Java is a general-purpose computer programming language and computing platform. It was firstly released by Sun Microsystems in 1995. Currently, there are a lot of applications and websites that are running on it. There are also some applications that will not work until Java is available on user’s system. Many more applications and websites are created every day using this programming language. It is a fast, secure and very reliable programming language. It has its application from laptops to data centers, gaming consoles to scientific supercomputers, from cell phones to the Internet.
More about the Java programming language:
It has a very strong support for web development. Java is also an example of an object-oriented language just like the C++. However, the main motive and idea behind its design were to simplify or eliminate some features that cause common programming errors in C++. The java compiler converts the source code files (files with a .java extension) into the bytecode format(files with .class extension). Then the java interpreter executes this file and user gets the output.
The java interpreter and the runtime environments are known as the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). After the compiler successfully compiles the source code, the JVM runs the code on most of the computers. JVM is a cross-platform software and is available for most of the Operating Systems. It is available under the name of Java Development Kit (JDK). JDK is available for UNIX, the Macintosh OS, and Windows. Using the just-in-time compiler (JIT), a programmer can convert the Bytecode directly into machine language instructions. Since 2007 most of the Java technologies are available under the GNU General Public License.
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What is an IDE
An Integrated Development Environment (IDE) is a software application for computer programming. IDE provides comprehensive facilities to programmers for development of software. An IDE mainly consists of 3 different parts. The first part is the source code editor that provides an editor for writing the codes from the program. The next part is the build automation tool that mainly compiles the codes by the programmer. The third part is a debugger whose main task is to test or debug the program for any errors in the code. There are IDE’s available for various programming languages such as C++, Java, Python, C and others too.
Nowadays most of the modern IDE have an intelligent code completion. The IDE design helps programmer by maximizing the productivity by providing tight-knit components. These components have the similar user interface that allows the programmer to easily use them. Some IDE contains either a compiler or an interpreter such as SharpDevelop and Lazarus. While some other IDE such as NetBeans and Eclipse contains both the compiler and interpreter for the execution of code. Some IDEs are mainly designed for a specific programming language. However, there are many multiple language IDE that allows the user to do programming for multiple languages using just one IDE.
Basic Uses of an Integrated Development Environment
The use of an IDE depends on the programming language. However here are some of the basic uses of an IDE.
- An IDE allows the programmer to quickly navigate to a type without worrying about the project.
- It also allows the programmer to easily navigate to other members by using them as hyperlinks.
- It also allows programmers to automatically generate a code depending upon previous codes.
- An IDE also organizes the various imports by the programmer and also adds some appropriate imports.
- It also gives warnings while the user is typing and some error occurs.
- An IDE also keeps the view of files, errors or warnings and source code on the same screen that makes programmers work easy.
- It also makes the running of unit tests easy as a programmer have to run the code from the same window.
- IDE also allows the programmer to navigate directly to the compile time error or runtime exception directly from the error details.
Now, let’s know about some of the best known Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for C++ programming language.
List of 10 Best IDE for Java programming
1. NetBeans:
NetBeans was once owned by Sun Microsystems, however, now Oracle is the current owner of one of the best IDE from the past decade. NetBeans is also compatible with all Operating Systems such as Windows, Linux, OS X and even Solaris platform. It includes both dynamic and static libraries. NetBeans also allows programmers to remotely monitor the development of their project.
2. Eclipse:
It supports all platforms such as Windows, Linux, Mac OS X. It also supports various features of IDE such as Debugging, Compiling, Profiling and Auto completion of code. Eclipse has a great Graphical User Interface that allows programmers to arrange elements using drag and drop functionality. Eclipse also supports Static Code Analysis.
3. JDeveloper:
The Java Edition contains all the core features that a programmer will need for the development of Java programs. It should be able to satisfy most of the beginners and intermediate Java coders.
4. IntelliJ IDEA:
Some of the features are missing from the Community Edition. However, if any programmer requires those features, they can buy the license to unlock all the features. IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition is available under the license from Apache 2.
5. BlueJ:
6. Codenvy:
7. Dr. Java:
8. JCreator:
9. JGrasp:
10. Greenfoot:
IDEs offer more programming comfort-ability and are easy to use than the traditional text editors. So, it is always a very good idea and habit to use IDE for programming. The IDE comes with some exciting features and also offers a comprehensive development environment. Sometimes a programmer may find it difficult to select the best IDE to use for Java programming. There are a large number of IDE available on the Internet. All the above IDE in the list of 10 Best IDE for Java programming are different in their own manners but the sole motive of each of the IDE is same to speed up the development of codes. A programmer can select any of that above IDE for Java programming. I hope that this tutorial will have new and emerging programmers to select the best IDE for themselves.