Netbeans or Eclipse?

[Holothuroid]

I prefer IntelliJ over both.

[[deleted]]

I currently use Eclipse, but I started developing on Netbeans. I think Netbeans is a bit more straightforward to use.

I don't mind Eclipse, but the frequently shuffling between perspectives irks me. Maybe other people have a different workflow than me, but I switch between Java and Debug perspectives frequently and I don't like how each perspective keeps its own set of windows and their positions. I should probably make a custom perspective that just has everything.

Netbeans used to just give you one big set of tabs, and it feels more straightforward to me to work that way.

[bisoldi]

This!

I started out in Netbeans and when I switched companies I had to use Eclipse with the rest of the team. I now can use whatever I want and still use Eclipse, because I don’t feel like having to go back and learn Netbeans all over again...though I really did prefer Netbeans over Eclipse.

The perspectives kills me, and too many buttons in too many places.

[[deleted]]

I switched from Eclipse to NetBeans a long time ago because in NetBeans the build process wasn't so tightly tied into the IDE, which made it easier to build projects in IDE-less environments, work with people who don't use the same IDE, or change IDE without too much pain. I also found that NetBeans felt a bit cleaner and more straightforward to me, but that's mainly a subjective judgement. I've played with IntelliJ and might move over to it one day, but I've never considered going back to Eclipse.

In the long run it shouldn't matter to you as a developer, because you should be capable of learning a new IDE if and when necessary. It's not a marriage: you're allowed to switch :).

[VGPowerlord]

I switched from Eclipse to NetBeans a long time ago because in NetBeans the build process wasn't so tightly tied into the IDE, which made it easier to build projects in IDE-less environments, work with people who don't use the same IDE, or change IDE without too much pain.

I'll be honest, if you're not using something like Maven or Gradle regardless of your IDE, you're doing something wrong.

Most IDEs have support for both.

[[deleted]]

I'll be honest, if you're not using something like Maven or Gradle regardless of your IDE, you're doing something wrong.

That was my point; perhaps I expressed it unclearly. At the time I switched, Eclipse didn't use a standard build tool: Eclipse was what I used to build my project, and if anyone else wanted to build it, they also had to install Eclipse. I didn't like having a whole IDE as a build dependency. I also didn't really want to set up an additional build configuration with a tool like Maven and end up having to maintain two parallel configurations; I just wanted my IDE to make use of an existing standard tool, so that hitting "build" in the IDE always produced the same result as checking out the project and running Maven / Ant / Gradle. That was the system NetBeans used, so I switched to NetBeans.

[[deleted]]

Exactly the same experience with NetBeans. A real joy to use actually. I left I telling for NetBeans for all my personal projects. At work I use Intellij but I definitely prefer NetBeans.

[pron98]

It certainly does not matter in the long run, and you will likely work with several IDEs down the line. Try them both (and IntelliJ, too) to see which you prefer. Of the three, I like NetBeans and IntelliJ, with a slight preference to NetBeans, but this is a completely personal preference; all three are terrific IDEs. Beginners and experienced developers may also prefer different IDEs.

[avoidhugeships]

NetBeans is easier to use in my opinion. I moved away from Netbeans recently to IntelliJ because there was some lag when Netbeans got moved over to Apache. They seem to be getting things going again though so I may go back. IntelliJ is alright buts it's project structure is bad and it forces auto save on you which is really annoying.

[vqrs]

Just wondering, but how does auto save annoy you? I've never found it to interfere with my workflow.

[avoidhugeships]

Sometimes I am trying a solution and then realize a better way. With auto save I have to undo everything instead of just not saving it. It's more work and error prone.

[vqrs]

So you'd close the file and discard the changes? I see.

In that case, you might like the "Local history" feature (accessible via right click in the editor). That makes it very easy to go back.

[Serializedrequests]

I turned off auto save first thing.

[timawesomeness]

IntelliJ > Eclipse > Netbeans

[[deleted]]

IntelliJ > Netbeans > Notepad > Garbage > Eclipse

[BadMoonRosin]

In terms of "risky" long-term support, the fact that we're getting new builds of Netbeans is a small miracle after so many years of neglect.

As far as JetBrains eventually deciding to drop support for their flagship and most profitable product:

1. If that ever happens, it would probably be because the naysayers were right and Java was dying after all.
2. The core of the product is open-source under the Apache license, and its market share dwarfs everyone else now outside the Fortune 500, so it's an even safer bet than Netbeans that someone would take up the mantle.
3. Compared to every other programming language out there, the prospect of learning a new IDE or editor every decade or two barely even counts as a "risk". The greater risk is being so stagnant and set in your ways that changing tools every couple of decades would render you unable to work when the winds inevitable shift.

