Pros of PDFBox

• Larger community and more active development
• Broader feature set for PDF manipulation and creation
• Better documentation and official Apache support

Cons of PDFBox

• Not optimized for Android, may require additional configuration
• Larger library size, potentially impacting app performance
• May include unnecessary features for mobile applications

Code Comparison

PDFBox (Java):

PDDocument document = PDDocument.load(new File("example.pdf"));
PDFTextStripper stripper = new PDFTextStripper();
String text = stripper.getText(document);
document.close();

PdfBox-Android:

PDDocument document = PDDocument.load(new File("example.pdf"));
PDFTextStripper stripper = new PDFTextStripper();
String text = stripper.getText(document);
document.close();

Key Differences

• PdfBox-Android is specifically tailored for Android development
• PDFBox offers a wider range of PDF manipulation features
• PdfBox-Android may have better performance on mobile devices
• PDFBox has more frequent updates and bug fixes
• PdfBox-Android may lack some advanced features present in PDFBox

Use Cases

PDFBox

• Desktop applications
• Server-side PDF processing
• Complex PDF manipulation tasks

PdfBox-Android

• Android app development
• Mobile PDF viewing and basic editing
• Lightweight PDF processing on Android devices

Pros of itext-java

• More comprehensive PDF manipulation capabilities, including advanced features like digital signatures and PDF/A conversion
• Better documentation and extensive API reference
• Larger community and more frequent updates

Cons of itext-java

• Commercial license required for many use cases, which can be costly
• Steeper learning curve due to its extensive feature set
• Larger library size, potentially increasing app size

Code Comparison

itext-java:

PdfDocument pdf = new PdfDocument(new PdfWriter(dest));
Document document = new Document(pdf);
document.add(new Paragraph("Hello World!"));
document.close();

PdfBox-Android:

PDDocument document = new PDDocument();
PDPage page = new PDPage();
document.addPage(page);
PDPageContentStream contentStream = new PDPageContentStream(document, page);
contentStream.beginText();
contentStream.showText("Hello World!");
contentStream.endText();
contentStream.close();
document.save(dest);
document.close();

The code comparison shows that itext-java offers a more concise syntax for basic PDF creation, while PdfBox-Android requires more explicit steps. However, PdfBox-Android provides a more granular control over the PDF structure, which can be beneficial for certain use cases.

Pros of android-pdfview

• Lightweight and focused specifically on PDF rendering for Android
• Simpler API for basic PDF viewing tasks
• Smoother zooming and scrolling performance

Cons of android-pdfview

• Less feature-rich compared to PdfBox-Android
• Limited PDF manipulation capabilities
• Less active development and community support

Code Comparison

android-pdfview:

PDFView pdfView = findViewById(R.id.pdfView);
pdfView.fromAsset("example.pdf")
    .defaultPage(0)
    .onLoad(this)
    .load();

PdfBox-Android:

PDDocument document = PDDocument.load(new File("example.pdf"));
PDFRenderer renderer = new PDFRenderer(document);
Bitmap bitmap = renderer.renderImage(0, 1.0f);
imageView.setImageBitmap(bitmap);
document.close();

android-pdfview offers a more straightforward API for basic PDF viewing, while PdfBox-Android provides more low-level control and additional features for PDF manipulation. The choice between the two depends on the specific requirements of your Android application and the level of PDF functionality needed.

Pros of AndroidPdfViewer

• Simpler implementation for basic PDF viewing functionality
• Faster rendering and scrolling performance for large PDF files
• Built-in zooming and page navigation features

Cons of AndroidPdfViewer

• Limited PDF manipulation capabilities compared to PdfBox-Android
• Less flexibility for advanced PDF processing tasks
• Smaller community and fewer updates

Code Comparison

AndroidPdfViewer:

PDFView pdfView = findViewById(R.id.pdfView);
pdfView.fromAsset("sample.pdf")
    .defaultPage(0)
    .enableSwipe(true)
    .load();

PdfBox-Android:

PDDocument document = PDDocument.load(new File("sample.pdf"));
PDFRenderer renderer = new PDFRenderer(document);
Bitmap bitmap = renderer.renderImage(0, 1.0f);
imageView.setImageBitmap(bitmap);
document.close();

AndroidPdfViewer provides a more straightforward API for basic PDF viewing, while PdfBox-Android offers more control over PDF processing and rendering. AndroidPdfViewer is better suited for simple PDF display tasks, whereas PdfBox-Android is more appropriate for complex PDF manipulation and analysis projects.