Eclipse vs Netbeans as Platform for App

mrunion · 2011-12-01 16:03:24

I have been a NetBeans user (of the IDE) for q couple of years. Eclipse was a little finicky for what I wanted a couple of years back, so I chose NetBeans.

Now I want to develop and application using one of those platforms. I have started the app using NetBeans, but am actually not sure that is the way I want to go. The target audience places a lot of stock in the "look" of an application and I think Eclipse just "looks" better. Things are further complicated for me in that although I have been a developer for over 25 years, I am a Java newbie -- I've only done a couple of applets and nothing large scale.

I started working on the app in NetBeans, go frustrated with all the "add this dependency", "do this lookup", etc. I started over twice. I now have something that runs one aspect of the app the way I want it -- but I cannot shake the feeling that Eclipse would be better for my users and quite possible for me as a developer. (For reference, I don't know *why*, but in NetBeans, using "lookups" really spanks me around! I haven't gotten my head around those things yet! Is there something in "plain Java" that I should study, or is it just my "new-to-NetBeans" that's causing me an issue? I have a book on NetBeans 6.9 development from Packt Publishing, but it really doesn't "explain" to me lookups, it just gives a couple of use cases and builds a sample app.)

So the bottom line is: I don't want to encourage a flame war over these platforms. I would like to learn Java, but at the same time I need an app as soon as I can get it done. I want to use the framework that would help me learn "Java" as much as it's platform, and not "shield" me from the Java by doing too much for me. Does that make sense?

I appreciate your time on this, and I'm definitely eager for answers from the "experienced" crowd.

Tzbob · 2011-12-01 16:19:21

I was forced to use Netbeans for any school related Java development. I had my last Java class 2 weeks ago. I installed Eclipse and I don't think I'm ever going back.

The hotkeys in Eclipse are way better! Android support is a lot more advanced and the overall look and feel of the application seems more solid.
Another big plus for me was that the Eclipse vim plugins, Eclim/Vrapper are more mature, or at least working better than JVi.

I'm not sure yet how Eclipse integrates with Glassfish or Databases, that's one thing I really liked about Netbeans.

The best advice I can give you is to test both of them.

Ramses de Norre · 2011-12-01 17:50:18

In my opinion IntelliJ idea is better then both netbeans and eclipse, it is really at a whole other level. The free community edition is available in the repos and is sufficient for regular java SE development.

mrunion · 2011-12-01 21:00:00

Thanks for the input so far. I really appreciate it!

More specifically, though: Does anyone have any insight on developing an App with the PLATFORM provided by NetBeans and/or Eclipse -- not just Java itself. I need to create an application and want to base it off an existing "windowing/app framework" instead of building alot of that code myself. Both NetBeans and Eclipse provide a framework to get an "application" based on them. Does anyone have any information about this aspect of those IDEs?

Ramses de Norre · 2011-12-01 21:02:39

I'm not quite getting you, Java is the platform, the IDE is just the IDE, an enriched editor...
The GUI builders in all Java IDEs use the same Java platform in the background, so everything you can do in one, you can (in principle) also do in another, albeit maybe not as easily.

mrunion · 2011-12-03 01:15:37

NetBeans and Eclipse both have an "API". you can go into the NetBeans IDE and create a "New NetBeans Platform Application" and without writing a single line of code, run the app and have a windowed app, with toolbars, etc. Of course you write in Java, but you are using the "NetBeans Platform". Eclipse does the same thing. I am wanting to use one of those PLATFORMS and want input from user's experienced with those PLATFORMS -- see what I mean?

(And I'm not yelling, just emphasizing my point.)

scottman · 2011-12-04 17:52:05

I use eclipse. I have never used the GUI builder but it looks good from the screenshots. If you really want to learn Java then dont use a GUI builder, at first....I use eclipse for Java, PHP, Perl, HTML/CSS/Javacript as I have become more of a web programmer at work.

Arch Linux

#1 2011-12-01 16:03:24

Eclipse vs Netbeans as Platform for App

#2 2011-12-01 16:19:21

Re: Eclipse vs Netbeans as Platform for App

#3 2011-12-01 17:50:18

Re: Eclipse vs Netbeans as Platform for App

#4 2011-12-01 21:00:00

Re: Eclipse vs Netbeans as Platform for App

#5 2011-12-01 21:02:39

Re: Eclipse vs Netbeans as Platform for App

#6 2011-12-03 01:15:37

Re: Eclipse vs Netbeans as Platform for App

#7 2011-12-04 17:52:05

Re: Eclipse vs Netbeans as Platform for App

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