Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

IntelliJ IDEA VS Checkstyle

Compare IntelliJ IDEA VS Checkstyle and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

IntelliJ IDEA logo IntelliJ IDEA

Capable and Ergonomic IDE for JVM

Checkstyle logo Checkstyle

Checkstyle is a development tool to help programmers write Java code that adheres to a coding...
  • IntelliJ IDEA Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-20
  • Checkstyle Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-29

IntelliJ IDEA features and specs

  • Intelligent Code Completion
    IntelliJ IDEA offers advanced code completion features, which help to speed up coding by suggesting relevant keywords, variable names, and methods. It understands the context of the code, making suggestions more accurate and useful.
  • Powerful Refactoring
    IntelliJ IDEA provides an extensive set of refactoring tools that simplify code restructuring. Developers can easily rename, move, and change the signature of classes and methods without breaking the application.
  • Integrated Version Control
    Supports various version control systems such as Git, SVN, and Mercurial. This integration allows seamless code commits, merges, and history tracking directly within the IDE.
  • Rich Plugin Ecosystem
    Offers a vast library of plugins to extend its functionalities by adding support for additional languages, frameworks, and tools, making it highly customizable.
  • Built-in Terminal
    Includes a powerful built-in terminal that allows for command-line operations without leaving the IDE, improving workflow efficiency.
  • Cross-Platform Support
    IntelliJ IDEA is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux, providing consistency for developers who work across different operating systems.
  • Comprehensive Debugging
    Features advanced debugging tools that provide detailed inspection of variable states, stack traces, and execution flow, making it easier to identify and fix issues.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    Offers a highly intuitive and customizable user interface that simplifies navigation and enhances productivity.

Possible disadvantages of IntelliJ IDEA

  • Resource Intensive
    IntelliJ IDEA can be very demanding on system resources, such as RAM and CPU, which may affect performance on less powerful machines.
  • Steep Learning Curve
    New users may find it challenging to learn all of its features and settings, as the IDE offers a wide range of tools and options.
  • Cost
    While there is a free Community edition, the Ultimate edition with full features requires a paid license, which can be expensive for individual developers or small teams.
  • Occasional Sluggishness
    Users may experience occasional sluggish performance, especially with large projects or extensive usage of plugins.
  • Initial Setup Complexity
    Setting up IntelliJ IDEA for the first time, particularly for specific project configurations, can be time-consuming and complex.
  • Frequent Updates
    While regular updates are beneficial for security and new features, they can sometimes cause interruptions or require downtime to install.
  • Dependency on Plugins
    Some key functionalities may rely heavily on third-party plugins, which can sometimes lag in updates or lack sufficient documentation.

Checkstyle features and specs

  • Code Consistency
    Checkstyle enforces coding standards and style guidelines, ensuring that the codebase remains consistent across different parts of the project.
  • Customization
    It offers a high level of customization, allowing teams to define their own coding standards and tailor rules to fit their specific needs.
  • Automation
    Checkstyle can be integrated into build and CI/CD tools, automating style checks and making it easy to identify and fix issues early in the development process.
  • Error Detection
    It helps in identifying common Java coding issues and potential bugs, which can lead to more reliable and maintainable code.
  • Open Source
    Being an open-source tool, Checkstyle has a supportive community and is free to use, which can be beneficial for budget-constrained projects.

Possible disadvantages of Checkstyle

  • Learning Curve
    New users may face a steep learning curve in configuring and using Checkstyle effectively due to its extensive configuration options.
  • Overhead
    Strict adherence to coding standards may introduce additional overhead in terms of time spent on addressing style issues rather than focusing solely on code logic.
  • False Positives
    It might occasionally report false positives or style violations that developers might consider irrelevant, potentially distracting from more critical issues.
  • Complexity in Rule Definition
    Creating or modifying rules can become complex, especially for teams that require detailed and specific style guide enforcement.
  • Limited Scope
    While great for style checks, Checkstyle doesn't cover all aspects of code quality such as performance, concurrency, or deep functional testing.

Analysis of IntelliJ IDEA

Overall verdict

  • IntelliJ IDEA is widely considered to be one of the best IDEs available for Java and Kotlin development, providing a comprehensive suite of tools that cater to both professional developers and beginners.

Why this product is good

  • IntelliJ IDEA, developed by JetBrains, is highly regarded for its robust feature set, including intelligent code completion, deep static analysis, powerful refactoring tools, and a wide range of plugins. It supports multiple programming languages, mainly focusing on Java, Kotlin, and Android development. The integrated development environment (IDE) is appreciated for its intuitive interface and seamless integration with various build tools and version control systems, which enhances productivity and efficiency in software development.

