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IntelliJIDEA Is One of the Best Java IDEs

In my opinion, Java developers should have several IDEs installed on their PC
By Yakov Fain
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May 5, 2006 11:15 AM EDT
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 12,046
IntelliJIDEA Is One of the Best Java IDEs

In my opinion, Java developers should have several IDEs installed on their PC. In the era of ANT and  Maven, the build of your project should be automated anyway, so it's OK to use more than one IDE based on your current needs.

There are several IDEs that are-good-enough for any Java developer. Two out of three best IDEs are free:

Free Eclipse is nice because of variety of plugins available.  Since  I'm into  Flex programming now,  I'm still using it.

Free Netbeans shines when it comes to GUI designers (Matisse).  I'm planning to attend Netbeans tutorial day during my JavaOne visit.

But if you need just a really good Java-aware IDE, there is only one to use: not-free-but-inexpensive  IntelliJIDEA.

During my 8 years of Java programming,  I worked with VisualAge, JBuilder, and Eclipse.  I knew that  IntelliJIDEA had a loyal following of expert Java programmers, they won the JDJ's Best IDE award, but I just didn' t have an opportunity to  use it. Finally I started using IntelliJIDEA  on decent-size  project having three hundred classes.

I do not have time to list all  nice little features of this product that help you with  every move you make! Some time later I'll write  a product review of this tool... This IDE outsmarts me big time. Finding classes, refactoring suggesting solutions... everyting is at your fingertips.  I'm starting learning Java again with the help of this IDE.

JetBrains  folks did an amazing job. If they'll add a decent Swing GUI designer, this will be the only IDE to use. Hands down.

posted Friday, 5 May 2006
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Published May 5, 2006 – Reads 12,046
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About Yakov Fain

Yakov Fain is a Managing Director of Farata Systems, consulting, training and product company. He has authored several Java books, dozens of technical articles. SYS-CON Books released his latest co-authored book , Rich Internet Applications with Adobe Flex and Java: Secrets of the Masters in Spring 2007. Sun Microsystems has nominated and awarded Yakov with the title Java Champion. He leads the Princeton Java Users Group. He is an Adobe Certified Flex Instructor. Currently Yakov works on the book for O'Reilly "Enterprise Application Development with Flex". He twits at twitter.com/yfain.

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Most Recent Comments
Yakov Fain 05/12/06 05:00:24 PM EDT

I'm sure they have a GUI designer, but I won't admit that any Java IDE is a great RAD tool until I see something similar to what PowerBuilder offered more than 10 years ago with their DataWindow objects and reporting.
Simcha Knif 05/12/06 04:23:15 PM EDT

Yakov, you probably just did not have time to use the GUI designer in IntelliJ, since it's far better that its counterparts in any other Java IDE. You don't have to deal with various Java layouts and the horror that comes with it: you simply paint the screens in the same intuitive manner as in most graphical applications a la Illustrator or CorellDraw. And then the IDE converts it to Java code (that younever want to look at, promise!).
The idea lay on the surface for a decade, but it took the Idea folks to implement it, not unlike tons of other wonderful developer-friendly innovations.
SYS-CON Belgium News Desk 05/05/06 11:27:37 AM EDT

In my opinion, Java developers should have several IDEs installed on their PC. In the era of ANT and Maven, the build of you project should be automated anyway, so it's OK to use more than one IDE based on your current needs. There are several IDEs that are-good-enough for any Java developer. Two out of three best IDEs are free: Free Eclipse is nice because of variety of plugins available. Since I'm into Flex programming now, I'm still using it.
SYS-CON Australia News Desk 05/05/06 11:11:27 AM EDT

In my opinion, Java developers should have several IDEs installed on their PC. In the era of ANT and Maven, the build of you project should be automated anyway, so it's OK to use more than one IDE based on your current needs. There are several IDEs that are-good-enough for any Java developer. Two out of three best IDEs are free: Free Eclipse is nice because of variety of plugins available. Since I'm into Flex programming now, I'm still using it.