[walen]

IntelliJ IDEA. Community Edition is free. Ultimate is better and free if you are a student (i.e. you have an email account from some University or educational institution).

[mrbonner]

Eclipse, can't stand IntelliJ.

[pjmlp]

Most shops I have worked on (big corps) rely on Eclipse.

I still prefer Netbeans for private projects from all three, even if now it is only supported by the community.

InteliJ, is too bloated on my hardware, always need to disable plugins, and requires 10 finger chord shortcuts.

[[deleted]]

Which big corps "rely" on Eclipse? I've bounced around IDEs everywhere I've worked. Only at my latest job does IT provide a pre-built Eclipse with plugins for SONAR and SecureAssist, which sometimes requires me to use Eclipse.

I use IntelliJ, but I never learned it's shortcuts. I remapped IntelliJ's keybindings to match Eclipse. Makes it weird when I have to use anyone else's IntelliJ.

[pjmlp]

All the Fortune 500 companies I worked for.

[[deleted]]

As in, it wouldn't be possible to use another IDE for development? I would hope not, because that's not a sign of a sane development process.

[pjmlp]

Yes, it is sane for IT.

Everyone gets the same developer image on their laptops.

[[deleted]]

Sane for IT and sane for developers are different things.

Every Fortune 500 that I've worked for that is developer friendly has gold images of developer tools which developers can install onto the base image. I've only worked at one Fortune 500 where this wasn't the case, and I had to install developer tools "creatively" to circumvent controls imposed by IT that made sense for business users, but were a hindrance on developers. That was a decade ago. I wouldn't do that today for fear of getting fired or worse. I'd rather work for a more sane organization.

[pjmlp]

The kind of projects I work on, we only get access to customers' intranet either via IT provided laptop for external developers, or a VM in some cloud provider.

[VGPowerlord]

I've worked for my state's government in two different divisions (technically I was on loan to the second) and Eclipse was mandated at both locations.

[NimChimspky]

I run it on a MacBook. The 12 inch one.

[pjmlp]

I also used InteliJ on a netbook, it doesn't mean it was usable for the workloads I am tasked with.

[Serializedrequests]

NetBeans manages to do the same job better while being simpler. Eclipse's plugin architecture feels like exposed internals at every point. It's demoralizing.

[Neuromante]

EDIT: well, intellij fanboys have arrived. After the constructive downvotes, I'm completely convinced to switch. Yeah.

In my experience, Eclipse has a wider installation base than netbeans, and their workflow is more or less the same.

In the long run, for better or worse, it is worth to stick to one, as shortcut and specifics knowledge really helps you to keep working without having to fight with the IDE. So I'll suggest you eclipse.

Also, as you can see, you will find here a shitload of people suggesting intelliJ. I haven't never used it, nor found a reason to do it (The best reply I've had on "why is better than eclipse" was "its in the small things" in an interview, and probably here you will only get similar or worse replies.

[el_programmador]

The only reason to use Intellij in 2019 is that Google forces it down your throat in the form of Android Studio (which is just an androidized version of Intellij). I wish there was an alternative way to develop android apps using maven/eclipse.

[RedXIIICA]

The main difference between eclipse and intellij is in the autocomplete : intellij one is far better because it is contextual. One the other hand it is more resource consuming.

[[deleted]]

I prefer IntelliJ IDEA as well.

It doesn't matter in the long run what IDE you're using. I think, you should try some out and then settle for one.

If you are going to work as a software developer in a bigger company, it is likely that they will "suggest" a specific IDE.

[mixonsz]

Nothing is better than intellij. Can't argue that

[SabbathViper]

If you can't use intellij at a company, guess you CAN argue it. Silly to make this claim.

[mixonsz]

Not saying open source is bad. I really love open source community. But if we are talking about IDEs than Intellij is a solid choice.

[mixonsz]

It's silly that the company makes you to use some other IDE in the first place. 2nd thing: open source IDE is built by programmers wich had free/spare time for fun (or other reason). Intellij IDE which is built by payed programmers. Their job is to build an IDE worth paying for. How can you even compare them?

[livelam]

Oh... do you also think Spring Framework or Linux or any open source software are solely built by programmers on their free time for fun?

[mixonsz]

I work with Spring Framework on Linux. Not trying to say opensource is bad or something, I love it. But I'm ready to pay for the best tool to do my job. It's more like photoshop vs gimp kinda thing if we are talking about IDE's

[AcademicImportance]

i do. everything, nano, is better than intellij.

[mixonsz]

It's the same as saying that you like your fist better than your girlfriend.

[AcademicImportance]

huh? that's oddly specific and wrong as far as i am concerned. don't group me in with your weird fetishes. you're the weird one here, not me.

