NetBeans IDE

NetBeans IDE (or Integrated Development Environment) is a leading IDE from Oracle Corp, primarily aimed at Java developers.

It is suitable for the rapid development/deployment of desktop, mobile and web applications that may be based on Java (i.e. Java SE/Java EE/Java ME and related components such as Swing GUI,JUnit,JBoss etc.),HTML5, PHP & C/C++ platforms. NetBeans is truly comprehensive because it takes care of the complete life-cycle activities involved in a software project. Not only is it easy to type in new source code into its Java-oriented text editor, but also to run and test code, optimize it for best performance,release it under proper version control, and so on. Besides, it is an excellent tool to use in a networked environment. As for example,when a team of programmers works together on a project. The team-members may work from different geographical locations and/or at different times of day. In such case, all workflow related issues will be managed by NetBeans. JUnit, a component of the IDE, helps in writing and running unit test plans. NetBeans can handle practically any number of refactoring tasks without difficulty. If there are gaps between your specific requirements and the IDE, it is very likely that one or more of its over 800 third-party plug-ins will fit such gap(s) and make it a perfect fit for you. The IDE is self-contained, so that, when working in it, you will rarely (if ever) have to switch to any other running program to get your work done.

The latest version of NetBeans 8.0 offers many enhancements and improvements. Java 8 support is the most important among them. New language structures and capabilities have been introduced in Java 8. All new features are supported by NetBeans 8.0. There is a more widespread use of Lambdas in Java 8. Turning to Lambdas helps in overcoming shortcomings of earlier Java code. For example, anonymous inter-classes that use a single abstract method can be converted to Lambdas. Lambda expressions may also be used inside iterative loops (like the 'for' loop) for better processing, and so on.
Another important feature we encounter in NetBeans 8.0 is the ability to develop/deploy Java ME applications directly in embedded devices such as the Raspberry Pi. More powerful HTML5 applications may be developed due to significant enhancements made to angular JS.

There is much more to NetBeans 8.0. The interested reader may explore Maven, that displays module dependencies graphically, JSF Page creation by means of wizards, PrimeFaces code generator, out of the box version control tools Git, Mercurial & Subversion, etc.