What Version of Eclipse do I use for Android?

Question

I am sure this has been asked before, but I can not find a good answer. I want to create an Android app, I want to use Eclipse, but there are so many versions on the downloads page, and I am not sure which one I should use ... some of these include

>Eclipse IDE for Java EE Developers
>Eclipse Classic 4.2.2
>Eclipse IDE for Java Developers
>Eclipse IDE for C/C++ Developers
>Eclipse for Mobile Developers

Thank You :)

Answer 1

The answer depends on what you want to use in Eclipse. If you are just starting in the Eclipse world go for the smallest (lightweight) packages because they will also make your Eclipse experience smoother (loading, UI, etc.). From your list above I would choose Classic, but, if you ONLY want to focus on Android development, you could try the Google prepackaged version of Eclipse (ADT, see below).

You can install either:

• standalone Eclipse plus the ADT plugins or
• the prepackaged version of Eclipse with ADT provided by Google (recommended)

If you already have an Eclipse installed (which you probably want if you already use Eclipse and want to keep the existing worspaces/preferences/etc.) you can only install the ADT plugins from here. And both Indigo and Juno versions of Eclipse should work. Of course that you should try and upgrade your workspace first to Juno and than install the ADT plugins to avoid any other surprises.

The Google prepackaged version of Eclipse is here and will give you less headaches because you have almost everything into it. You only have to use the prepackaged download manager inside Eclipse to download platform versions and device images (and many other tools and examples). This will use Eclipse Juno version.

Answer 2

I would recommend the ADT Bundle, as it has a suitable version of Eclipse, plus the necessary Android plumbing, in one download.