What are you using to write your code?

[kellaw]

Anyone gets the problem with JCreator when you get a popup box saying process completed successfully but it doesn't?

[mwildam]

Lots of Java developers starts there carrier in that way, start from the Notepad + command prompt and move to advance Java IDE. In my view, notepad + command prompt helps in may ways, identify the compiling/running mechanism, identify the keywords, identify different initializations like implements all members of an interface and a lot.

I also tried at first compiling a java program from the commandline to understand the compiling process but apart from that developing with notepad is like going back to stone age. A few days ago I had to fix some bugs in an ASPX without having the .NET project files and I had to use notepad - without autocomplete and some auto-syntax check there were a lot of additional test runs required - e.g. because of uncorrect spelling (upper-lower-case) of method names.

Why should I create additional unnecessary tortures?

[Eranga]

In my point the thing is auto-correct. Since notepad doesn't have such a feature, people have to deal with his/her memory. I believe that's the better way to move. And that's the way I move, and I strongly believe that's my success.

[xdope]

i use jcreator

[Loop]

Nice, JCreator, I've stopped using it, I'm a JCoder man now.

[kirly]

guys, what's the advantage of eclipse from the other IDE's??????
any idea?

[kirly]

i use jCreator because it uses minimal memory usage..isn't it? hehehhe

[Eranga]

guys, what's the advantage of eclipse from the other IDE's??????
any idea?

Each and every Java IDEs have advantages as well as disadvantages. If you ask in a specific contest it's easy to answer. Otherwise best thing is just work on with Eclipse and see your self. It's make real difference in your way. :)

[Eranga]

i use jCreator because it uses minimal memory usage..isn't it? hehehhe

I'm a NetBeans user, and never work on with JCreator. And also I've experience on Eclipse for a project or two. NetBeans need around 100MB memory in processing time. I think Eclipse use more than that, I'm not sure.

[DuceDuceExplorer]

I'm a NetBeans user, and never work on with JCreator. And also I've experience on Eclipse for a project or two. NetBeans need around 100MB memory in processing time. I think Eclipse use more than that, I'm not sure.

netbeans and eclipse here is well, still suck at coding but those are the IDE's i use depending on what im trying to accomplish

[Aikon]

this is my first post and was just browsing around :)

I believe that its better to use a basic text editor such as notepad or textpad for the beginners. Correct me if i am wrong. I am coming from a the .Net world and to be honest the visual studio really made me lazy in various aspects.

I wish to know however once i migrate from notepad or textpad which is the best IDE around? Some say Eclipse... others say Netbeans.

One last question pls.... Is there any sort of intellisense available? Or maybe some trick to move around the API documentation in an easy way?

thanks for any help

[Eranga]

Yes, I agreed with you. For Java newbies what my suggestion is, start from the Notepad and command prompt. When you build confidence on Java yourself, move to an advance Java IDE, and my suggestion is NetBeans.

One last question pls.... Is there any sort of intellisense available? Or maybe some trick to move around the API documentation in an easy way?

What you mean by intellisense?

Seems to me you are board to read Java documents. Because in .Net(actually in Microsoft you have a nice too, MSDN) there document is organized in easy way with examples. But not in Java. Am I right.

Once you get familiar with that doc it's not difficult actually.

[mwildam]

this is my first post and was just browsing around :)

I believe that its better to use a basic text editor such as notepad or textpad for the beginners. Correct me if i am wrong. I am coming from a the .Net world and to be honest the visual studio really made me lazy in various aspects.

I wish to know however once i migrate from notepad or textpad which is the best IDE around? Some say Eclipse... others say Netbeans.

One last question pls.... Is there any sort of intellisense available? Or maybe some trick to move around the API documentation in an easy way?

thanks for any help

First: Welcome and I am glad that another contributor is here.

Second: I do disagree using a text editor. Especially as a beginner I would misspell or simply not know by heart a lot of properties and method of the different classes and do not know exactly the class names to be imported. In the IDE I have many helpful features that remind me (e.g. IDE syntax checks) about all those things that - using notepad - I would have to read a lot the documentation and further need a lot of trial&error compile attempts.

The only thing: The very first time for the hello world sample it is good if you try it "by hand" using notepad and java compiler so that you understand how it works.

I definitely do not want to be thrown back to stone age of software development!

[masijade]

Second: I do disagree using a text editor. Especially as a beginner I would misspell or simply not know by heart a lot of properties and method of the different classes and do not know exactly the class names to be imported. In the IDE I have many helpful features that remind me (e.g. IDE syntax checks) about all those things that - using notepad - I would have to read a lot the documentation and further need a lot of trial&error compile attempts.

And this is the exact reason why a beginner should start with an IDE (one of them anyway). As a beginner, you need to learn how to use the documentation (which will solve the problems above) so that you are not dependant on asking others (including your IDE) for help everytime you have a problem.

Other reasons for starting with a simple text editor and compiling from the command line, is so that you learn what the classpath is, how to manipulate it, and how to use it intimately. So that you learn what it is that is happening when you create jarfiles. So you know how to manipulate a program when you execute (setting flags and other runtime parameters -D -X etc).

