I was on a late train with a lukewarm coffee and a stubborn bug. The kind that stares back and says you brought a knife to a gunfight. I had just installed NetBeans 6.5 on a spare laptop, clicked New Project, picked a Java web app, and hit Run. GlassFish spun up. The browser popped open. I set a breakpoint, hit refresh, and the debugger stopped exactly where I needed. No plugin chase. No forum safari. Just click and go. That night I did not win a beauty contest for my code, but I shipped. That is the moment NetBeans clicked for me.
This is not a love letter to one tool over another. I switch tools a lot. I keep Eclipse around. I use Vim for quick edits. For Rails I flirted with TextMate. But when I want to start working right away with the Java stack, when I want a sane setup without tinkering, NetBeans IDE makes a strong case. Not because of one killer feature, but because several useful things are already on and already wired. That matters when the bug is staring and the coffee is not helping.
The quiet superpower is out of the box
The best part is not shiny. It is the absence of friction. Project templates look basic, but they hide a lot of soft time saved. Java EE app with JSF or JSP. Click. PHP project. Click. Maven project. Click. Java SE with GUI. Click. A working run target shows up, a server gets registered, a sample index page renders, and you are on your way. That is the story again and again. Less fiddling. More coding. I like that deal.
What I get on first launch
Here is what comes live right after install in 6.5, without hunting for addons:
- GlassFish and Tomcat support ready for Java web apps
- Maven and Ant support, both first class
- Refactoring that is not afraid of big projects
- Debugger that just works for local and web workflows
- JavaScript and CSS editing that does not feel like an afterthought
- PHP support that is actually pleasant
- Groovy and Grails support for the curious
- VisualVM and a profiler for when things get slow
- Subversion, Mercurial, and CVS built in
- Database explorer with drivers and a decent query editor
All of this lands with sane defaults. Fonts that are readable. Key bindings that do not try to be cute. Wizards that do not bury you in jargon. For a tool that weighs nothing in price and runs on Windows, Linux and Mac, it punches above its size.
Why it clicks for Java work
On the Java side the triangle is clear. Code completion that is not laggy, refactoring that respects your project structure, and a debugger that is a steady friend. I lean on the Inspect tool to peek at values, the Watches to track the weird stuff, and the step filters to stay out of library code. When I am in web land, connecting to GlassFish v2 or v3 Prelude is one click, hot deploy is reliable, and server logs show up inside the IDE with filtering. You forget how nice this is until you are tailing logs in a separate terminal and alt tabbing like a DJ.
Another quiet win is Maven. Open a folder with a pom and you are in business. Tests hook in, run configs show up, and the project view respects the Maven layout. No ritual. If your team is split between IDEs, this makes peace. NetBeans lets the build tool lead, not the other way around.
For desktop work the Matisse GUI builder saves a lot of time on forms and grids. I am not a fan of dragging everything, but when you need a quick internal tool to move data from A to B, it pays for itself. The generated code is readable and the layout tools are not in your way. Swing is not going to win any fashion shows, but it still gets the job done, and NetBeans makes it feel straightforward.
Web work without the plugin scavenger hunt
PHP support in 6.5 surprised me. Syntax highlighting, code completion, debugging with Xdebug, and templates for common app types are already there. JavaScript editing has smart hints, and the HTML side is not embarrassing. If your week jumps between a Java service and a PHP view layer, you do not have to change tools. That reduces mental tax. Keep one window open and keep moving.
On the Java EE side, creating a REST service is a two minute thing. The New Service wizard sets up the skeleton, adds JAX RS bits, and gives you runnable endpoints. I know people who will say just use a tiny framework and a text editor. Sure. But when you have to ship by Friday, having scaffolding you can trust is not a sin.
Version control that behaves
I live inside source control panes. The built in Subversion support is fast and not fussy. Mercurial feels native. Diffs are crisp, merges are visual, and annotations let you see who wrote that brilliant if statement that now causes a deadlock. If you are trying Git, there are plugins, but the stock setup today shines with SVN and Hg. That matches what many teams are actually using right now.
Profiling without a field trip
VisualVM with the built in profiler is a lifesaver when the app melts under load. You can attach to a local process in seconds, take a snapshot, and see hot methods, memory churn, and threads. No extra download. No JNI drama. I used it last week on a servlet that was fine in dev and terrible behind Apache. Turned out a naive date format call was pounding the GC. Ten minutes looking at the CPU sample view, five minutes changing code, deploy, done. It felt like cheating.
Little things that add up
- Live templates that go beyond public static void main. You can teach them your own habits.
- Task list that picks up TODOs without going into plugin land.
- Code folding that is smart and fast even in big files.
- Database explorer that lets you poke tables, run queries, and keep connections around.
- JUnit support that is not half baked. Create tests, run only failed tests, re run quickly.
- Usable search across projects with filters that help when you forget where you left that utility.
