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Android Studio vs CLion: What are the differences?

Introduction

When choosing a development environment for Android or C++ projects, developers often consider Android Studio and CLion due to their popularity and feature sets. However, there are key differences between these two IDEs that can impact a developer's workflow and productivity.

  1. Target Platform: Android Studio is specifically tailored for Android app development while CLion is more suited for C++ development. While Android Studio provides tools for building Android apps, testing on emulators, and handling Android-specific features, CLion focuses on providing advanced C++ support, debugging capabilities, and integration with CMake, Gradle, and other build systems commonly used in C++ development.

  2. User Interface Approach: Android Studio has a user interface optimized for designing Android user interfaces with drag-and-drop features and templates. In contrast, CLion offers a more traditional code-centric interface tailored for C++ developers with features like code analysis, refactoring tools, and VCS integration. The UI approach in each IDE reflects their target audience and the specific needs of Android and C++ developers.

  3. Language Support: Android Studio primarily supports Java and Kotlin for Android app development, with limited support for C++ through the Android NDK. On the other hand, CLion is designed for C++ development and provides comprehensive support for C and C++ with advanced language features, refactorings, and code completion tools specifically tailored for the C++ language.

  4. Plugins and Extensibility: Android Studio has a robust plugin ecosystem that allows developers to extend the IDE's functionality with additional tools, templates, and integrations. In comparison, CLion also supports plugins but focuses more on providing built-in features for C++ development, such as integration with popular C++ libraries, code linters, and debugging tools.

  5. Build and Compilation Process: Android Studio automates many aspects of the Android app build process, including compiling Java/Kotlin code, resource management, and packaging the app for distribution. Conversely, CLion relies on external build systems like CMake to manage the build and compilation process, giving developers more control over their build configurations and dependencies.

Summary

In Summary, Android Studio is specialized for Android app development with support for Java and Kotlin, while CLion is tailored for C++ development with advanced language features and a code-centric interface.

Advice on Android Studio and CLion

Hey, So I'm new to coding in Java and I'm planning to code an app, for both iOS and Android, and I'm not sure what IDE should I use. I want something that is free, easy to use, and beginner-friendly, but at the same time, I want all the features to be available in it since I want to try and code a social media app. Any help is appreciated!

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Replies (2)

Great for starting to write simple cross platform applications without worrying about writing back-end code from scratch.

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FlutterFlutter

GIve a minute to see what Flutter + Dart could offer to you. Dart is modern null safe typed language, has lots of similarities to known languages, so it's pretty simple to learn. Flutter offers way to create multi platform UI's using composition. And result is performant on mobile devices.

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The problem I have is whether to choose Android Studio or Visual Studio? I have to develop a simple app for a school project that can work on both iPhone and Android.

The most important factors for me are Android and iOS compatibility. Although note that i would like to become a Software Engineer when i finish my course. (I'd like to work for Apple, just saying!)

After that id like easy integration for Google Ads and such if i do develop another app that people actually use to support development. (I'd also like to stick with one easy programming language that's compatible with a wide variety of platforms since i'm a beginner and have only ever used Pascal)

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First of all - Android Studio and Visual Studio are IDE's. Tools to create code. What you are asking is programming framework. I assume that when you are talking about Android Studio you mean Native Android Development and by Visual Studio you mean Xamarin.

If you want to create crossplatform app then Native Android Development is NOT a way to go. Xamarin might work for you, BUT - you'd rather recommend you to go with Flutter. It's much more performant than Xamarin, programming model is friendlier for developer and technology seems just more refined. It's also officially supported by google, so no worries about support.

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Pros of Android Studio
Pros of CLion
  • 176
    Android studio is a great tool, getting better and bet
  • 103
    Google's official android ide
  • 37
    Intelligent code editor with lots of auto-completion
  • 25
    Its powerful and robust
  • 5
    Easy creating android app
  • 3
    Amazing Layout Designer
  • 3
    Great Code Tips
  • 3
    Great tool & very helpful
  • 2
    Easy to use
  • 2
    Built in Emulator
  • 2
    Keyboard Shortcuts are Amazing Out of the box
  • 31
    Good editor
  • 30
    Easy setup
  • 24
    Powerful refactoring, extremely smart IDE
  • 24
    Already one of the best C/C++ IDEs, even before launch
  • 21
    Cross-platform build
  • 19
    Clean, Sleek User Interface
  • 18
    Much faster and smarter than Intellisense
  • 13
    Vertically/Horizontally split windows
  • 12
    Great navigation, error messages and auto completion
  • 9
    Vim plugin
  • 9
    Not a 20gb installation
  • 6
    It is best IDE
  • 3
    Like this one because of - not a 20GB installation
  • 2
    Free Flowing C++ IDE
  • 1
    IDE supports Python with all features of PyCharm CE
  • 1
    Very good Git plugin
  • 1
    Cheap, just 99 USD for the first year

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Cons of Android Studio
Cons of CLion
  • 4
    Slow emulator
  • 4
    Huge memory usage
  • 2
    Using Intellij IDEA, while Intellij IDEA have too
  • 2
    Complex for begginers
  • 2
    No checking incompatibilities
  • 1
    Lags behind IntelliJ IDEA
  • 1
    Slow release process
  • 2
    No good support for Makefiles
  • 2
    Not free, unless you are a student

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What is Android Studio?

Android Studio is a new Android development environment based on IntelliJ IDEA. It provides new features and improvements over Eclipse ADT and will be the official Android IDE once it's ready.

What is CLion?

Knowing your code through and through, CLion can take care of the routine while you focus on the important things. Boost your productivity with the keyboard-centric approach (Vim-emulation plugin is also available in plugin repository), full coding assistance, smart and relevant code completion, fast project navigation, intelligent intention actions, and reliable refactorings.

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What companies use Android Studio?
What companies use CLion?
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What tools integrate with Android Studio?
What tools integrate with CLion?

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What are some alternatives to Android Studio and CLion?
IntelliJ IDEA
Out of the box, IntelliJ IDEA provides a comprehensive feature set including tools and integrations with the most important modern technologies and frameworks for enterprise and web development with Java, Scala, Groovy and other languages.
Visual Studio
Visual Studio is a suite of component-based software development tools and other technologies for building powerful, high-performance applications.
Eclipse
Standard Eclipse package suited for Java and plug-in development plus adding new plugins; already includes Git, Marketplace Client, source code and developer documentation. Click here to file a bug against Eclipse Platform.
Xamarin
Xamarin’s Mono-based products enable .NET developers to use their existing code, libraries and tools (including Visual Studio*), as well as skills in .NET and the C# programming language, to create mobile applications for the industry’s most widely-used mobile devices, including Android-based smartphones and tablets, iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.
Xcode
The Xcode IDE is at the center of the Apple development experience. Tightly integrated with the Cocoa and Cocoa Touch frameworks, Xcode is an incredibly productive environment for building amazing apps for Mac, iPhone, and iPad.
See all alternatives