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Android Studio

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19.6K
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361
VirtualBox

30.3K
24.8K
+ 1
1.1K
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Android Studio vs VirtualBox: What are the differences?

Developers describe Android Studio as "Android development environment based on IntelliJ IDEA". 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. On the other hand, VirtualBox is detailed as "Run nearly any operating system on a single machine and to freely switch between OS instances running simultaneously". VirtualBox is a powerful x86 and AMD64/Intel64 virtualization product for enterprise as well as home use. Not only is VirtualBox an extremely feature rich, high performance product for enterprise customers, it is also the only professional solution that is freely available as Open Source Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL) version 2.

Android Studio can be classified as a tool in the "Integrated Development Environment" category, while VirtualBox is grouped under "Virtualization Platform".

Some of the features offered by Android Studio are:

  • Flexible Gradle-based build system.
  • Build variants and multiple APK generation.
  • Expanded template support for Google Services and various device types.

On the other hand, VirtualBox provides the following key features:

  • Portability
  • No hardware virtualization required
  • Guest Additions: shared folders, seamless windows, 3D virtualization

"Android studio is a great tool, getting better and bet " is the primary reason why developers consider Android Studio over the competitors, whereas "Free" was stated as the key factor in picking VirtualBox.

According to the StackShare community, VirtualBox has a broader approval, being mentioned in 724 company stacks & 976 developers stacks; compared to Android Studio, which is listed in 928 company stacks and 691 developer stacks.

Advice on Android Studio and VirtualBox

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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Replies (1)
Recommends
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FlutterFlutter

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 VirtualBox
  • 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
  • 358
    Free
  • 231
    Easy
  • 169
    Default for vagrant
  • 110
    Fast
  • 73
    Starts quickly
  • 45
    Open-source
  • 42
    Running in background
  • 41
    Simple, yet comprehensive
  • 27
    Default for boot2docker
  • 22
    Extensive customization
  • 3
    Free to use
  • 2
    Mouse integration
  • 2
    Easy tool
  • 2
    Cross-platform

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Cons of Android Studio
Cons of VirtualBox
  • 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
    Be the first to leave a con

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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 VirtualBox?

    VirtualBox is a powerful x86 and AMD64/Intel64 virtualization product for enterprise as well as home use. Not only is VirtualBox an extremely feature rich, high performance product for enterprise customers, it is also the only professional solution that is freely available as Open Source Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL) version 2.

    Need advice about which tool to choose?Ask the StackShare community!

    What companies use Android Studio?
    What companies use VirtualBox?
    See which teams inside your own company are using Android Studio or VirtualBox.
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    What tools integrate with Android Studio?
    What tools integrate with VirtualBox?

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    What are some alternatives to Android Studio and VirtualBox?
    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