What about speed and memory
Let us be honest. IDEs are hungry. On a typical laptop with 2 gig of RAM, NetBeans feels smooth for day to day work, and project scanning stays out of your way most of the time. I have it set to a bigger heap in netbeans conf, and I keep a lean set of projects open. The startup is not instant, but once it is up, it stays steady. Compared to the time I lose hunting plugins in other tools, this is a trade I am fine with.
Where it falls short
Nothing is perfect. The Ruby tools are fine but do not beat a good editor with proper gems integration. Git support is still growing. The XML editor is good, but giant schema files still make it sigh. If your heart lives in ultra minimal setups, NetBeans can feel big. That said, I would rather carry a Swiss Army knife than three separate blades I need to assemble during a call with a client.
Manager view: time to first commit
If you run a team, here is the plain return. Time to first commit is shorter. A new hire installs NetBeans, pulls the repo, hits Run, and actually sees the app. There is less teaching on how to add plugins, less risk of each developer running a different setup, and fewer weird environment bugs. The tool is free, and it runs on the machines your team already owns. That means you can standardize without buying anything.
Another angle is context switching. Full stack is not a buzzword in the office. It is reality. One person fixes a servlet, then tweaks some JavaScript, then runs a query to verify a data fix, then commits and tags. NetBeans keeps those moves close. The less you alt tab and the fewer separate apps you juggle, the more you finish in a single sitting.
Onboarding is smoother because project templates mirror what you ship. A starter Java EE app with a default data source teaches a junior dev more about your stack than a wiki page. A working run config is a teaching asset by itself. People learn by clicking Run and breaking things safely.
Quality gets a bump from things like built in inspections and hints. They nudge code toward safer patterns. Null checks, resource closing, string compare gotchas, and other footguns. It is not a silver bullet, but it is a steady drip of help. Combine that with a profiler in arm reach and you reduce performance surprises late in the sprint.
Finally, predictability matters. With NetBeans, you know what a new developer sees on screen on day one. That lowers the support burden. Less one off configuration. Less thieves of time.
How it stacks up against the plugin party
Eclipse is a great piece of work and I still use it for some things. The plugin ecosystem is deep and lively. There are moments though when that strength slows you down. New machine, new project, and there goes an afternoon setting up Java EE facets, hunting the right server adapter, reconciling different plugin versions, and coaxing Maven into behaving. With NetBeans 6.5, the common paths are paved. You can still extend it, but you rarely need to before you get real work done. That is the heart of this post.
Today’s context
We are all juggling a lot. Windows 7 beta is on many laptops in the office. Google Chrome is the new kid that runs fast. Git and Mercurial are in the air. GlassFish v3 Prelude shipped not long ago and makes deploys feel light. Cloud talk keeps getting louder with people moving side projects to EC2. In that swirl, it helps to have one tool that stays calm, runs on all three major desktop systems, and does not need hand holding. NetBeans fits that mood.
Practical tips from the trenches
- Give NetBeans a bigger heap in netbeans conf if you work on huge projects. It is worth the one minute edit.
- Use Favorites view for quick access to non project folders you touch often, like a scripts directory.
- Turn on Format on Save and agree on settings with your team. Fewer diffs over whitespace noise.
- Wire JUnit tests to run before you deploy to GlassFish. The built in targets make this easy.
- Keep VisualVM handy even for test runs. Catch memory leaks early, not on a Friday night.
- Map debugger shortcuts to keys you actually press. You should not hunt for Step Over.
Why NetBeans clicks for me
It is simple. Out of the box power. Less setup. Fewer surprises. Real features that help on normal days, not just at conference demos. A sampler that covers Java, web, PHP, and database tasks with one download. When I am tired, when I have a call in thirty minutes, when a customer sends a bug that only appears in their data, NetBeans is the IDE that gets out of the way and lets me fix things. That is what I ask from tools.
Your turn: a one week challenge
Run this simple test next week and keep score. No need to switch forever. Just try it on real work.
- Day one: Install NetBeans 6.5, open one of your existing Maven or Ant projects, and hit Run. Time how long it takes to see something working.
- Day two: Set two breakpoints in a web request and step through them. Notice if you spend more time debugging or configuring.
- Day three: Use the profiler on a slow feature. Grab a snapshot and note the top hot methods. Make one fix based on that.
- Day four: Hook your repo. Commit, update, merge, and resolve a conflict. See how many minutes you spend thinking about the tool versus the code.
- Day five: Create a new REST service or a PHP page and wire it to a database table. Keep it simple. Ship it to a local server.
At the end of the week, write one page of notes. What worked. What annoyed you. What surprised you. If you find that you spent more time working and less time configuring, keep it around. If not, delete it. No guilt. Tools should earn their keep.
If you run a team, pick one developer who is neutral on tooling and let them try the same week. Measure time to first commit and time to first bug fix. The numbers will tell you whether this tool pays rent for your context.
I will keep riding the late train with NetBeans in my bag for nights when the bug stares back. It keeps my hands on the keyboard and my mind on the problem. That is all I want from an IDE. If that sounds like your day, give it a real try and tell me how it goes.