10 Things NetBeans must do to survive

(NetBeans.org web site in initial days around 2001, obtained from WayBack Machine)

I stumbled upon an old post by Matt Stephens with the title 10 Things NetBeans must do to survive. Matt has reviewed NetBeans version 3.0 probably and the post is dated October 27, 2003. I got tempted to check whether his points hold good today for the current version after around 4 and half years of that review.

1. Improve the windowing system
In his first point he points out towards the windowing system. I have used IntelliJ IDEA and I daily use Eclipse in my day job. I can say the windowing system in NetBeans is according to current standards. Same dockable windows, floating windows and expandable editor windows. I am able to use the windowing system without much difference noticed.

2. Improve Usability
In his second point he mentions options panel, properties panel, GUI panel and Wizards being unfriendly. I have not used the NetBeans version 3.0 so cannot say about these windows in that version. For NetBeans IDE 6.1 I can see the options window, properties window, GUI panel and Wizards according to the current industry standards. If you do not have to learn a feature because it follows already established industry standard then that feature can be called as usable. In fact the GUI builder now have choices to create Java code which is not dependent on any NetBeans library.

3. Improve the default Look and Feel
In his third point Matt mentions default look and feel which in his view was not good at those times. Now I can see my NetBeans IDE opening with the Windows XP look and feel for me. This means the IDE now has smart look and feel features. I even tried changing my look and feel by changing the look and feel entry in netbeans.ini configuration and I now know I can have any look and feel to my NetBeans IDE.

4. Keep enhancing Java Editor
In his fourth point he suggests NetBeans to keep the Java editor up to date. I can see many good features now available for Java Editor. There are some hints missing but I see the Java Editor making progress in each version.

5. Slow down on APIs
Matt expresses unhappiness for the rapidly changing API of NetBeans platform. I can see many books in the market now with the established set of APIs. I feel the API of NetBeans is quite matured now and this point does not hold good now.

6. Make the APIs simpler
In this point it is mentioned that API is not suitable for standalone applications to get developed on the NetBeans platform. I cannot say much for this point. You the reader may have better points and if you do please tell me in comments of the post. What I can say is I have seen some applications developed on top of the NetBeans platform and hence do not feel the APIs are not good enough or simple.

7. Lose the NetBeans is slow stigma
The performance of NetBeans has been improved by the NetBeans team from version to version. The startup time is now fast and many benchmarking reviews are available.

8. Offer built-in refactoring support
Now NetBeans has a refactoring menu for Java refactoring. I can see major refactoring options available out of the box.

9. Make more noise
For this point Tim Boudreau also have stated in comments that hyped publicity do not last long. I can see many users of NetBeans writing about it and this is the most original and first hand publicity a software tool can get. So this point has being covered by different and better means creative of publicity and promotion.

10. Stop using that… brown colour scheme on their website
Here Matt says brown color should be left behind and NetBeans should embrace more professional color. I do not agree much to his point but now NetBeans.org site has different colors that those days. The colors now are blue shades and smooth colors to eyes.

Concluding my review of the review I will say that all the points mentioned by Matt are covered by the new NetBeans IDE 6.1 and not only that the IDE now contains many more improvements and support for multiple languages as well.

If Matt writes about the current version of NetBeans IDE 6.1 again I believe he will agree to all my points and will also add some more praise to the points more than me.

Do read that review also as it contains many comments from many important people with interesting viewpoints. Do comment on my post with your opinion.

Recently I saw some back links for my blog. Many thanks to Ramesh and Jay for the link backs.

with regards
Tushar Joshi, Nagpur

My top 10 reasons to use NetBeans IDE 6.1 Beta

There are many reasons people use NetBeans IDE. When I started thinking about why I use NetBeans IDE 6.1 Beta many reasons popped in my mind. This is a list oftop 10 of my major reasons for liking and using NetBeans IDE 6.1 Beta.

1. Everything I need is available

Many required features are available out of the box. I can just download the pack I need and start using it right away. The software is explorable that means I can just start navigating the functionality and can explore ways to do things through the intuitive GUI of the software.


2. Modular structure of the platform

I like the modular structure of the platform. There is an ecosystem built around the IDE with useful modules. I can search for some extra functionality which is available as a plugin may be contributed by some NetBeans Guru and use it instantly by installing it as a plugin to the system.


3. Curiosity for the unknown

There are many areas in NetBeans which are unknown to me. It is exciting to travel the unknown territories of NetBeans and explore new things. We as human beings always have passion for mystery and the areas I haven't used are exciting to traverse and conquer.


4. Opportunity for module development

The modular platform and feature of extensibility provides an opportunity to learn module development and write my own modules for NetBeans. This way my desire to work for some open source project will come true.


5. Pure Java based platform

I am impressed by the platform independence and run anywhere philosophy brought by Java. NetBeans follow the same path and is developed in pure Java which is worth exploring.


6. Modeling and GUI building tools support

I love the Matisse GUI builder provided by NetBeans. It increases the productivity while developing desktop applications. I can now concentrate on the business logic more efficiently.


7. Support for multiple packs

Netbeans has become feature rich and I can select the appropriate packs for my different needs. NetBeans adds support for major Java Standards like Mobility, Java EE


8. Supportive Community backing

I get surprising support for my queries from the NetBeans community through mailing lists and blog posts


9. Opportunity to contribute to documentation

I feel elated to contribute to an open source project through documentation. The NetBeans community docs initiative binds me with the NetBeans IDE and the passion for technical writing. NetBeans community lets me write help pages and tutorial about my experiences while I use NetBeans IDE in my day to day programming tasks.

10. Opportunity for learning professional programming practices

I have a habit of scanning the NetBeans sources every now and then to study how the modular architecture was used, how documentation is done, how standard design patterns are followed. The open source nature of the project lets me do this type of exploration.

There are many more reasons, as I go on thinking new reasons and ideas cross my mind. This is a list of major reasons why I feel I am attracted towards this IDE and which is making me continue my journey to explore it more.

with regards
Tushar Joshi, Nagpur