Does a language-specific IDE have any advantages over a plugin for a multi-language IDE?

Question

I do mostly Java and C/C++ development, but I'm starting to do more web development (PHP, Rails) and Eiffel (learning a new language is always good).

Currently, I use Eclipse for Java, C/C++, and Ruby (not Rails). Since I know the environment, I'm thinking that it would be easier for me to find a plugin and use Eclipse for all of my development languages. But are there cases where a language-specific IDE (EiffelStudio for Eiffel, as an example) would be better than Eclipse?

Answer 1

I have used many many IDE's and in most cases to me it breaks down to personal preferences. Sometimes the language specific ones have some addins/addons/features that are nice but unless they are things you can not live without you should go with what is most comfortable for you.

I would think that if you are comfortable with the multi-language IDE it would be better to stick with that one. This way you dont have to memorize multiple IDE layouts, keyboard shortcuts etc.