Eclipse Standard or Eclipse IDE for Java Developers?

Question

What type of developer are each of these IDEs aimed at? Is one IDE a superset/subset of the other? What can I do using one and not the other?

I'm looking to do mostly desktop based (Windows) work for now so I believe I am correct in ignoring the Java EE download and focusing on these two.

The comparison of features page isn't helpful as I'm still new to Eclipse and Java. For example "Code Recommenders Developer Tools" means nothing to me yet.

Eclipse standard has been downloaded 1.7 million times and is 246MB (as at 7-Sep-13). While Eclipse IDE for Java developers has been downloaded 430,000 times and is 151MB.

So I'm guessing Eclipse Standard is the way to go, but why do they offer the second option?

Answer 1

All the other answers are more or less true, but miss the point (in my opinion), The download page states it clearly:

Eclipse Standard ... The Eclipse Platform, and all the tools needed to develop and debug it

versus

Eclipse IDE for Java Developers ... The essential tools for any Java developer, including a Java IDE, a CVS client, Git client, XML Editor, Mylyn, Maven integration...

So if your focus is to develop for Eclipse itself, the Eclipse Standard includes all what you need (including the sources of all features and plugins).

If your focus is Java development (not Eclipse plugins), you should start with the Eclipse IDE for Java Developers.

If your focus is Java EE development, it is simpler to start with Eclipse IDE for Java EE Developers and so forth ...

Answer 2

The comparison page could certainly use some links, nevertheless a quick web search will tell you all about those plugin.

For your needs, you might look into the "for Java Developers" package, as it contains WindowBuilder, which let's you define GUIs visually in several frameworks.

(Code Recommenders is also nice, but I've personally found it a bit hit-or-miss)

However, you're fine installing any of the packages either way, since you can always install the plugins you need later on. My recommendation is to simply read about those plugins and make an informed decision on what you should install.