A Question About Java Development

I am sitting here at my computer reading my Java book because today I decided to move to learning some Java development. I have a question regarding the transition from Visual Basic (6.0 Not .NET) to Java.

Are there any good Visual IDEs that use the Java Development Kit? Because I do not like J++ or J#, I want actual Java, not Microsoft's Interpretation.

Starting out with a Visual IDE or an IDE in general is a terrible idea. Learn the command prompt first.

Or something simple like TextPad. Offers code coloring and compile/run menus.

Yeah, I like JEdit. CB pointed me to it one day, and I've used it ever since ;)

Never used it. Also I hear that NetBeans is good but never got around to downloading it. Too big to download on dial-up :(

JCreator is also pretty nice. Has intelli-sense (not sure about the spelling) which is something you'll appreciate moving from VB.

Eclipse is another one that gets mentioned but never tried that either...

I don't like the confusing interface of some, and EVERY IDE (not value added text editor) doesn't indent code how I like.... JEdit is the only thing out there that actually indents code how I like. Some might be a could spaces off, and others are just dumb and place it way away from where it should be.


I've tried JCreator. It's good, I guess. Didn't use it too long, but never had any complaints.

Netbeans is too bulky in my opinion. Just too many bells and whistles.

I've never used eclipse, but I've heard its a nice one. Borland products is also talked about really well.

The worst IDE in my opinion, is BluJ. There are times when the program has no errors, but it gives a compilation error... -- The fix is to click compiile a hundred times and it will finally compile correctly.

- You can disable everything annoying on NetBeans from the options dialog.
- I've tried Eclipse and it sucks
I believe BlueJ is a school or university project so don't expect that much of students

I like Eclipse. It's extremely powerful.

Plugin management on Linux sucks, though. They don't get the root permissions thing right.