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  1. Stackups
  2. DevOps
  3. Build Automation
  4. IDE
  5. AppCode vs IntelliJ IDEA

AppCode vs IntelliJ IDEA

OverviewDecisionsComparisonAlternatives

Overview

IntelliJ IDEA
IntelliJ IDEA
Stacks44.0K
Followers36.9K
Votes1.5K
AppCode
AppCode
Stacks52
Followers56
Votes6

AppCode vs IntelliJ IDEA: What are the differences?

Introduction

AppCode and IntelliJ IDEA are both Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) developed by JetBrains. While they share many similarities, there are also some key differences between them.

  1. User Interface: The user interface in AppCode is specifically designed for iOS/macOS development, providing a more tailored experience for iOS developers. On the other hand, IntelliJ IDEA is more focused on providing a general-purpose IDE for various programming languages, including Java, Python, and JavaScript.

  2. Swift and Objective-C Support: AppCode offers extensive support for both Swift and Objective-C, including features such as code analysis, refactoring, and debugging. IntelliJ IDEA, although it does support these languages, does not have the same level of specialized features for iOS/macOS development.

  3. Interface Builder Integration: While both IDEs support Interface Builder, AppCode has tighter integration with it, providing additional features such as automatic synchronization of UI changes and instant preview of UI layouts. IntelliJ IDEA, on the other hand, provides more general support for GUI development across different platforms.

  4. CocoaPods and Carthage Integration: AppCode has built-in support for CocoaPods and Carthage, making it easier to manage external libraries and dependencies in iOS/macOS projects. IntelliJ IDEA also has some support for these dependency managers, but it is not as seamless as in AppCode.

  5. XCTest and UI Testing: AppCode has advanced support for XCTest, Apple's unit testing framework, allowing developers to run tests directly from the IDE and analyze test coverage. While IntelliJ IDEA also supports XCTest, its integration and features for iOS testing are not as comprehensive.

  6. Usability Focus: While both IDEs provide powerful features, IntelliJ IDEA has a wider range of language and framework support, making it suitable for multi-platform development. AppCode, on the other hand, focuses specifically on iOS/macOS development and provides a more specialized experience.

In summary, AppCode is specifically designed for iOS/macOS development, offering specialized features for Swift and Objective-C, tight integration with Interface Builder, and support for CocoaPods and Carthage. On the other hand, IntelliJ IDEA is a more general-purpose IDE with broader language and framework support, making it suitable for multi-platform development.

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Advice on IntelliJ IDEA, AppCode

christy
christy

Program Manager

Jul 1, 2020

Needs adviceonPythonPythonEclipseEclipseIntelliJ IDEAIntelliJ IDEA

UPDATE: Thanks for the great response. I am going to start with VSCode based on the open source and free version that will allow me to grow into other languages, but not cost me a license ..yet.

I have been working with software development for 12 years, but I am just beginning my journey to learn to code. I am starting with Python following the suggestion of some of my coworkers. They are split between Eclipse and IntelliJ IDEA for IDEs that they use and PyCharm is new to me. Which IDE would you suggest for a beginner that will allow expansion to Java, JavaScript, and eventually AngularJS and possibly mobile applications?

2.03M views2.03M
Comments
Manabu
Manabu

CEO, Co-Founder at WinguMD

Jun 13, 2020

Decided

I originally chose IntelliJ over Eclipse, as it was close enough to the look and feel of Visual Studio and we do go back and forth between the two. We really begin to love IntelliJ and their suite of IDEs so we are now using AppCode for the IOS development because the workflow is identical with the IntelliJ. IntelliJ is super complex and intimidating at first but it does afford a lot of nice utilities to get us produce clean code.

551k views551k
Comments
Simon
Simon

Software Engineer at Picnic Technologies

Aug 21, 2020

Review

Notepad++ is insanely simplistic. It doesn't help much with the coding, as it doesn't have stuff like auto-completion. Atom is a great editor for pretty much any language. It has a plugin ide-java to support Java programming. When starting with Java, I would recommend it. But, when becoming even a bit better in the language, I would suggest a more mature IDE like IntelliJ or Eclipse. The refactoring and code manipulation tools make it a lot quicker to program. Only when getting started it might be a bit too much to both learn a language AND learn an IDE. So Atom might be better to get started.

338 views338
Comments

Detailed Comparison

IntelliJ IDEA
IntelliJ IDEA
AppCode
AppCode

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.

It is an integrated development environment for Swift, Objective-C, C, C++, and JavaScript development built on JetBrains’ IntelliJ IDEA platform. It takes care of your routine tasks and saves you from extra typing.

Smart Code Completion;On-the-fly Code Analysis;Advanced Refactorings;Database Tools;UML Designer;Version Control Tools;Build Tools
-
Statistics
Stacks
44.0K
Stacks
52
Followers
36.9K
Followers
56
Votes
1.5K
Votes
6
Pros & Cons
Pros
  • 301
    Fantastically intelligent
  • 242
    Best-in-class ide
  • 190
    Many languages support
  • 158
    Java
  • 121
    Fast
Cons
  • 20
    Large footprint required to really enjoy (mem/disc)
  • 16
    Very slow
  • 8
    Bad for beginners
  • 7
    UI is not intuitive
  • 5
    Constant reindexing
Pros
  • 2
    Better typing
  • 2
    Awesome refactoring support
  • 2
    Powerful search and replace
Integrations
Java
Java
No integrations available

What are some alternatives to IntelliJ IDEA, AppCode?

PhpStorm

PhpStorm

PhpStorm is a PHP IDE which keeps up with latest PHP & web languages trends, integrates a variety of modern tools, and brings even more extensibility with support for major PHP frameworks.

Visual Studio

Visual Studio

Visual Studio is a suite of component-based software development tools and other technologies for building powerful, high-performance applications.

WebStorm

WebStorm

WebStorm is a lightweight and intelligent IDE for front-end development and server-side JavaScript.

NetBeans IDE

NetBeans IDE

NetBeans IDE is FREE, open source, and has a worldwide community of users and developers.

PyCharm

PyCharm

PyCharm’s smart code editor provides first-class support for Python, JavaScript, CoffeeScript, TypeScript, CSS, popular template languages and more. Take advantage of language-aware code completion, error detection, and on-the-fly code fixes!

Eclipse

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.

Android Studio

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.

RubyMine

RubyMine

JetBrains RubyMine IDE provides a comprehensive Ruby code editor aware of dynamic language specifics and delivers smart coding assistance, intelligent code refactoring and code analysis capabilities.

CLion

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.

Xcode

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.

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