I got eclipse RCP juno 64 bit crashes on Mac OS X, and I posted this question in StackExchange Mac – https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/67104/eclipse-rcp-juno-64-bit-crashes-on-mac-os-x. And, I guess I have no choice but to use 32 bit version now.
- Is it just OK to use 32 bit eclipse on 64 bit OS (Lion), and 64 bit java (java 1.7 sdk)?
- How about the code compatibility? Can I open the workspace with 64 bit eclipse created from 32 bit eclipse?
- What’s the difference between 32bit and 64bit eclipse? Or, what are cons and pros between them? Why do they keep 32bit eclipse in 64 bit world?
You need to 32-bit JVM to use 32-bit Eclipse, and you need 64-bit JVM to use 64-bit Eclipse.
Note that a 32-bit JVM can run on 64-bit OS. I have Windows 7 64-bit with both 32-bit and 64-bit JVMs installed. I do have to sometimes edit eclipse.ini file to make sure that the correct JVM is selected.
There are no workspace compatibility differences between 32-bit/64-bit variants of the same version. The native bits that are 32-bit/64-bit specific are for native UI and file system integration.
If you are running 64-bit OS, you should favor using 64-bit JVM/Eclipse. Doing so will avoid a lot of memory issues that plague 32-bit installs. For instance, it isn’t uncommon for a 32-bit JVM/Eclipse to fail to start with -Xmx1024m due to address space fragmentation.
The 32-bit Eclipse builds are still produced because there are still quite a few 32-bit OS installs out there.