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Java Development: Eclipse or IntelliJ IDEA?
Java_Good_COBOL_Bad asks: "For Java development, would most people recommend using Eclipse or IntelliJ IDEA?
I am currently using Eclipse and it took a long time to get the environment set up. I understand that Eclipse is a framework that can be used for many things, not just Java development, but all I really need is an IDE for Java. So, I wonder if Eclipse is more complex than I need.
I have never used IDEA before. Is it more straight-forward? Has anybody here migrated from Eclipse to IDEA? How steep was the learning curve?"
Huh? If it's working, why switch?
I bet you were one of those "vi" types back in the day, weren't you? No editor can ever have too many features: Emacs all the way!
"He who would learn astronomy, and other recondite arts, let him go elsewhere. " -- John Calvin, commenting on Genesis 1
If your doing java development netbeans is an option. Eclipse has forced it to become much better. Although it doesn't use SWT. I prefer eclipse, but have friends who swear by net beans. Unlike most people in this situation we still talk to one antoher (java ide's seems to cause religous battes, like vi vs emacs.. etc..). This kind of battles are silly.
i ndex.html?cid=16052
http://www.netbeans.org/
http://community.java.net/netbeans/
than there is sun's java studio...what is this?? I don't know , but its free now and seems to be yet another ide.
http://developers.sun.com/prodtech/devtools/free/
IntelliJ == NOT free
That's enough for me right there.
(Netbeans == free, but Netbeans == sucks)
I've been using IntelliJ for over a year now. Trust me when I tell you that it is by far the most productive IDE I've ever used. There's not even a question between the two. Spend the money on IntelliJ and you won't be sorry.
LOAD "SIG",8,1
LOADING...
READY.
RUN
IDEA is the best IDE I've ever used. It automates pretty much every mindless code navigation/generation/refactoring task, but stays out of your way otherwise. Really, it's not so much an IDE - more an souped-up, heavily-Java-specific text editor. There are no wizards, and it never hides code from you. It just takes a lot of the tedious tasks out of coding.
It's not hard to use, but the sheer array of features can take some time to discover and learn to use. It is very definitely "straightforward".
Eclipse is not bad - IDEA is expensive, and Eclipse is a decent free alternative. But if you have the money, there's no reason not to use IDEA. Eclipse has always seemed to me like a poorly-executed IDEA clone. Similar to most open-source desktop software, really.
And don't listen to the masochists who will tell you a text editor and the command line is all you need.
IDEA has a 30-day free trial - why don't you download it and give it a spin?
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I use CodeGuide5, which's interface is optimized for dealing with Java and it's refactorings. I also have Eclipse installed, but I find it tedious to use because it is too generic. I keep Eclipse for it's most robust CVS client so I can access some temperamental CVS servers.
I find it a valid question that IDEA is worth the few hundred dollars it may cost in order to have a more streamlined experience.
To throw another IDE in the mix, try out Netbeans. Last I checked 5.0 is in RC1. I have used it for a few pet projects, and find it quite useful. Especially for GUI development, they use a new component called matisse.
Depends on what you need to do, which frameworks your using. I've found IntelliJ integrates with a standard IDE-neutral build xml and custom tools like XDoclet much better than Eclipse. Eclipse demands that your project be built inside Eclipse to use any Eclipse tools. The default Java editor in IntelliJ is nicer than Eclipses as well.
If you're supporting multiple developers, Eclipse can be easier to get people to standardize on, making debugging the dev environment easier. If your doing JBoss work, the Eclipse based JBossIDE might be nicer than IntelliJ, just because everything is setup already. Avoid Rational Application Developer at all costs though, it probably needs a couple of revisions before the IBM over engineering gets out of your way and lets you work.
It's been a while since I've tried to do web framework stuff in IntelliJ, although it's always handled this a lot better than the plugins for Eclipse that I've seen, it never handled XDoclet integration well enough to deal with tag library and struts tags. That always made some nice features useless. Eclipse is just as bad, I've yet to see a good set of plugins that handle all the tools I use in a standard Java dev environment. Many of the plugins seem to expect things done the Eclipse way, or they become useless. I wouldn't mind doing things the 'Eclipse way' if that were synonymous with IDE-neutral, but until then, the Eclipse way won't cut it.
