is the iPhone Development Environment Superior to Android's?

Java IDEs are simply smarter about the code then Xcode is. Eclipse, IntelliJ, and others, have implemented their own code analysis engines and are using a language (Java) that doesn't have pointers, which makes it more predictable. Xcode is also based on the older style of multiple windows instead of sub-windows.

Apple is aware of this and has been working for quite some time to close the gap. Xcode 4 is in beta and uses the clang engine (based on LLVM) to do much better code analysis and completion. It will never be as effective as Java analysis but they can get much closer. Xcode 4 also consolidates windows. This is without an impact on performance. As the original poster noted, the Java IDEs have gotten heavy and slow while Xcode is extremely snappy.

In my opinion the development experience of Windows Phone 7 beats that of both iPhone and Android. You can't really compete with tools like Blend which allow you to instantly visualize your UI. Visual Studio (even the Express edition) is a very good IDE. And the phone runs .NET, so you can use any .NET language (ex. C#, Delphi, F#, etc).

But: Is this enough? Can Microsoft ever catch up?

"And the phone runs .NET, so you can use any .NET language (ex. C#, Delphi, F#, etc)."

No you can't, right now only C# is available. But I have to agree with you it's a very nice platform to work with (and I'm a Java fan).

Java IDEs are infinitely smarter, and we Java programmers (me, at least) are spoiled by them. I just can't let go all the control over the code the IDE gives me.

If you like dynamic languages, the lack of tool support didn't bother you from the start. Also, typing speed is key, because the IDE won't complete it for you, won't refactor it for you, won't correct it for you, so your text editor (can we really call it an IDE?) must be snappy.

Well, Eclipse does make me angry sometimes. But I'm trying to learn Objective-C, using XCode, and it makes me angrier, because the IDE doesn't help me, because it doesn't point me that a method or variable doesn't exist, because there is no stacktrace pointing to the exact line with an error.

I haven't tried the Android development environment yet, but unless it is much worse than using JBoss Tools with Seam and jBPM, or Spring Tool Suite with Grails, it wins on XCode, hands down.

Switching from an Java IDE to Visual Studio is painful (except with Resharper). Switching to XCode is even harder. The language is much more unfamiliar and much more inconsistent. The IDE has some completion and navigation support, but you have to find those first. Refactoring support is very limited. Extract method doesn't really work, same with renaming (the only renaming that works is the inline edit from the selection-popup).

Some keyboard shortcuts:
cmd-alt-up toggle header/implemenation
cmd-click -> goto symbol
alt-click -> documentation
cmd-shift-d quick lookup/goto symbol (class, variable, method)
cmd-b -> build
cmd-r -> run
etc.

There is a nice screencast series from the pragprogs regarding XCode.

But there is hope on the horizon - stay tuned.

Cheers

Michael

I am Java programmer for a life, and do iPhone/Mac programming for fun. If I look at both IDEs from perspective, sometimes I think Eclipse IDE is a crime on usability. While current Xcode may look strange, it is quite well thought and much lighter. It has (almost) everything needed and runs very smooth.

Xcode hasn't changed much since beginning, but new Xcode 4 (already available to registered developers) looks promising (well all bugs are fixed).

I liked Objective-C language, API and runtime very much. Syntax may look odd, but it is really simple to learn, and core APIs are very well designed. It has immutable types and collections, promotes (well.. even forces) clean MVC paradigm and use of delegate patterns instead of inheritance when designing user interfaces, dynamic typing when you want, very fast dynamic method invocation, and recently even something like closures (code blocks).

I am using F# for part of a Windows Phone 7 app so it is certainly possible.

Now if I ever get time to finish it we are talking 10,000 downloads per day. Oh wait they are not selling the devices at that rate yet.

I'm Sorry, I guess you're right they did added the support for other languages.

I've made the same experience with Eclipse: it is bloated and the plug-in management is horrible. Whenever possible I use NetBeans.

The JetBrains objective-c IDE is called CIDR and really resembles IDEA, see here
InfoQ Interview with JetBrains

Cheers

Michael