporting Eclipse development. The tools for building Android application in Eclipse will not continue to receive updates, so bugs may pop up in the future that prevent you from continuing to use it effectively.

My second question is, if I'm using eclipse to make an app, will it be run on new devices too, as the project structure is different in eclipse and android studio.

The output of building an Android application is the same regardless of how or where you build it - you get an APK with the same file structure. The structure of the built APK is independent of the structure of the source code.

My final question is how can I use libraries from android arsenal if I don't use android studio (all the libraries there are for maven and gradle)?

Eclipse can use both Gradle and Maven for building. If you want to use libraries as Gradle or Maven dependencies, you will need to set up your project to use either Maven or Gradle to build instead of Ant. Otherwise you can still find JARs for most projects that don't rely on the Android framework, or you will need to get the source code for the library and set it up as a project dependency yourself.

hendalst
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Bryan Herbst
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  • Thats what im afraid off, – joeystar May 04 '15 at 21:31
  • The biggest issue you might run into here is the format of libraries such as RecyclerView. In the Eclipse days (note that Eclipse Android projects typically use Ant for building), most libraries came as either JAR files or Android libraries (of source code). With the release of Android Studio and the Android Gradle plugin, everything is shifting towards Gradle dependencies. Thats what im afraid off , not to be able to use google libraries in eclipse.. just to know,how much more time it'll take until google will not support android development on eclipse? – joeystar May 04 '15 at 21:32
  • You can use Gradle in Eclipse, so you can continue using Eclipse indefinitely. If you with to continue using Eclipse, I highly recommend looking into using Gradle to build your project instead of Ant. – Bryan Herbst May 05 '15 at 00:24
  • how to build with gradle in eclipse? i've tried all the plugins but none of them worked http://www.nodeclipse.org/projects/gradle/ – joeystar May 05 '15 at 00:43
  • I haven't tried it myself as I have never felt a desire to do so. I do know that Eclipse has a Gradle plugin, so I would start there. – Bryan Herbst May 05 '15 at 00:46
  • whats matter to me its 3 things.. 1.if i use eclipse,i will be able to sign and publish new apps to play store 2.i can use new libraries from google in my app(like recycleview) 3.be able to use andoid libraries in eclipse from sites like android arsenal – joeystar May 05 '15 at 00:50
  • I have already told you that Eclipse is completely independent of building and signing/distributing your app. If you want to continue to use Ant, then using libraries will become more difficult. Continuing to use Eclipse will make Android development more difficult compared to Android Studio, but will not impact any of those three things. – Bryan Herbst May 05 '15 at 00:52
  • You can also **not** use Maven nor Gradle at all. As I do. – Phantômaxx Feb 24 '17 at 11:05