# Eclipse

Now that I've mentioned the first-most popular IDE (Visual Studio), it's time to mention the second-most popular IDE out there: **Eclipse**.

Developed by **Eclipse Foundation** and released in 2001, **Eclipse** is a free open-source software, primarily used for Java programming although it can also be used with other languages as well, by supporting additional plug-ins.

Widely used but not as stylish as Visual Studio, Eclipse makes up for it through intuitive autofill. The program suggests methods, lets you add setters and getters with the click of a button, and lets you see which classes and methods you have access to within a file.

An example of Eclipse offering a suggestion:

![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1700233612983/c1b90a75-9336-4c5b-9307-0faf81527277.png align="center")

Although this isn't an error, Eclipse makes suggestions on where you could improve your code.

Generating Getters and Setters:

![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1700234023628/d919148c-1cc5-457c-b3bc-e616801ddd51.png align="center")

This saves the programmer from having to type out endless setters and getters and reduces the risk of making mistakes, such as spelling errors or using wrong return types.

As is seen in the image, line numbers can be turned on and off which is always helpful to identify where errors are.

Overall, Eclipse seems to be more intuitive, leading the programmer to be more productive and make programming less time-consuming. Eclipses intuitiveness is also beneficial to novice programmers since it makes so many useful suggestions.

Here's a video from the YouTube channel **Coding with John** about Eclipse shortcuts.

%[https://youtu.be/LIGkIGdmHII?si=Qi5-0tjWrJG_KRNV]