Recommended for

  • Java Developers
  • Kotlin Developers
  • Android Developers
  • Software Engineers requiring advanced debugging and testing tools
  • Teams looking for integration with version control systems
  • Developers needing a customizable and extensible IDE

IntelliJ IDEA videos

Overview of IntelliJ IDEA

More videos:

  • Review - Why I Use IntelliJ IDEA
  • Review - Be More Productive With IntelliJ IDEA by Trisha Gee

Checkstyle videos

CheckStyle - A development tool for maintaining better Java coding standards for Application

More videos:

  • Review - CheckStyle || Maven || Configuration|| HTML Report - 1
  • Review - Install and Use CheckStyle for Java as an IntelliJ IDEA Plugin 2018

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to IntelliJ IDEA and Checkstyle)
IDE
100 100%
0% 0
Code Coverage
0 0%
100% 100
Text Editors
100 100%
0% 0
Code Analysis
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using IntelliJ IDEA and Checkstyle. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare IntelliJ IDEA and Checkstyle

IntelliJ IDEA Reviews

Explore 9 Top Eclipse Alternatives for 2024
Developed by JetBrains, IntelliJ IDEA is a versatile Integrated Development Environment (IDE) initially built for Java and Kotlin, but extends its prowess to incorporate a myriad of other languages through plugins. A unique and user-centric environment favorably touted for its tuneability and keyboard shortcuts that enhance productivity, IntelliJ IDEA has grown to compete...
Source: aircada.com
Top 10 Android Studio Alternatives For App Development
IntelliJ IDEA is an IDE that was developed by JetBrains and is written in Java, Groovy, and Kotlin. It helps in building the IntelliJ IDEA community from the source code and also produces high-quality code.
The Best IDEs for Java Development: A Comparative Analysis
Intelligent Coding Assistance: What sets IntelliJ IDEA apart is its intelligent coding assistance. It seems to understand your code, predict your needs, and assist you with a range of development tasks from start to finish. By virtually mapping your Java projects, it can detect errors, suggest code variants, conduct refactoring, and more. It’s like having a coding assistant!
Source: dev.to
20 Best Diff Tools to Compare File Contents on Linux
Intellij Idea is an enterprise development, cross-platform software for multiple operating systems. It is used to review the differences between any two files, folders, text sources, or database objects, as well as between local files and their repository versions.
Source: linuxopsys.com
9 Of The Best Android Studio Alternatives To Try Out
IntelliJ IDEA, the routine tasks like coding, are handled by IntelliJ IDEA, which leads to accelerated development. It also allows the programmer to focus on functionality.

Checkstyle Reviews

We have no reviews of Checkstyle yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Checkstyle seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 6 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

IntelliJ IDEA mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of IntelliJ IDEA yet. Tracking of IntelliJ IDEA recommendations started around Mar 2021.

Checkstyle mentions (6)

  • Most Effective Approaches for Debugging Applications
    Static code analysis tools scan code for potential issues before execution, catching bugs like null pointer dereferences or race conditions early. Daniel Vasilevski, Director and Owner of Bright Force Electrical, shares, “Utilizing static code analysis tools gives us a clear look at what’s going wrong before anything ever runs.” During a scheduling system rebuild, SonarQube flagged a concurrency flaw, preventing... - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Custom Gradle Plugin for Unified Static Code Analysis
    PMD and Checkstyle are static analysis tools that check your code on each project build. Gradle allows to apply them easily. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • java checkstyle in neovim?
    AFAIK, you can't use it with nvim-jdtls, but here you shave a list of checkstyle plugins and there are a Gradle and a Maven one that your could use. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Spring Boot – Black Box Testing
    The generated classes should be put into .gitignore. Otherwise, if you have Checkstyle, PMD, or SonarQube in your project, then generated classes can violate some rules. Besides, if you don't put them into .gitignore, then each pull request might become huge due to the fact that even a slightest fix can lead to lots of changes in the generated classes. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • Basics of CI/CD
    Speaking of code style there aren't many differences. You can try Checkstyle plugin. It automatically fails a build that violates any of the stated requirements. For example, the code might have an unused import. Besides you can look at cloud services that run the code analysis and shows the result as a bunch of charts (SonarCloud can also do that). - Source: dev.to / over 3 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing IntelliJ IDEA and Checkstyle, you can also consider the following products

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

SonarQube - SonarQube, a core component of the Sonar solution, is an open source, self-managed tool that systematically helps developers and organizations deliver Clean Code.

Xcode - Xcode is Apple’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.

Checkmarx - The industry’s most comprehensive AppSec platform, Checkmarx One is fast, accurate, and accelerates your business.

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

Codacy - Automatically reviews code style, security, duplication, complexity, and coverage on every change while tracking code quality throughout your sprints.