IDE for Java

[Ilja Preuss]

Originally posted by Don Liu:
Thanks to all of you! I guess I need to rephrase my question, I am looking for java stuff, not just IDE. From my understanding so far:
there are Java IDEs: JBuilder, Visual Age, ...;
there are Java server: WebLogic, WebSphere, JBoss;
what else is out there?
Thank you very much!

Some must-haves IMO:
version control system: CVS, SubVersion, ...
build tool: Jakarta Ant (no real alternatives)
integration server: Cruise Control, AntHill, ...
refactoring browser: depends on which IDE you use
unit testing: JUnit
acceptance testing: Fit, FitNesse, ...
a team wiki: Friki, ...

[Ilja Preuss]

Originally posted by Michael Morris:
Personally, I've never liked using an IDE. They have a bad habit of making your code overly complex.

Possibly, if you use their code generation features. You don't have to - after all you have total control over how you use the IDE.

I tend to agree with the statement "Smarter Tools, Dumber Developers? " but without the question mark.

Sorry, that's a dumb statement. Smart developers will use smart tools in smart ways. Dumb developers don't get smarter by not using tools.
I am sure that things like integrated refactoring, JUnit support, quick fixes, incremental compiler, code templates etc. make me more effective in writing better code. YMMV.
BTW, I would advice to either use IntelliJ IDEA (a little bit smarter) or Eclipse (better handling of huge amounts of interdependent projects).

[John Lee]

Originally posted by Ilja Preuss:

Some must-haves IMO:
version control system: CVS, SubVersion, ...
build tool: Jakarta Ant (no real alternatives)
integration server: Cruise Control, AntHill, ...
refactoring browser: depends on which IDE you use
unit testing: JUnit
acceptance testing: Fit, FitNesse, ...
a team wiki: Friki, ...

thanks for the informations!

[Joel McNary]

Just my 2 cents on the TextEditor vs. IDE debate:
I personally use both. I do a lot of desktop applications and rely on the IDE's ability to build GUIs to speed along my coding. It is a real pain to code complex GUIs by hand; visual manipulation is the faster choice (even if it does require the mouse...)
However, IDEs are memory-intensive. Starting one up to make a few simple changes is not a worthwhile endeavour when I can make the changes in a Text Editor. If my IDE is started, I will edit text using it, but if not, I use Textpad. This is much less encumbered and allows me to make my changes quickly.
As far as code generation, I write my own tools for that That way the code is generated how I want it generated. I am not just a computer programmer, I am a computer user. We write programs to make other peoples lives easier; why not use these programs to make our own lives easier?
To my way of thinking, refusing to use an IDE on princple is much like, say, an accountact who refuses to use a spreadsheet program. Yes, he can perform the same calculations by hand (or using a calculator), and in some instances it is faster to use pencil-and-paper because of the overhead involved in opening and setting up the spreadsheet. However, he loses a lot by refusing to use the spreadsheet for the more complex tasks, and his hand-calculations are more prone to errors.
Just my thoughts on the subject. I think that, just a an accountant should have both pencil-and-paper and a spreadsheet at his disposal, a programmer should have a TextEditor and an IDE at his disposal.

[Hung Tang]

I came from TextPad then switched to Eclipse and Intellij IDEA IDEs.
These two receive a lot of attention because they are argubly the top two best Java IDEs.
You can try both Eclipse and Intellij at their respective web sites www.eclipse.org, www.intellij.com
IMO, I think IDEA is the best but it ain't free but worth every penny.

[John Lee]

Originally posted by Hung Tang:
I came from TextPad then switched to Eclipse and Intellij IDEA IDEs.
These two receive a lot of attention because they are argubly the top two best Java IDEs.
You can try both Eclipse and Intellij at their respective web sites www.eclipse.org, www.intellij.com
IMO, I think IDEA is the best but it ain't free but worth every penny.

thanks a lot!

[Greg Karpov]

I like AnyJ,it's witten in java,but still very fast and has lots of features.Check it out at http://www.netcomputing.de

[John Lee]

thanks for the informations!
i just wondering how profitable it is to create new java ide?

[Bruce Jin]

Don:
I use Eclipse. It is wonderful. I just added a CVS server to it.
With Eclipse you can play with plug-in development. Very interesting stuff.
Are there any other tools that also allow plug-in development?
Thanks.

[John Lee]

Originally posted by Bruce Jin:
Don:
I use Eclipse. It is wonderful. I just added a CVS server to it.
With Eclipse you can play with plug-in development. Very interesting stuff.
Are there any other tools that also allow plug-in development?
Thanks.

sounds a wonderful tool!

[Ashik Uzzaman]

I use Eclipse. It is wonderful. I just added a CVS server to it. With Eclipse you can play with plug-in development. Very interesting stuff. Are there any other tools that also allow plug-in development?

Dear Bruce, I would like to develop a plug-in for Eclispe. Please tell me what are the initial documents that I should go through. I am currenly browsing eclipse.org.

[Ilja Preuss]

Originally posted by Ashik uzzaman:
I would like to develop a plug-in for Eclispe. Please tell me what are the initial documents that I should go through. I am currenly browsing eclipse.org.

As this seems to be a rather new topic, I opened a new thread for this: https://coderanch.com/t/101917/vc/eclipse-plugin-development

[John Lee]

thanks a lot!

[Eleison Zeitgeist]

Originally posted by Don Liu:

thanks a lot for all the help. but i have not decided yet.

Don't be a dumbass; pick wsad 5.0. Reasons:
-Industry standard
-looks better on resume - esp. good for this economy
-does everything you want and will ever need
-comes with test app server
-can debug *.jsp, javascript, serlvets, etc..
-the editors are as good or better then textpad and et al.
-secure version control support for major scm systems - I currently us cvs via extssh.
caveat emptor:
- needs good hardware (company that I work for is giving just about everyone new comps. just to run this monster -- obviously they feel its worth the money and you should too :-)
- typical requirements (J2EE projects): 512 required, 768-1g recommend memory. 2-3 ghz processor....
ps. the above is just my opinon... the IDE debate has come up before with me and my friends -- just sick of debating :-) Also, WSAD is basically Eclipse (its like lexus is basically a toyota).
That is all........ ;-)
[ June 04, 2003: Message edited by: Eleison Zeitgeist ]