Java IDE Recommendations 3

[SamBones]

I've been a programmer for over three decades, so I'm no n00b, but I am new to Java. I started out using Netbeans, and have had someone recommend Eclipse. Can anyone recommend something else, or give votes to these two?

Just looking for a good IDE to use without trying a bunch of different ones.

 

[mikrom]

First, I started with Netbeans. Then I switched to Eclipse, because everyone I knew used Eclipse and we used an Eclipse-based IDE also at work.
Now, when I have been happy with Eclipse, I was forced by our work team to switch to IntellijIDEA. Until now I don't like this IDE very much, because for me it's complicated, but maybe I will later understand why it was preferred by our team. Maybe it's fully loaded with various tools that I have not used until now and maybe later I will appreciate this IDE.

IMHO, to compare Netbeans, Eclipse and IntellijIDEA:
Netbeans is simpler then Eclipse, Eclipse is simpler then IntellijIDEA.
Netbeans is a lightweight IDE.
IntellijIDEA is most heavyweight IDE I have ever seen. The launch of version 14 will take on my computer (with i7 processor and 16 GB RAM) about 5 minutes or maybe more.
My preferred IDE is Eclipse.

IMO both - Netbeans and Eclipse - are very good IDEs and it doesn't matter which are you using for learning Java.
Install them both and compare.

 

[SamBones]

Thanks for sharing! I think I'll install both Netbeans and Eclipse and just try them both. That sounds like it wouldn't been too painful.

 

[mikrom]

If you have Netbeans already installed then the installation of Eclipse is only unpacking of a downloaded zip-archive (on windows).

 

[mikrom]

The book mentioned here

http://www.tek-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=1732957

has an introductory chapter about Eclipse.

 

[Diancecht]

To start, I would recommend no IDEs: just notepad/vi to write and command line to compile and execute. Once you know what's going on behind the scenes, you can go with an IDE that will avoid complexity and hide the details.

After that, I would recommend Eclipse. I cannot make a comparison because I've been for a while just using Eclipse, but I can tello you that, IMHO, it has the correct proportion between easiness and usability. Futhermore, at this point the Eclipse community is bigger than the NetBeans' one and you can find a lot of support.

You can also find a lot plugins that will help you as you go along the Java path and you start with Java EE, Spring, ...

Cheers,
Dian

 

[xwb]

If you just want syntax highlighting, vim and geany work quite well.

I find that eclipse takes up too much vertical space with unnecessarily large tabs. The split window functionality isn't as slick as Visual Studio. It can be quite overwhelming when you try to download it because there are so many variants. I don't know what eclipse is written in but you will need a fast processor: don't try it on a netbook or low powered processor - takes almost 2 minutes to start up. In comparison, vim and geany start up in 3 seconds. No problem if you're using a fast processor.

 

[SamBones]

Thanks guys!