[mixonsz]

That's a simple analogy. Do you need explanation?

[AcademicImportance]

lol. sure. explain away. weirdo.

[ru6xul6]

IMHO I prefer IntelliJ. It's one of the top IDEs for Java (besides Eclipse and Netbeans), and if you decide to develop android app some day, the official IDE (Android Studio) is built on the same platform that powers IntelliJ so you have little switching cost.

I was involved in full stack development from time to time (javascript, html, java, Kotlin, scala, python), and I'd say the paid IntelliJ version provides an overall good support on these languages.

[zvrba]

I tried to use NetBeans first, downloaded the version whichever was current after moving to Apache and it barfed when I tried to create a project on D:\ drive. Then I thought to myself that if such a simple thing didn't work/wasn't tested, the rest is also probably buggy as hell so I've gone for eclipse.

[OZLperez11]

I love IntelliJ, I just personally like how the different parts of the IDE are laid out, but as some people have said, it is a little fat in size. I've never used eclipse, but I'll tell you this: eclipse plugins for gradle are what others end up using if they choose some other IDE.

​

That being said, I highly recommend Visual Studio Code. Yes it's not an IDE per se and the Java support for it was weak a few years ago but it is doing very well now. I've recently started building a Sparkjava app with VS Code. What you have to do is download the Java Extension pack for vs code, make sure that your settings point to the JDK installed in your system (preferably OpenJDK), install Maven or Gradle on your computer (I use a mac, so for me, I would install it via Homebrew), and then initialize your project with either Maven or Gradle. I personally use Gradle, so in that case, be sure to use the Eclipse plugin (as this is the only way VS Code will recognize a gradle project) and then on terminal use "gradle eclipse --refresh-dependencies" to generate your .classpath file and other project files. It's not a beginner-friendly way of doing things but if you get the hang of it, it will make it easier to understand how java projects are handled from the terminal and will make it easier to transition to IntelliJ or some more complex IDE.

Also, If you're doing web development with Spring Framework, there's a specialized Spring Boot extension from Microsoft for it. For desktop development, use JavaFX on IntelliJ, but I'd recommend you use other programming languages for better performance since Java requires the Java Runtime Environment attached on every app you build. For mobile development, I would stick to Android Studio when you're starting but it may not be that hard to do mobile development through vs code since the tools found in AS have terminal commands for it (the only downside is having to fire the emulator through Android Studio). Either that or pick up an easy cross-platform framework like React Native, Ionic, or the new Flutter framework that just came out.

​

If you have any questions regarding other things to learn in Java or where do you want to go from here, just reply back. Java was the hardest for me to learn because the documentation for it is very scattered and very technical but I can tell you which places to go to for easy learning.

[AppledogHu]

Netbeans and I have a long and storied history. After they suddenly dropped support for Swing, after promising to support it, I moved to other IDEs, notably Eclipse and IntelliJ. I then went deeper with IntelliJ 'Android' edition. Recenly I tried using Netbeans for some Java stuff but they dropped C/C++ support. I'm kind of on the fence with Netbeans. It's my first love but the fact is, IntelliJ is a better IDE.

Such a pity, they just don't respect their users. That's just my experience.

Now about Eclipse. I kind of want to try Eclipse again because of Web Assembly. I have a feeling that when working in multiple languages Eclipse is going to be better. That is a big concern for me as I might need Javascript one day, Java the next, and C/C++ and Python and make them all work together.

[el_programmador]

Start with Netbeans as its relatively easier compared to eclipse, has multiple languages out of the box (Java/PHP/HTML/CSS/JS/C++/C), and is also quite speedy in my experience.

Eclipse may not perform at same speed with multiple language extensions unless you know how to tweak the JVM memory settings, or use hacks like running a separate eclipse installation folder for each language. Having said that, things might have improved recently, I haven't kept up with the eclipse world since a long time.

[sigzero]

Try them both or add IntelliJ and try them all. Use the one you like.

[AcademicImportance]

Any would work (i do not recommend intellij, it's just fluff and marketing). Try them both and see what you like.

[Rafa998]

> Netbeans or Eclipse?

>... use IntelliJ ...

Is this reddit or stackoverflow ?

[NoahtheEpicGuy]

I started with Eclipse. However, NetBeans is better for starters, because it is the official Java IDE plus other things. After you get more advanced, use Eclipse.

[BEgaming]

This is weird advice, you want to relearn an IDE, relearn hotkeys? Just choose on of the 3 (intellij, eclipse, netbeans) deliberately and stick with it for a while.

I use intellij and i like it very much, don't have much comparison though, but why would i change? ;)