Top Java Development Tools For Web Developers

By Author: connectionphase
Total Articles: 26
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Java Programming is one of the most popular object-oriented programming languages. It is a set of software programs used for developing a software application and deploying it in various computing environments. One of the prominent features of Java is that it is platform-independent at both the source and binary levels. Moreover, writing network programs in Java is quite easy and Java is designed to make distributed computing a breeze. Java language is used in an array of computing platforms, such as embedded devices, mobile phones, enterprise servers and supercomputers. Hence, a plethora of development tools are available in the market to simplify the application development process using Java. Moreover, a lot of Java tools are available to improve the efficiency of Java developers so that they can design products and Java application development with a better functionality.

List of some important development tools:

1. NetBeans:

NetBeans is an open source Integrated Development Environment written in Java and is one of IDR Solutions favorite IDE’s for Java Coding.

The NetBeans IDE ...
... supports development of all Java application types (Java SE, JavaFX, Java ME, web, EJB and mobile applications) standard out of the box. NetBeans is modular in design meaning it can be extended by third party developers who can create plugins for NetBeans to enhance functionality.

The NetBeans IDE is can be used to develop in Java, but also supports other languages, in particular PHP, C/C++, and HTML5.

NetBeans features are an Ant-based project system, support for Maven, refactoring, version control (supporting CVS, Subversion, Git, Mercurial and Clearcase) and is also released under a dual license consisting of the Common Development and Distribution License (CDDL) v1.0 and the GNU General Public License (GPL) v2.

2. BlueJ:

BlueJ is an integrated development environment (IDE) for the Java programming language, It has been mainly developed for educational purposes, but also suitable for those who wish to do small-scale software development. It runs with the help of a JDK(Java Development Kit).

BlueJ is mainly developed for the teaching of object-oriented programming, and its design differs from other development environments as a result.

The main screen graphically shows the class structure of an application under development and objects can be interactively created and tested. This interaction facility, combined with a clean, simple user interface, allows easy experimentation with objects under development and this allows beginners to get started more quickly, and without being overwhelmed.

Newbie users can check on values and call methods on them, pass them as parameters and more and Java expressions can be invoked without compiling meaning BlueJ is a powerful graphical shell/REPL for Java.

3. JSource:

JSource is a free Java IDE and is a good option for Java developers and programmers.
It is useful for creating cross-platform java applications for various domains and is extremely lightweight. You can use JSource to run, compile, edit and create java files. Its main features are syntax highlighting for multiple languages and Java Swing components. In version 2.0 of JSource you can use jEdit syntax package and can incorporate other open source Java tools used for rapid development. These tools have been modified to work with the core JSource structure.
JSource is available under a GNU General Public License version 2.0 (GPLv2).

4. Eclipse:

Despite the increasing popularity of IntelliJ IDEA, NetBeans, and other IDEs, surveys indicate that Eclipse is still the preferred development environment for almost half of Java developers. Eclipse is the Swiss army knife of IDEs, featuring a heavily customizable interface and countless plugins. It’s so ubiquitous that all of the other tools in this post provide Eclipse plugins.

Eclipse separates its workflow into three areas: the Workbench, the workspace, and the perspective. The Workbench acts as the starting point to the IDE. Workspaces group projects, files, and configuration settings under a single directory. Perspectives define the tools, views, and settings available in the Workbench based on the context of the workspace. Although new developers might find it more difficult to use than Netbeans or IntelliJ IDEA, Eclipse’s flexibility makes it the preferred IDE for enterprise development.

5. Hibernate ORM:

Java, being an object-oriented language, represents data in the form of graphs, which shows a network of objects linked with and connected to one another. When developers use a relational database (RDBMS) instead of an object database (ODBMS), it involves representing data in a tabular format. This causes a lot of problems to arise, such as defining identity, granularity, data navigation and more. Here, Hibernate ORM comes to the rescue.
Hibernate ORM is a library which allows mapping Java classes to database tables. It enables developers to develop persistent classes using idioms, such as polymorphism in java, inheritance and association.

6. JDK ( Java Development Kit):

I know what you are going to say, “of course you need a JDK to get started with Java”; but the fact is there is nothing obvious in programming. If you plan on developing Java based applets and applications, your first need to get yourself a tool like JDK, which includes the necessary Java Complier, the Java Runtime Environment, and the Java APIs. It will help you get started with Java.

These tools will definitely make life easy for you as a Java developer, but the whole idea behind using such tools is making an informed decision regarding their use. Choose a tool that suits your needs and requirements at a given point of time and it will deliver the returns you are looking for.