Is it worth learning Eclipse for C++ development

Question

As far as I know it is hard to learn using Eclipse from scratch. But I will get such benefits as fast source code browsing, call graphs, static code analysis. What other benefits will I get from using Eclipse for C++ (CDT)?

Answer 1

I've been using Eclipse now for more than 6 years and I couldn't find a (free) IDE which has so many features.

I neside the obvious ones (automatic build, syntax highlighting, indexing of function etc) you have the plugins. You are working with a versioning system? No need to learn the command line commands. Just use the appropriate Eclipse Plugin (SVN, C++).

You are using a testing framework? CUTE and ECUT provide you with macros to create the test suites and summarise their results.

Another nice bonus: Eclipse is available for Windows/Linux/OS X although it is slightly superior on Linux (due to the easy availability of other tools)

Answer 2

Very much depends on what you do.

If you need to work on shared projects that use Eclipse => learn it. If you just write 10 or 100 lines of code altogether => use text editor.

If you just started coding, go for an IDE that works best for you. This can be Eclipse, but it could be Visual Studio on Windows or Xcode on Mac, especially given the choice of language.

For quite small projects, you can also get away with good editors that support syntax highlighting. Although a complete IDE makes editing, compiling and debugging much easier.

My choice is Xcode on Mac, Visual Studio on Windows. Eclipse only for Java for me on any platform.

Answer 3

If Eclipse still does not have keyboard macros I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot poll for development with any language. Better to use vim or emacs IMO, or better yet emacs in viper-mode. :)

Answer 4

I'd say that it is worth the effort to learn it. Eclipse for C++ isn't as good as for Java, but it still beats not having any IDE. F3 and Ctrl-Space is a good enough reason to leave any plain text editor behind.

Learning an IDE isn't a waste of your time at all. Try Eclipse, Visual Studio (if you're on that platform), Netbeans and anything you can think of. You might find something you really like.

Edit: Since you specify that you're on Windows, I'd say try out the free Visual Studio version. From my (limited) experience, it feels better suited for c++ on that platform.

Answer 5

Some Points which should be true for most IDEs:

• automated generation of build scripts
• highligting of compiler errors and warnings in the source
• integration with source control svn, git, ... (subversion, egit, ...)
• code completion
• debugging
• other things (plugins)

Eclipse against other IDEs:

• Platform independent
• Free with complete functionality

Answer 6

To my mind it is worth to learn Eclipse. Or just try it. It is widespread development environment. I saw various fields where Eclipse or IDEs based on it used from embedded development to mobile development.