The thing that annoys me the most about all these IDEs is the lack of imagination in tool-building. Very few graphical tools handle the IDE-neutral environment well, the wizards and syntax highlighting engines tend to be extremely inflexible. If my project needs JUnit testing, why wouldn't I do an automated nightly pull and generate a public report everyday? Wouldn't my IDE only be helpful if I could do the Unit tests outside the IDE, without figuring out a boatload of crypticlly stored dependencies?
Anyway, I'd try each of them out with the particular features you need, and make sure to check that they will easily integrate other tools you'll need. Java IDE's could be a lot nicer. Both Eclipse and IntelliJ have made great improvements, but this is more a half-way point than anywhere near a victory lap.
Arrogance is Confidence which lacks integrity. -- me
After downloading the JDK and Eclipse and setting the CLASSPATH and JAVA_HOME vars, all I had to do to get Eclipse running was type ./eclipse. So what's your idea of "a long time?" Why don't you just try IntelliJ and see if you like it? Nobody else's opinion is really going to be much help in a "what's better?" debate anyway.
rooooar
You should also at least look at NetBeans.
Anyway, I have used all three of the big Java IDEs.
While they all share the same basic functionality, like great refactoring, ANT, and JUnit support, each has some areas it excels in. I would say IntelliJ is slightly better than eclipse (the free version, I have never used IBM's eclipse based environment), and both of these I prefer over NetBeans.
The main reason I prefer IntelliJ (if you can afford it) is that it has more useful shortcuts, more intelligent formatting capabilities (if you press enter while in a quoted string it will automatically insert the needed quotes and plus sign and place the rest of the string on the next line, and back again).
One feature I really like, that from what I remember is only in Eclipse, is incremental building. The other two require you to hit a build button before hitting the run/debug button. Not that I'm lazy, but you really get used to it building automagically when you hit save. One thing I find kind of annoying about Eclipse is that it doesn't include support for say, xml editing, which the other two support out-of-the-box, instead requiring you to go to their site and finding web-tools plugin. Also the internal parser used for error marking often requires saving the file before it will refresh the markings on the page.
The reason I put NetBeans last, is that it doesn't include quick fix suggestions. Its nice to be able to hit a couple of keys and have the IDE suggest and fix simple problems without having to look at a reference, or moving a bunch of code around.
From my experience all three of these IDEs take about the same amount of setup when you get passed simple applications, so if you had trouble with Eclipse, I don't think IntelliJ or NetBeans will be much simpler.
There is always javac I guess.
This is by no means an ad. Just a helpful bit of information. Bluej and Dr. Java have worked well for me in the past. Bluej has more (in my estimation unneeded) frills then Dr. Java, bu that's a personal preference. Dr. Java has a very shallow learning curve, and setup is simple: run the installer, and point it to your tools.jar class path. Both are free; Bluej was "developed and maintained by a joint research group at Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia, and the University of Kent in Canterbury, UK." while Dr. Java was developed at Rice University in Houston, TX. Just my two cents.
#include <disclaimer.h>
#include <beer.h>
I used Eclipse originally and then migrated to IDEA because Eclipse kept crashing on me (to be fair, this was probably Debian Unstable's fault, not Eclipse). To be honest I really prefer the IntelliJ enviro. At the time it did a lot of things out of the box that Eclipse did not (like show me errors in my Javadoc comments, integrate extremely smoothly with Tomcat, gracefully handle JSPs, etc). Eclipse could probably be bent to do all these things with various plugins, but my IDE is one thing i really don't want to futz with all that much.
:-)
That was two years ago, and to be honest I haven't had much urge to check on how Eclipse is doing these days. I liked it when it wasn't crashing, and for the price you can't beat it... But when your company is picking up the tab and you just want it to work, you can't beat IntelliJ with a stick
apt-get install redhat please god - Me (take it easy, I love Debian)
Respectfully, in addition to asking which IDE to use, you should be asking yourself why this is. Particularly if you do not work in soloist isolation, collaborating with a colleague is in your best interests - you should have asked a college with expertise to assist you. If you are not fortunate enough to be in a master-apprentice relationship with a more experienced colleague, you ought at least shift your automatic frame of mind towards the collaboration of a working group. You could later repay with collaborative expertise in a particular subset of specialty you possess. Even in open source projects, such instincts for teaming and efficiency will serve you well. Your question has been good, but it's basis is suggestive an compartmentalized perspective or environment that may be at least as important to ponder as the finer points of IDE efficiencies.
