We can all agree with the fact that Android is great for smartphone users. We have got Android apps for every purpose whether it is music, movies or games.
But a lot of the time, developers feel left out. I am talking about such developers who are constantly on the go and don’t have their PC with them.
However, there are a plethora of apps available on the Android Play Store for developers of different kinds as well. Today, we will be talking about some of the best IDEs and essential tools which are available for Android devices geared towards developers.
Without further delay, let’s get right into it.
IDE
An IDE is an abbreviation for Integrated Development Environment. It is used by programmers for writing, formatting, debugging and auto-completion of code.
If you use Windows or Linux, you must be quite familiar with Visual Studio. Programmers also use simple code editors at times such as VS Code and Sublime Text due to their lightweight nature.
But what if you are using an Android device? Can you not use an IDE? The answer is a clear YES. Android users can also use different IDEs for writing and editing code on their smartphones.
It won’t have all the features like a traditional IDE, but it gets the job done just fine.
Pydroid 3
If you are a Python developer, I am sure you would love Pydroid 3 on Android. Pydroid 3 enables the user to test their python code without a PC nearby.
You will need to install additional files if you want to install heavy libraries with Pydroid. Free storage of around 300+ MB will be sufficient for this purpose.
There are numerous great features in Pydroid. Due to which Pydroid 3 remains one of the most popular IDEs available on the Play Store. Some of the best features of Pydroid are:-
- Offline Functionality
- Availability of Pytorch and TensorFlow
- Full Tkinter Support
- Feature Rich Terminal Emulator
- Pip Package Manager
- Code Prediction
- Syntax Highlighting
- Support For Pygame 2
- Extended Keyboard Bar
The features I just listed are only scraping the tip of the iceberg. Here, the iceberg is the amazing Pydroid 3 IDE for Python.
It is available for free on the Play Store but a pro version is also available with extended features and additional libraries. The only major problem of Pydroid is not even related with the application itself.
This problem is related to the screen size of your Android device. As we all know that Smartphone screens are dwarfed in comparison to their desktop counterparts.
Due to which, you might face a little difficulty while typing at the same speed as your PC.
Jvdroid
Jvdroid is another IDE which is created for Java. The interface is very similar to Pydroid. This can be attributed to both the apps being made by the same developer.
It doesn’t matter if you are a beginner who is looking to learn Java on their Android phones or a professional Java programmer, you will like using Jvdroid.
The most important thing in an IDE is the features list. Fortunately, Jvdroid possesses a lot of these features essential for an IDE. Some of these features are:-
- Offline Functionality
- Code Formatter
- Code Prediction
- StandAlone OpenJDK 11
- Feature Rich Terminal Emulator
- Availability of REPL
- Support for Maven Projects and Libraries
- Extended Keyboard Bar
Before you install Jvdroid, make sure you have sufficient space for installing the essential libraries. 300+ MB is preferred but a little additional storage space is never a bad idea when using IDEs.
Cxxdroid
We have covered Python and Java IDEs, it would be only fair to cover a dedicated C++ IDE as well. Cxxdroid enables its users to code in C++ at their fingertips.
As we all know, C++ is one of the most popular programming languages in existence. The mere fact that there is a C++ IDE on Android is a great feat in itself.
The feature list of Cxxdroid is quite large which makes it an ideal C++ IDE for Android smartphones. Let us take a look at some of these features:-
- Compiler Caching for Speed
- Offline Functionality
- Availability of SDL2, SFML and Allegro Libraries
- Simple User Interface
- Extended Keyboard Bar
- Syntax Highlighting
- Code Prediction
Just like the other Android IDEs, more storage space is preferred. The developers recommend 300+ MB storage space for Cxxdroid.
Debugging feature is currently in the development phase which would be a great addition to Cxxdroid when it rolls out.
Essential Tools
We have dealt with IDEs for Android, but it would be incomplete if we did not include some other tools which are a boon for Android developers. These tools are an essential part of an Android developer’s toolkit.
The criteria for our selection was quite simple. We have included the two most popular developer tools in their own categories. Without wasting anymore time, let’s get straight into it:-
Team Viewer
You must have heard about TeamViewer. TeamViewer is very similar to the Remote Desktop Connection on PC. The only difference is that TeamViewer is quite feature rich and supports connection for multiple devices.
It is also available for Android and it is a very popular app on the Play Store. The reason for TeamViewer’s popularity is largely due to the extensive set of included features.
Some of these features are:-
- Screen Sharing
- Remote Control of Devices
- File Transfer between Both Devices
- Chat Function
- Easy to Use User Interface
Developer Tools
This tool is very useful for Android developers. The developer who made this app initially created it for his personal use. But seeing how these features could be useful for other Android developers, he released the application on Play Store.
The great thing about this app is that it can also run on older Android devices. Any Android version over 1.5 is supported. If that wasn’t enough, the app does not even require any permissions to run.
Developer Tools includes a long list of features essential for Android developers. Even casual users can find some of the features useful. These features include:-
- Find Resource Qualifiers in Use
- Find Available System Features
- Find Dimensions of the Screen
- View Logcat
- Run ManifestViewer
- Directly Go to Developer Settings
- Run Dalvik Explorer
These were just some of the features present in Developer Tools. Android developers will find most of the necessary features packaged in this one application.
Conclusion
We have listed some of the best apps for Android developers. The list was more geared towards the developers which is unlike our other guides aimed at beginners.
If we missed any other important tools for Android developers, let us know in the comments. If you want to connect to us, you can do so by visiting our Contact Us page.
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