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[java] Java IDEs...what's the best?

Started by davidko Oct 12, 2001 at 3:19 AM 20 replies 1.4k views

Original Post

Oct 12, 2001 at 3:19 AM

I was curious on what people''s experiences were with various java (jdk compatible) IDEs. I''ve tried Visual J++, Symantec Cafe, Visual Age for java, NetBeans, CodeWarrior, and Forte. Personally, I was most comfortable with VisJ++, because I''m so used to VC++. But, somehow, I couldn''t get it to compile using jdk1.3.1 on win2k, although I could do it on win98. So, I''m trying out CodeWarrior with mixed feelings. I''ve tried netbeans, but it''s such a memory hog. Visual Age was kinda buggy...etc. Anyone have opinions on the "best" IDE??

baumep

Oct 12, 2001 at 5:34 AM

This may not be the best IDE but it is free. It can be used with Java and C/C++ Projects too. The IDE is called VIDE and you can find more info on that at http://www.objectcentral.com/vide.htm.
(BTW I''m using it right now in combination with the free Borland C++ Compiler)

baumep

dr-m

Oct 12, 2001 at 7:19 AM

I have bought one shareware program in my life - JCreator.

This is in my opinion the BEST IDE for java.
http://www.jcreator.com/

End of discussion!

/ dr-m

Smoo

Oct 12, 2001 at 10:21 AM

IBM is coming out with a new 2-in-1 software that has Visual Age and Websphere stuff packed together. The IDE looks very much like VJ++ so there are major GUI improvements involved. The software is currently in beta and can be gotten from the IBM site (don''t ask me where though, my friend dl-ed it and I took the lazy man''s way and copied it from him)

I had the chance to try it out a bit and it looks impressive. It''ll probably cost an arm and a leg once it''s out but hey

that''s the way big software companies are.

A great second alternative is JCreator (which you''d like as well since it''s similar to the vj/vc++ IDEs.

Good luck.

WayfarerX

Oct 12, 2001 at 10:25 AM

One word: Forte.
It''s big, and a massive memory hog, but the new version 3.0 has some really sweet features. Oh, and it''s FREE!

Note: Visual J++ is a good editor, but do not compile with it. The compiler it used compiles into a Microsoft version of Java that is only somewhat compliant with the 1.1 spec (so forget Java2). I''ve heard there were ways to hack it to get it to use Sun''s javac, but I never figured out how.

"If consquences dictate our course of action, it doesn''t matter what''s right, it''s only wrong if you get caught."
- Tool

nazpyro

Oct 12, 2001 at 10:26 AM

i like "Forte for Java" (http://www.sun.com/forte/ffj/index.html)...but then again...it''s the only one i tried...but I liked it

"Success is not the result of spontaneous combustion; you must set yourself on fire."

omegasyphon

Oct 12, 2001 at 12:12 PM

what about jbuilder, u can get if free from the web

borngamer

Oct 12, 2001 at 12:18 PM

I also have to say Forte is my favorite. It is a hog, but if you have the minimum ram (128MB) it''s quite usable. Of course 256MB really makes it sing.

I used to use JCreator (when I didn''t have the RAM) and it was a pretty decent Java source editor. But it doesn''t have any GUI modelling tools.

borngamer

Martee

126

Martee

Oct 12, 2001 at 12:37 PM

JCreator is awesome.

davidko

Author

davidko

Oct 12, 2001 at 2:24 PM

thanks for the replies!

...never tried JCreator, UltreEdit32, CLI, nor VIDE. I''ll give those a look. I''ve used IBM''s visual age, but only a trial version, and it was buggy as hell. Maybe I should give netbeans another chance. Someone told me netbeans was better than forte. But never found out for myself.

