Eclipse vs. Netbeans

[gimbal]

@Preston

I can also edit, compile, run and debug the Java source code with Netbeans on HP UX machines for example, and out of the box – i.e. the very same Netbeans ZIP archive I use on Linux and Windows. That’s impressive not only for me, but also for the HP UX guys who’re usually not familiar with good looking GUI programs let alone an IDE.

Indeed, the way Swing is applied in Netbeans and the Netbeans platform is quite impressive. Its the one Java application I know that “just works” GUI-wise on all popular platforms (and as a result apps built with the Netbeans platform share the same sensation). And it probably required plenty of blood, sweat, tears and many hacks to get it to that point I’ll bet Heck, it spawned a whole new LayoutManager in Java 6.

Not exactly lightweight material though, the initialization phase of a simple hello world thing can already take seconds. Such things are exactly the kind of cannon fodder (War! Never been so much fun!) that Java haters abuse Power features such as the fact that you can hot-swap GUI changes directly into a running instance (god I love Java) is conveniently overlooked.

[gene9]

@ra4king

Seriously though, the differences between Eclipse and Netbeans are minuscule. It all ends being user preferences and what they first started out with/are more comfortable with.

I completely disagree. The differences are huge.

For basic editing/running Java source code and integrating with a version control system, yes, they are fairly similar.

If you try to do Scala, Python, Kotlin, LaTeX, JavaFX, Gradle: there are really major differences in IDE support.

[gimbal]

@gene9

For basic editing/running Java source code and integrating with a version control system, yes, they are fairly similar.

If you try to do Scala, Python, Kotlin, LaTeX, JavaFX, Gradle: there are really major differences in IDE support.

I have to be pedantic and say that this is not the IDE but the plugins we’re talking about. Basic out-of-the-box features for both Netbeans and Eclipse is the same when you pick a comparable download package. Eclipse seems to have more support from third parties and as such there are plugins available for it that you will not find for Netbeans - but they remain third party plugins and the experience is really varied I can honestly say. Especially the release management behind plugins can be terrible, the number of times I had one break after an update because it became incompatible with Eclipse WTP… grrrrr.