A Whole Toolchain

Elements provides a complete tool chain for Android development, from the coding environment to creating the deliverables.

Powerful development environments are included for both Mac and Windows, with our Fire and Water IDEs. Using these lightweight IDEs feels like a breath of fresh air in comparison to the heavy and bloated Java IDEs of Android Studio, Eclipse or IntelliJ.

The Elements build chain takes care of the entire build process – fast and easily. From compiling your code to catering Gradle references, processing resources, running DEX or D8, combining SDK code with native extensions, to assembling the final .apk.

And our mixed-mode debugger lets you debug both your SDK and your NDK code at the same time.

Android SDK

Most Android apps are built using the Android SDK, which uses object oriented Java-based APIs top provide a rich development experience for the Android platform – from user interface design down to the lower-level inner workings of your app.

The Elements compiler fits in as the same level as javac or kotlinc, compiling to java byte code and directly interfacing with the standard Android and Java APIs available on the platform. You can create user interfaces In code our using standard XML layout files, which can be visually edited by syncing your project up with Android Studio do use the layout designer.

Android NDK

Traditionally, going from the Android SDK to the NDK required leaning a whole new skill set – new lower-level languages like C or C++, new tools, etc.

With Elements, no matter which of the five languages you chose to use for your SDK work, you can seamlessly apply your knowledge of them to the NDK, and write your NDK extensions in Oxygene, C#, Swift, Java or Go, as well.

Elements will also automatically take care of JNI boiler-plate code for you, making your native extensions available to your SDK code base almost automatically.

Share Code

These days, few Android apps exist in a vacuum – chances are you or your team are also providing an iOS version of your app, and/or maintain server-side code to help with the operation of your app.

Because Elements's platform coverage extends far beyond just the Android platform, Elements makes it easy to share large parts of your code base between Android, iOS, desktop apps and/or the server – all of course without sacrificing a platform-native user experience.

For example, you can use Elements for Cocoa to bring your Android code over or share it with iOS, iPadOS and macOS – whether it's existing Java code, or new code you write sign any of Elements' five languages. Or use Elements for .NET to build your server infrastructure or web app.

All Languages

Remember, with Elements you can use (and mix!) any of the six languages understood by the compiler in your .NET Projects: Oxygene (Object Pascal), C#, Swift, Java, Go and Mercury.