What are the best Java IDE (Integrated Development Environment) students can use for application development? There are a lot of IDE for Java students and Java developers. Java IDE are used by students, programmers and developers to write Java source codes.
In this post, I will be sharing with 3 free and popular Java IDE for your application or web application development. I believe you are already familiar with Java, but I will still go ahead and give you a brief introduction to Java.
Brief Introduction to Java
Java is a computer programming language that is concurrent, class-based, object-oriented, and specifically designed to have as few implementation dependencies as possible. It is intended to let application developers "write once, run anywhere" (WORA), meaning that code that runs on one platform does not need to be recompiled to run on another.
Java applications are typically compiled to bytecode (class file) that can run on any Java virtual machine (JVM) regardless of computer architecture. Java is, as of 2014, one of the most popular programming languages in use, particularly for client-server web applications, with a reported 9 million developers.
Java was originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems (which has since merged into Oracle Corporation) and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++, but it has fewer low-level facilities than either of them.
What is an IDE?
An integrated development environment (IDE) or interactive development environment is a software application that is designed to help programmers and developers build software. An IDE provides a well designed environment for developers/programmers/students to write their source code in a well defined and arranged manner, which plain text editors like notepad fail to do.
IDE's arrangement of source code and well representation enables a better syntactic understanding of the code. IDE's provides advanced features like code generators, auto-completion, refactoring, and debuggers.
Eclipse
Description:
In computer programming, Eclipse is an integrated development environment (IDE). It contains a base workspace and an extensible plug-in system for customizing the environment. Eclipse is used to develop applications. Eclipse IDE is coded in Java.
By means of various plug-ins, Eclipse may also be used to develop applications in other programming languages: Ada, ABAP, C, C++, COBOL, Fortran, Haskell, JavaScript, Lasso, Perl, PHP, Python, R, Ruby (including Ruby on Rails framework), Scala, Clojure, Groovy, Scheme, and Erlang.
It can also be used to develop packages for the software Mathematica. Development environments include the Eclipse Java development tools (JDT) for Java and Scala, Eclipse CDT for C/C++ and Eclipse PDT for PHP, among others.
Eclipse has taken the Java industry to a next level. It is highly extensible and customizable. Eclipse is built on its own SWT GUI library. It excels at refactoring, J2EE support, and plugin support. The only weakness of Eclipse is its lack of a Swing (SWT GUI) designer. The eclipse platform provides tools that gives developers ultimate flexibility and control over their software.
Payment: Eclipse IDE is free.
License: Open Source
Operating System that Supports Eclipse: Windows, Max, Linux.
NetBeans
Description:
NetBeans is a free IDE by Sun Microsystems. It is an integrated development environment (IDE) for developing primarily with Java, but also with other languages, in particular PHP, C/C++, and HTML5. It is also an application platform framework for Java desktop applications and others.
The NetBeans IDE is written in Java and can run on Windows, OS X, Linux, Solaris and other platforms supporting a compatible JVM. The NetBeans Platform allows applications to be developed from a set of modular software components called modules.
Applications based on the NetBeans Platform (including the NetBeans IDE itself) can be extended by third party developers. The NetBeans Team actively support the product and seek future suggestions from the wider community. Every release is preceded by a time for Community testing and feedback.
NetBeans is the main competitor of Eclipse.The main advantage of NetBeans over Eclipse is NetBean's excellent GUI designer. It includes syntax highlighting and language support for Java, JSP, XML/XHTML, visual design tools, code generators, ant and CVS support.
Payment: NetBeans IDE is free.
License: Open Source
Operating System that Supports Eclipse: Windows, Max, Linux, Solaris.
JCreator
Descriptions:
JCreator is a Java IDE created by Xinox Software. Its interface is similar to that of Microsoft's Visual Studio. Because it is programmed entirely in C++, (except the first version (0.1), which was Java-based ), Xinox Software has asserted that JCreator is faster than competing Java-based Java IDEs.
JCreator has two editions: JCreator Pro (free 30 day trial), JCreator Standard (completely free). Note also that unlike many other Java IDEs, JCreator is not coded in Java but is written in C++ and optimised for the Windows platform.
JCreator is only available on the Windows operating system. However, both the LE and Pro versions of JCreator run adequately on Linux (using Wine). So far no Linux versions are planned for immediate release, but new components will be built for cross-compatibility in mind.
The feature set of the Pro version is comparable to that of other language aware IDEs with respect to project management and editing features, but lacks advanced features, such as automated refactoring, support for common frameworks etc., which can be found in the dominant Java IDEs such as Eclipse.
The free LE version further lacks some features, such as code completion, that are included with other free IDEs. Unlike the dominant Java IDEs today, JCreator also lacks the level of extensibility through third-party plugins that is common in popular Java IDEs.
Payment: Free / Trial.
License: Proprietary
Operating System that Supports Eclipse: Windows.
Are you an IT student? Are you learning Java this semester? Do you know other popular Java IDE for application and web development. Leave your comments.
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