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Eclipse IDE VS Illuminated Cloud

Compare Eclipse IDE VS Illuminated Cloud and see what are their differences

Eclipse IDE logo Eclipse IDE

Eclipse IDE for Java EE developers.

Illuminated Cloud logo Illuminated Cloud

Illuminated Cloud is a powerful Force.com development tool hosted within JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA.
  • Eclipse IDE Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-02-07
  • Illuminated Cloud Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-10-18

Eclipse IDE features and specs

  • Feature-Rich
    Eclipse IDE offers a wide array of tools and features such as code completion, syntax highlighting, refactoring, and debugging, which enhance productivity and ease of use for developers.
  • Platform Support
    Eclipse IDE supports multiple operating systems including Windows, Mac OS, and Linux, making it accessible to a wide range of users.
  • Plugin Ecosystem
    Eclipse has a robust and extensive plugin ecosystem, allowing developers to customize their development environment according to their specific needs.
  • Open Source
    Being an open-source project, Eclipse IDE is free to use and has a strong community of developers who contribute to its continuous improvement and support.
  • Versatility
    Eclipse supports development in a multitude of languages such as Java, Python, and C++, making it a versatile tool for different kinds of projects.

Possible disadvantages of Eclipse IDE

  • Performance
    Eclipse IDE can be resource-intensive and may suffer from performance issues, especially when running on machines with limited RAM and CPU power.
  • Complexity
    The extensive features and plugins can make Eclipse overwhelming for beginners, requiring a steep learning curve to become proficient in its use.
  • Slow Startup
    Eclipse often has a slow startup time compared to other IDEs, which can be frustrating for developers who need to quickly access their projects.
  • UI
    The user interface of Eclipse is often criticized for being cluttered and not as modern or intuitive as some other IDEs like Visual Studio Code or IntelliJ IDEA.
  • Update Management
    Managing updates and plugins can sometimes be cumbersome and may lead to compatibility issues, making it challenging to maintain a stable development environment.

Illuminated Cloud features and specs

  • Deep Salesforce Integration
    Illuminated Cloud provides comprehensive integration with the Salesforce platform, offering robust support for Apex, Visualforce, Lightning components, SOQL, and SOSL directly within JetBrains IDEs like IntelliJ IDEA.
  • Powerful Code Completion and Analysis
    The plugin offers intelligent code completion, real-time error highlighting, and static code analysis specifically tailored for Salesforce development languages, significantly boosting developer productivity.
  • Built on JetBrains Platform
    By running as a plugin within JetBrains IDEs, developers benefit from the powerful features of IntelliJ IDEA such as advanced refactoring tools, version control integration, keyboard shortcuts, and a mature ecosystem of additional plugins.
  • Comprehensive Metadata Support
    Illuminated Cloud supports a wide range of Salesforce metadata types for retrieval, deployment, and diffing, making it a versatile tool for managing complex Salesforce orgs and working with both first- and second-generation packages.
  • Strong Debugging Capabilities
    The plugin provides robust debugging features including Apex execution logs, interactive debugging with breakpoints, and test execution with code coverage visualization, which help developers quickly identify and resolve issues.

Possible disadvantages of Illuminated Cloud

  • Paid License Required
    Unlike some competing tools such as the free Salesforce Extensions for VS Code, Illuminated Cloud requires a paid subscription, which can be a barrier for individual developers or small teams with limited budgets.
  • Requires JetBrains IDE
    Illuminated Cloud is exclusively a JetBrains plugin, meaning developers must purchase and use a JetBrains IDE (like IntelliJ IDEA) in addition to the plugin license, adding to the overall cost.
  • Steeper Learning Curve
    The combination of IntelliJ IDEA's extensive feature set with Illuminated Cloud's Salesforce-specific capabilities can be overwhelming for new users, particularly those coming from simpler editors or the Salesforce Developer Console.
  • Smaller Community Compared to VS Code
    Since Salesforce officially supports and promotes VS Code with its own Salesforce Extensions, the community, tutorials, and readily available support resources for Illuminated Cloud are comparatively smaller.
  • Single Developer Maintained
    Illuminated Cloud is primarily developed and maintained by a single developer, which raises concerns about long-term support, the pace of updates, and the risk of the project being abandoned if the maintainer can no longer continue.

Analysis of Illuminated Cloud

Overall verdict

  • Illuminated Cloud is a well-regarded plugin that brings robust Salesforce development tooling into JetBrains IDEs (IntelliJ IDEA, WebStorm, etc.), offering strong support for Apex, Visualforce, Lightning Components, and metadata management. It's considered good for teams already invested in JetBrains IDEs who want deeper Salesforce integration than the standard Salesforce Extensions for VS Code.

Why this product is good

  • Deep integration with JetBrains IDEs, leveraging their powerful refactoring, code navigation, and debugging tools
  • Strong Apex language support including code completion, syntax highlighting, and static analysis
  • Supports Salesforce DX project structure and metadata deployment/retrieval workflows
  • Includes SOQL/SOSL query tools and Apex debugger integration
  • Active development with regular updates aligned to Salesforce platform changes
  • Good community support and documentation for troubleshooting
  • Supports Lightning Web Components and Aura components alongside Apex/Visualforce
  • One-time or subscription licensing that can be cost-effective compared to enterprise-only tooling

Recommended for

  • Salesforce developers who prefer JetBrains IDEs like IntelliJ IDEA over VS Code
  • Development teams working on complex Apex codebases needing advanced refactoring and navigation
  • Organizations doing multi-org Salesforce development requiring robust metadata management
  • Developers who want an alternative or complement to Salesforce's official VS Code extensions
  • Teams needing strong debugging capabilities for Apex code
  • Consultants or agencies managing multiple Salesforce client orgs who need efficient tooling

Eclipse IDE videos

Eclipse IDE Review

Illuminated Cloud videos

Maximizing Developer Productivity with Illuminated Cloud

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Eclipse IDE and Illuminated Cloud)
Text Editors
95 95%
5% 5
IDE
92 92%
8% 8
Developer Tools
42 42%
58% 58
IDEs And Text Editors
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Eclipse IDE and Illuminated Cloud, you can also consider the following products

Sublime Text - Sublime Text is a sophisticated text editor for code, html and prose - any kind of text file. You'll love the slick user interface and extraordinary features. Fully customizable with macros, and syntax highlighting for most major languages.

Microsoft Visual Studio - Microsoft Visual Studio is an integrated development environment (IDE) from Microsoft.

IntelliJ IDEA - Capable and Ergonomic IDE for JVM

Android Studio - Android development environment based on IntelliJ IDEA

VS Code - Build and debug modern web and cloud applications, by Microsoft

Xcode - Xcode is Appleโ€™s powerful integrated development environment for creating great apps for Mac, iPhone, and iPad. Xcode 4 includes the Xcode IDE, instruments, iOS Simulator, and the latest Mac OS X and iOS SDKs.