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- An IDE (Integrated Development Environment) is a single program that
- wraps everything you need to program with. An IDE usually consists of
- a code editor, debugger, and a compiler. A good IDE can make you more
- productive. Without a IDE you would be stuck writing all of your apps
- in notepad and compiling via command line – which is not bad for
- learning how to program. A good IDE has syntax highlighting which
- makes the code easier to read and error highlighting which makes
- finding that missing semi colon easier. Here is a list of three IDEs
- that work well for me.
-
- # NetBeans
-
-
- NetBeans is the most productive IDE for large java projects. NetBeans
- is great at detecting errors in your code. You can also have multiple
- projects open in the same window which is great for anyone who is
- constantly flipping between projects – even if they are in different
- coding languages. This is a must have program for everyone looking to
- develop Java. This program also supports PHP, JavaScript and C/C++.
-
- ![NetBeans IDE](media/2a20326e77c3f67aa3753401ba4bc612.png)
-
- # Eclipse
-
-
- Eclipse is a very popular programming IDE; however, it is harder to
- use than NetBeans. The largest benefit of Eclipse is that it has tons
- of templates for you to use. Eclipse also has a better GUI creation
- tool than NetBeans has.
-
- ![Eclipse](media/f5cb2682e219549cb07acd1d01c2ccb1.png)
-
- # JCreator
-
-
- I want to warn you that this is a old IDE. You hate yourself if you
- decide to use this program. The only reason I am putting this on my
- list is because I think it is great for teaching people how to program
- – it’s what my high school used. Unlike Eclipse and NetBeans, it gives
- you very little help when writing your code. There is no autocompletes
- or dropdowns when you are accessing members of an object. This does
- not even give you red highlights when you have a syntax error. What it
- instead shows you is the errors that you would receive in the command
- line when you compile this project. This is great for AP Computer
- Science students who have to memorize/learn what certain errors mean.
-
- ![JCreator](media/c1e712bdead908ebd72921ec2d1cbd5e.png)
-
- # Intellij
-
-
- \*Update 2018
-
- I have converted to a full time Intellij user since writing this
- article in 2015. This program is simply fantastic in every aspect –
- expect ram usage. If you have never heard of Intellij or any of the
- other JetBrains products I would highly recommend you check them out.
- The main reason I switched was because Intellij could scale nicely to
- 4k and NetBeans did not. The user experience overall feels nice.
-
- ![Intellij](media/2a96900bae1e8946a1df243d8318e69f.png)
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