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Many people learn to program using a simple text editor, but eventually most end up using an integrated development environment (IDE) for building applications. An IDE is a set of tools that aids application development. Most IDEs have tools that allow you to:

• Write and edit source code
• See errors as you type
• See highlighted code syntax
• Automate repetitive tasks
• Compile code
• Browse class structures
• View JavaDocs
• Use drag-and-drop utilities for easy building of features, such as graphic objects or creating database connections

In addition, some IDEs do the following:

• Provide templates for quick creation of JSP pages, servlets and other web components
• Provide code-completion as you type
• Automatically create classes, methods, and properties
• Integrate with source code repositories, such as CVS
• Integrate with web application servers, such as Apache Tomcat
• Integrate with build utilities, such as Apache Ant
• HTTP monitoring for debugging web applications
• Unified UI for debugging Java code
• Macros and abbreviations
• Refactor code
• Provide UML support

It's no wonder developers move to an IDE, but which IDE is right for you? Which features do you need? Sun Microsystems supports three IDEs for the Java platform: NetBeans, Sun Java Studio Creator, and Sun Java Studio Enterprise. The following descriptions should help you decide which IDE is best for your development needs.

Growing with the NetBeans Platform   Choosing an IDE can be daunting. It's worse when you're just starting out, as you may not be sure what your needs are, much less whether a given IDE will meet those needs. One of the distinct advantages of the NetBeans IDE (and by extension those IDEs built on that common platform) is that NetBeans is easily extensible. Many of those extensions (modules) which work in NetBeans also work seamlessly within products such as Java Studio Enterprise. This means that the IDE evolves as both your needs and experience grow, and you build on the experience you gain using a common IDE platform, rather than having to learn an entirely new toolset as your needs change. Whether you are a coder who wants to get to the raw power exposed by NetBeans, an enterprise developer who wants to exploit the full capabilities of J2EE and Web Services using Java Studio Enterprise, or a corporate developer looking for the highly visual ease-of-development capabilities embodied by Java Studio Creator, the suite of tools which compose the NetBeans/Studio stack likely provide all the features an capabilities you need now and in the future. -- Robert Brewin, Distinguished Engineer Architect - Sun Developer Tools

The NetBeans Platform and IDE

The NetBeans Integrated Development Environment (IDE) 4.0 platform is an open source IDE. NetBeans is written in the Java programming language and provides the services common to desktop applications, such as window and menu management, settings storage, and so forth. It's also the first IDE to fully support JDK 5.0 features.

NetBeans also provides support for CVS/Version control access, FTP functionality, databases, scripting, and servlet and JavaServer Pages support through Tomcat.

With NetBeans you can create desktop applications, as well as web applications. NetBeans contains extensions to the Swing APIs that make it easier to write in a syntax-highlighting code editor. The editor is capable of mixed-mode operation in which correct syntax highlighting, code-completion, formatting, and macros are provided for documents that contain content in more than one language, such as a JSP page containing both HTML and Java code.

If you are writing applications to run strictly on the desktop, NetBeans provides everything you need. In addition, it makes creating menuing systems easy. Rather than write code to manage menus, simply write the logic that's important - what should happen when a user clicks on a menu item.

You can also create web applications with NetBeans, but the learning curve in this area is a bit steeper than using Sun Java Studio Creator.

NetBeans is also good for programmers and developers new to the Java programming language because it's simpler to parse through the output of the compiler when dealing with an application than when dealing with a call stack from an application server.

Download the latest free version of the NetBeans IDE.

Sun Java Studio Creator IDE

While NetBeans is great for creating desktop applications, the Sun Java Studio Creator IDE is great for quick and easy web application development. In addition, this IDE is built on NetBeans, starting with a subset of the functionality and extending it.

Java Studio Creator allows you to build applications visually, like with MS Visual Basic for building asp.net applications. The programming part is cleanly separated from the UI part. With Java Studio Creator, the IDE takes care of a lot of the plumbing behind the UI.

For example, in Java Studio Creator, you rarely need to modify a JSP file directly. Instead, you use the GUI to draw the UI, and then put your code into event handlers in a Java class.

The rapid visual drag-and-drop features are based on JavaServer Faces technology, which is a framework for building user interfaces for web applications. A graphical user interface (GUI) is used for manipulating JavaServer Faces components, as well as visually defining page flow. There's also graphical support for easily working with databases and web services.

In addition, you can customize applications with localization, internationalization, and custom validation.

For programmers and developers new to the Java platform, Java Studio Creator is an easy-to-use and powerful tool for building web applications.

For $99, you get the Java Studio Creator software and a subscription that provides technical support from Sun, access to articles and tutorials that are private, and access to a community forum where you can give and receive information about using the Java Studio Creator IDE.

Download a 30-day trial version of Java Studio Creator, which includes a temporary license key providing 30-day trial access to all the SDN Standard subscription content.

Sun Java Studio Enterprise

This IDE is a powerhouse set of tools that provides a powerful, integrated framework for enterprise-grade, rapid web application development, offers enhanced debugging and development support for Web services and Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE) application development.

Like Java Studio Creator, Java Studio Enterprise is also built on NetBeans and extends it. It also enables smart code editing with refactoring, performance tuning of applications with an optimal end-user experience, and simulates usage behavior for web applications with built-in load generation.

Java Studio Enterprise provides a model-driven analysis, design, and development environment that leverages Unified Modeling Language (UML). This integrated feature reduces complexity and increases visual clarity across software development projects, ensuring that a sound architecture is established and communicated throughout the enterprise.

With Java Studio Enterprise, you can jumpstart the development process using features, such as live, roundtrip (bidirectional) markerless model, code synchronization, and code-reverse engineering. In addition to class diagrams, roundtrip model to code synchronization is available from sequence diagrams as well as all other diagrams containing class nodes.

This advanced development capability is complemented with features such as:

• A powerful HTML documentation engine to produce project documents that are vital to a team's productivity
• An intuitive layout facility that enables the most complex of application designs to be easily visualized, navigated, and understood
• Wizard-driven automation of common tasks, such as code-reverse engineering, live roundtrip model, and source code synchronization, integrated with model-driven version control

Java Studio Enterprise resources and services are delivered through a developer portal. Developers can contact a team of engineers for product support and participate in discussion forums where questions can be posted to a community of developers and Sun engineers. In addition, a comprehensive knowledge base is available with powerful search capabilities for answers to common problems. Interactive webinars, chats, and code camps are frequently provided, enabling developers to interact with experts and innovate using the latest Sun technologies. This portal also provides access to the latest releases of Java Studio Enterprise software.

For the programmer or developer new to the Java platform, Java Studio Enterprise might have a steep learning curve, but it will definitely get the job done.

If you want to switch to Java Studio Enterprise from some other IDE, Sun has several migration guides published to help you make that transition:

A free 90-day trial of Sun Java Studio Enterprise 7 is available for the Solaris and Windows platforms in three languages - English, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese. After completing your 90-day trial you can easily purchase a full license version online.

For More Information

• NetBeans.org
• NetBeans IDE: What's New in NetBeans 4.0 IDE
• Download a 30-day trial version of Java Studio Creator
• Sun Java Studio Enterprise 7
• Getting Started With Sun Java Studio Creator
• The Learning Curve #1: Exploring Java Technology and the Java Studio Creator IDE
• Overview of Sun Java Studio Enterprise 7
• Sun Java Studio Enterprise in Action: Building a Web Application