We are looking to use Eclipse to build the next version of our Java application. Should we use the latest release (Eclipse 3.0.2), or the newest version, Eclipse 3.1, which is still under development?
I would recommend going ahead with Eclipse 3.1. The latest version, as of this writing, is Release Candidate 3, and Release Candidate 4 should be available very soon. We should see the final release of Eclipse 3.1 perhaps even before July 1. There are several substantial improvements in Eclipse 3.1 that are well worth the trouble of starting today with the current-release candidate and then moving to the final release when it becomes available.
Some of the more noteworthy reasons to move to 3.1 now are support for Java 5; much better Rich Client Platform support for building and exporting applications for deployment; an improved update system for delivering software updates to clients; and new convenience mechanisms for integrating third-party libraries into application builds.
Other reasons for choosing Eclipse 3.1 include the ability to leverage improvements in the Eclipse companion packages, such as the Eclipse Modeling Framework, the Visual Editor and the Web Tools Project, which are not included in the versions available for Eclipse 3.0.X.
Several user interface performance improvements also make 3.1 more responsive and easier to work with than Eclipse 3.0.X.