When you do not start with a texteditor and commandline you do not understand any of the above. Period. No if and or buts about it. Anybody who claims they do (without years of experience) is lying, period. All you are learning is the IDE you are using to "learn" with. That's all, and that doesn't cut it.

[mwildam]

When you do not start with a texteditor and commandline you do not understand any of the above. Period. No if and or buts about it. Anybody who claims they do (without years of experience) is lying, period. All you are learning is the IDE you are using to "learn" with. That's all, and that doesn't cut it.

I did my very first hello world attempts without the IDE. Let me say it is the first and maybe the first two days you use notepad and the compiler directly playing around with the class path.

But then working without the IDE is annoying. BTW: When I learn Java I read so many new abbrevations, so many new technologies that everything that can do the IDE for me is greatly appreciated.

For example: With NetBeans I do not have to worry about the use of ANT. NetBeans is doing it for me. And actually: Probably it would be good to understand how Ant works but: I have to get productive as soon as possible. So I don't want to bother with that.

[masijade]

Whatever works for you. I'll just say three more things.

1. When a problem occurs (in the production environment where your IDE will not be available) will you actually understand what has gone wrong and how to fix it? Probably not.

2. When your company says "We've switched to IDE a as IDE b is whatever, so we will no longer use it." and IDE a is completely different from IDE b, how long will it take you to get used to it, when you don't understand the processes behind what you where doing with the other IDE?

3. I've seen this argument of "getting productive ASAP" so often, I'm getting sick of it. Never put being able to limpingly jog today ahead of being able to sprint like a champion tomorrow, which is usually what happens you apply that "getting productive ASAP" label. Being able to finish your assignments quicker because the IDE is able to tell you how to spell something (when what you should be using is already clearly defined) is a difference of maybe a few days over the long haul while learning. But the benefit achieved from having learned it the right way first, then going to an IDE and getting that bonus added to what you really learned, is made up in a very short time, and the person that learned it the right way is then much more productive than the person who learned it on the IDE. That argument is the lamest excuse for taking shortcuts that anyone has ever thought of, and everyone uses it.

[mwildam]

Just found an article comparing NetBeans, JDeveloper and Eclipse - FYI:
Java IDEs - NetBeans vs Eclipse vs JDeveloper - Enterprise Java Software Developer Station

[Eranga]

1. When a problem occurs (in the production environment where your IDE will not be available) will you actually understand what has gone wrong and how to fix it? Probably not.

I think you must. As a excellent developer he/she should be clever with the concepts. Not with a specific pattern. I found lots of people like that, they know how to build a project in NetBeans(or any IDE) and give a single jar file. But didn't know how to do it on command prompt if the IDE's fail to do it.

2. When your company says "We've switched to IDE a as IDE b is whatever, so we will no longer use it." and IDE a is completely different from IDE b, how long will it take you to get used to it, when you don't understand the processes behind what you where doing with the other IDE?

This is quite usual in the industry. Specially with PMs. When a new PM is join to company, in most of the time the best is what he/she most familiar. Anyhow time taken to switch between depends on the person who use it. Most people dead in that case, because they stick with only once for a long time. So it's not good to stuck with a single IDE. And also it's not practice to work with few. So again, hang on with concepts, not with a specific pattern.

[mwildam]

1. When a problem occurs (in the production environment where your IDE will not be available) will you actually understand what has gone wrong and how to fix it? Probably not.

It is very seldom that I really do have to perform debugging at the production client if I produce good logfiles. If I have to do debugging I actually maybe have to do some manual work and testing.

2. When your company says "We've switched to IDE a as IDE b is whatever, so we will no longer use it." and IDE a is completely different from IDE b, how long will it take you to get used to it, when you don't understand the processes behind what you where doing with the other IDE?

The company I work for does not decide about the tools I have to use. The tool to use must be decided by the developer(s) and not by some manager never doing a line of code. If a group of developers decides to change IDE there might be pretty good reasons and then it might be worth learning the new IDE. And actually if component separation is done as it should it should either make no difference if developer A is using Eclipse and developer B is using NetBeans for example. In our projects C++, C# and VB are mixed while components are separated appropriately.

3. I've seen this argument of "getting productive ASAP" so often, I'm getting sick of it.
[...]
But the benefit achieved from having learned it the right way first, then going to an IDE and getting that bonus added to what you really learned, is made up in a very short time, and the person that learned it the right way is then much more productive than the person who learned it on the IDE. That argument is the lamest excuse for taking shortcuts that anyone has ever thought of, and everyone uses it.

I do learn things usually top-down: When I find out that for instance the default ANT-packaging in NetBeans does not fit my needs than I will dig into it. Just because I want to get my first productive project running does not mean that I will not go into details later - definitely not!

But I think that how fast you can get productive with a programming language and available IDE(s) is an important thing how it will spread out. Software Development does not get easier with the time and it will become more difficult to find good programmers if the learning curve (until the first results for production) is so flat.

[masijade]

Whatever, we're both entitled to our own opinions, regardless of what the other thinks of them.

(You know I'm right! ;) )