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I was wondering if it's possible to make an IDE-like application for Android where users can write some Java or C/C++ code and be able to compile it, run it and be given the output in an Android application? (Not desktop!).

If it is possible, what are the limitations? I presume there'd be limits like the user wouldn't be able to make GUI's and execute them, or am I wrong?

Thanks, Alex.

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  • You may need to embellish your question. Not sure what you mean. Eclipse, for example, is a fine IDE that you can use to write Java code that compiles for Android devices. Java runs on a virtual machine (that would be Android in this case) while c++ is usually compiled to native code and would be specific to each device and not Android compatable at all. Commented Jul 21, 2011 at 17:14
  • I mean is it possible to make an IDE app for Android where you can write Java and/or C applications, compile and run them in that Android application Commented Jul 21, 2011 at 17:17
  • I think that it is possible,but the "keyboard" for the android OS is way too small(atleast on SE Xperia x8) for programs more complex than hello world will be rather hard to make.And mobile phones also get hotter with time faster while PCs which have a cooler built-in get hotter slower. Commented Jul 21, 2011 at 17:20

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Yes, it is possible. Those applications are called IDE's. There's no special magic behind those - an IDE is just another program, albeit typically a rather big and complicated one.

That said, why would you want to do that? There are plenty of IDE's out there already. If you want an exercise, maybe something less ambitious would be a better choice.

There's no reason why your IDE should prevent the user from making GUI programs. After all, existing IDE's would let you.

Also, there are IDE's out there that are highly customizable (Eclipse and Visual Studio come to one's mind first), so if you're missing a bit of functionality, sometimes you can write/find an IDE plug-in for that.

If you don't have an IDE and want a free one, Eclipse is free. It supports Java and C++ all right. That would be much freer that creating another from scratch - time costs, too.

EDIT: I see. Now, the limitations are: small screen, lack (typically) of a hardware keyboard, limited memory, limited and slow disk, battery lifetime, overheating... App development is an expensive task.

EDIT2: looks like you're not after general purpose application development on Android, but want your app to be scriptable by end user. If that's indeed the case, C++ and Java are not the best languages to support. Android already comes with an interpreter for a scripting language - the language is JavaScript, and the interpreter is WebView.

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I think the asker is pondering creating an IDE Android app, not a desktop IDE.
Sorry if I didn't make myself clear, I meant for the Android platform. But thanks anyway.
@probablykevin: on a phone, it'd be a pain. On a tablet... well, maybe not so much pain. Here's one: code.google.com/p/android-scripting . No Java and no C++, though.
I know but there's quite a few Android apps that are made for source code editing and a lot of people still use them regardless of the small keyboards, plus I have a feature which will do most of the coding for the user, so all the user has to do is enter a few values and code is created. Thanks for the link, shame it doesn't have Java or C, but nevermind I'll skip making my app an IDE, it wasn't majorly important anyway, was just trying to decide whether to do it or not.
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As time goes there are more and more possibilities here.

AIDE, the Android Java IDE is quite successful, free environment. You can create Android applications on your Android device. It is in a continuous development by a German team. Now there is syntax highlight, fix imports, code completion, refactoring, compatibility with Eclipse, connection with Dropbox, git pull (and push in the premium version).

You can also find (non-free) C/C++ compiler like this or this. I have no experience with them, the first is really good according to the user responses.

The main limitation can be the screen size and if you have no external keyboard then it gets worse. The performance seems to be OK on a Tegra device - I use a 7-inch Iconia Tab A100 with Tegra2 -, however I think right now it is an auxiliary solution to a desktop/laptop based development. I now that the last sentence soon may become obsoleted.

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