There are many reasons for using Eclipse:
- Free, open-source and fully redistributable in source or binary forms under the Common Public License (CPL)
- Built by a non-profit corporation with over 50 commercial members
- Implements a clear, cohesive architecture
- Robust infrastructure that's tested daily by millions of developers through their use of the Eclipse IDE
- Using a framework accelerates development and decreases cost
- Large set of standard and extended widgets
- Good third-party UI design tool support
- Extensive text processing support
- Support for drag and drop
- User configuration and preferences
- Platform-specific features (OLE, ActiveX)
- Automatic discovery and installation of updates
- Internationalization and localization
- Integrated help system
- Books, training, and consulting are readily available
- Open-source, redistributable implementations of many useful capabilities
- Support for all major desktop platforms
- Native UI look and feel
