Java Editors

Java programs can be written using a simple text-editor. But using a Java integrated development environment (IDE) helps the developer to develop software more efficiently. An IDE provides many functionalities such as auto-completion, debugger options, etc. In this section, we will discuss some widely used Java editores or IDEs.

Advantages of Using an IDE or Editors

1. Require less time and efficient:
   The main purpose of using an IDE is to save time and write code efficiently. An IDE provides various built-in tools that help to avoid mistakes, and provide shortcuts.
2. Built-in documentation:
   Many IDE's provide a feature for built-in documentation. Where in the IDE automatically adds the comments according to the code written.
3. Helps to create a company standard:
   Many a times when a team in an organization is working with an IDE from a long time. They will find a standard that is common for all the employee who are working for that project.

Popular Java Editors

NetBeans

NetBeans is another most important Java IDE. NetBeans is the official IDE for Java 8. It allows the applications to be developed from a set of modular software components called modules. It runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, and Solaris. Pretty much like the other IDEs.

Features of NetBeans

1. It is an open-source IDE that is easy to install, can run across different platforms, and is easy to use.
2. Its adaptability extends to mobile use, making it a popular IDE in the mobile-centric development world.
3. It can also be extended for plug-ins at a later date by third-party Java development team.
4. Each new version of NetBeans comes with an improvised and reworked Java editor.
5. The Java editor makes it easier for programmers to build custom software applications by highlighting the Java code both syntactically and semantically.
6. The tools provided by NetBeans even help developers to refactor and write bug-free code.

Eclipse

Eclipse is a new age, cross-platform, open source and distributed IDE available for enterprise Web Development. IBM Software Group in 1998 conceived of an IDE that could penetrate deep into the competitive IDE space and be a leader. And that's what led to the inception of Eclipse as one of the best Java IDE for web development.

This is a dedicated Java IDE which gets listed as one among the best Java IDEs. The popular integrated development environment is available in both desktop and cloud editions. The cloud edition of the Eclipse is named Eclipse Che and allows the programmers to develop apps via a web browser.

Major features of Eclipse IDE

1. Provides support for Java 8.0 and 9.0.
2. Helps in code refactoring, editing with prompt validation, incremental compilation, cross-referencing, code suggestions.
3. Integrated static code analysis.
4. Intelligent code completion and provides quick fixes.
5. Excellent usability and performance.
6. Support for Windows/Linux/Mac OS X.
7. For Java programmers looking to develop specific functionality for Eclipse, a PDE (Plugin Development Environment) is available.
8. To help Java developers expedite the application development, Eclipse flaunts powerful tools for charting, modeling, reporting, as well as testing.

IntelliJ IDEA

IntelliJ IDEA is also considered as one of the best Java IDEs. It is available in two different editions, an Apache 2 Licensed community edition, and a proprietary Ultimate (commercial) edition but it is a paid version. In order to allow developers to dive deeper into the Java code, IntelliJ IDEA comes up with features like cross-language refactoring and data flow analysis.

1. Community Edition of IntelliJ
   The Community edition is an open source IDE and is intended for JVM (Java Virtual Machine) and Android development. It supports Java, Kotlin, Groovy, Scala, Maven, Gradle, SBT, Git, SVN, Mercurial, CVS, and TFS.
2. Ultimate Edition
   The Ultimate edition is intended for web and enterprise development and also supports perforce in addition to the other version control system. It supports JavaScript and TypeScript, Java EE, spring, GWT, Vaadin, Play, Grails, and other frameworks. It also supports database tools, and SQL.

BlueJ

It was originally developed for educational purpose. BlueJ has proved handy in software development on a small scale.

Features of BlueJ:

1. It is widely used by Java programmers across the world.
2. It has an interactive interface that is clutter-free, and easy to use and test.
3. Also makes it a great IDE for a beginner to start with.
4. This interface uses boxes in order to represent classes.
5. The cross-platform IDE for Java enables programmers to interact seamlessly with its objects.
6. Easy to inspect object values, call methods on objects, and pass objects as parameters.
7. BlueJ accelerates Java application development by providing an array of robust features.
8. It comes with an editor that allows the developers to scan the code visually, help in creating dynamic objects, inspect them.
9. Also, we can invoke the Java code simply by typing it in without compilation.

Other popular Java editors are:

• Oracle JDeveloper
• DrJava
• JCreator
• JGRASP
• XCode
• MyEclipse