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NetBeans 5.5: Java IDE Comes into Its Own

NetBeans 5.5 is a surprise. I used it for the first time a couple of years ago and swore never to use it again. However, my curiosity was piqued recently as I heard the buzz about the redesigned NetBeans gaining traction in the development community. NetBeans 5.5 is not the NetBeans I threw away a few years ago. This IDE has grown really well and includes features that rival the finest in the market today. There are still a few problem areas (which are discussed below), but overall NetBeans is a production-ready IDE definitely worth a try. With the progress NetBeans has made, expect it to make substantial inroads into the vast IDE market that Eclipse has previously dominated.

System Requirements

Operating System: Any operating system that supports the Java Virtual Machine
RAM: 512MB (minimum)—1GB (recommended)
Free Disk Space: 1GB
JVM: JDK 5.0 and above

Installation

As a prerequisite, NetBeans requires the JDK 5.0 or better, installed on the system. Install the basic NetBeans package using the NetBeans IDE download. The other add-on packages, like Profiler and Visual Web pack, have to be downloaded separately and installed on top of the NetBeans IDE.

Another option is to download the Java Application Platform SDK Update 2, which will install NetBeans and the Application Server through a single setup. After you have installed NetBeans, you can install all the add-on packs that you need. For Java EE development, install the Enterprise pack, the Profiler and the Visual Web Pack. If you want to develop C or C++ applications, you will need the C/C++ Pack. Similarly, if you want to develop mobile Java applications, you will need the Java Mobility pack.

Notable Features

Drag-and-drop-based UI development
ANT for builds supports
Integrated version control
Integrated debugging support
Enables sharing between developers over the network
Advanced code refactoring
Pluggable Profiler
Built-in XML Editor and XML development tools
Allows for C/C++ development
Mobile application development
BPEL development tools
Enables UML modeling
Portal development environment
Rich client development


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