Has anyone tried hacking VJ++ to compile jdk1.3.1? I''ve done it for win98...just a matter of editting some registry keys. But I tried the same thing with win2k, and it didn''t work, so I guess the mechanism is a little different. If anyone''s gotten that to work with win2k, I''d love to know how you did it.

a2k

Oct 12, 2001 at 4:10 PM

jbuilder rocks! yes, it''s a memory hog as much as forte, but it has the intuitive feel of microsoft''s visual products, AND the independence from microsoft packages, which means, it''s easy to link up with Sun''s JDK. My classmate used UltraEdit which is not as powerful, but along with that, not as much of a memory hog.

a2k

silencer

Oct 13, 2001 at 7:59 AM

I use Vim (vi improved) and jikes... Both under win32 and Linux.

I have already used Visual J++ (at university) with SourceSafe. Don''t like it. NetBeans... too complex for me. Then I came back to vim and jikes (and some occasional uses of Makefile) and that''s the solution I prefer.

WayfarerX

Oct 13, 2001 at 9:53 PM

jikes == cool

I have a buddy who''s mainly a *nix C++ guru who swears by Vim. I''ve played with it a little and it looks like it would rule once you master it.

"If consquences dictate our course of action, it doesn''t matter what''s right, it''s only wrong if you get caught."
- Tool

krez

156

krez

Oct 14, 2001 at 7:55 PM

does anyone know of a really simple JAVA IDE? i used to use borland jbuilder, but it is big and slow and annoying... i just downloaded Forte, and it too is big and slow and annoying...
what i want is something very simple, such as a project manager, some windows to edit the code, maybe a nice tree thing to browse packages... i am about two minutes from programming my own, but if there is one already made i''ll just use that and save the time for java programming.
someone mentioned UltraEdit32, is that free? what does it offer?
thanks

--- krez (krezisback@aol.com)

thed77

Oct 15, 2001 at 4:34 AM

Krez, you would be describing JCreator.

BoRReL

Oct 15, 2001 at 5:05 AM

Heya,

After trying a lot of different IDE''s, I figured out they all have there pro''s and con''s. In my opinion Codewarrior is the best. Just a shame it has no intellitype like Msoft''s VJ.

Forte was too big/slow for me.
Never tried JCreator though.

Gr,
BoRReL

nowan

Oct 15, 2001 at 5:23 AM

I use JCreator. It is very simple to use and seems quite fast too. borngamer, what do you mean by GUI modelling tools in Forte, Sounds interesting?

Anthrax

Oct 15, 2001 at 5:44 AM

JPadPro is the best.

mcd9

Oct 15, 2001 at 8:16 AM

Sorry that ^ was me

quote:
Original post by dr-m
I have bought one shareware program in my life - JCreator.

exactly the same here. I used the trial version for a week and in that time decided that I couldn't cope without it!

I've used JBuilder for a while but it was slow and I didn't use the GUI creator so JCreator was perfect!

I;ve tried using GUI creation programs but always found that due to the LayoutManger stuff they were too complex! Anyway code GUI's by hand isn't that much harder and then you don't have to conform to there style of GUI creation!

I've used VIm a fair amount but found that it didn't work as well with large files (not that it was slow, that it didn't have project views and code completion)

mcd9

Ford! theres an infinate amount of monkeys outside wanting to talk to you about a script of Hamlet they created!

www.mikeditum.co.uk

Edited by - mcd9 on October 15, 2001 9:17:01 AM

shak

Oct 15, 2001 at 11:22 AM

IMHO Netbeans is better than Forte. They are based on the same code, Forte is the branded version and Netbeans the Open Source version. Being Open Source makes it be ahead of Forte by a few months, Forte 3 is based on Netbeans 3.0 while Netbeans is at 3.2.1. So if you do not care whether something is officially supported by a big company or not, I would take Netbeans at the moment(both are free of course).

And yes, they are memory hogs. Run just fine on my 192MB PC though, and with 128MB Ram for older machines less than 20$ these days, RAM requirements should not really be a show stopper. I would rather pay 20 or 40 bucks for RAM than 200 or whatever for buying an IDE. For games you need the ram anyways

Ah and the link to Netbeans is http://www.netbeans.org/ in case anyone wants to check it out.

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