I work with both simultaneously. Both are adequate workspace environments, relatively easy to migrate and setup(*). However, I find it more interesting to redirect to asking if have considered using both IDEs for their strengths, if costs permit. After migrating, I found no need to actually choose between them, and would ask you if your post hides a false framing question, implying a binary choice when other options exist. You need not fully setup a project in an IDE to reap many of the benefits of it's use. You may load a single source file and still perform a fairly broad number of powerful actions. (As other will no doubt point out, the mix of refactorings offered between them varies, it can be pleasing to utilize both for a combined pool of available IDE refactorings.)
With Murphy as my witness, I currently have Eclipse, Visual SlickEdit, NetBeans, and IntelliJ installed. I use Eclipse for a subset of some of it's refactorings, SlickEdit as needed for things such as horizontal column cuts and power-editing macro recording/replay (the other IDEs simply don't provide these features suitably), and IntelliJ for most development. NetBeans I confess to not much using; I've tried JDeveloper on a colleagues box. Such evaluations are useful - an IDE with even one or two favorable unique features easily run on singleton files repays the exploratory time.
That you may not wish the setup costs is a valid point, as is ability level at maintaining familiarity with multiple IDEs, however the counterpoint here about maximizing efficiency by selection and mix of the right tools, and about continual learning, are, I think, valid. In both regards to increased colleague collaboration and avoiding binary choices to build a robust mix of tools, please consider keeping an active mind.
(*) There are some occasional stray bits of migration errata in either direction, but nothing severe. For instance, Eclipse awkwardly roadblocking on, say, encountering a mixed case windows directory vs an all lowercase Java import. That was bad coding by a third party developer, but an awkward case to workaround in Eclipse that IntelliJ handled smoothly. Both are good IDEs, IntelliJ is perhaps a bit smoother and more robust.
"The hottest places in Hell are reserved for those who, in times of moral crisis, preserved their neutrality." -Dante
"That was two years ago, and to be honest I haven't had much urge to check on how Eclipse is doing these days. I liked it when it wasn't crashing, and for the price you can't beat it... But when your company is picking up the tab and you just want it to work, you can't beat IntelliJ with a stick :-)"
.org.eclipse.emf.ecore so I can install GMF.* No luck so far, although .org.eclipse.emf.ecore.sudo comes close. Update Manager hasn't a clue about "resuming" a download, and apprently no one has any idea about compression, so downloading some of the plugins is positively painful for 56K users.
Well Eclipse isn't "crashing", but it can be a royal pain sometimes to update and resolve dependency issues across plugins. I'm currently trying to find
*All this work so I can basically do what Rational XDE does, hmmf!
However, the JSP and XML support in IntelliJ freaking rocks. Live templates combined with the IntelliJ JSP editor is enough that I switch out of Eclipse to IntelliJ whenever I have to edit JSP, even though I have WTP installed. I've been told that JDeveloper and Netbeans also have JSP editor support, but haven't looked at them closely.
Eclipse has a billion and one plugins, it runs on all platforms, it's awesome... Oh, but also it sucks. Absolutely anti-intuitive (perhaps holdover from it's IBM days? IBM couldn't design a UI to save thier lives). Inconsistancy, primarily, is my main beef. In one set of menus, FooBar is right on top, but on another it's two levels deep, but on the right-click context menu it's three levels deep in a completely different heirarchy... on one pane, but on another pane the right-click context menu for FooBar it's only one level deep, but is named slightly differently. It makes it's a nightmare to find what you are looking for even when know exactly what it is...
What's up with the Java programmers these days? They complain about an IDE that practically writes the code for them while they drink coffee, and it's free. You guys should see what kind of tools many C++ programmers are forced to use & and pay big bucks for. *cough* CodeWarrior *cough*.
Save your wrists today - switch to Dvorak
IDEA is probably the best IDE ever written. It is expensive but it is worth every penny!
Doesn't the question of which IDE to use for Java come up every month or two on slashdot?
Well, I mostly agree, but as someone who codes for a living, the cost of IDEA is more than worth it. I've used them all, and while Eclipse has gotten better, and is now (at least for me) actually *usable*, I find that I can just fly with IDEA.
But this really is a Religious War (tm), and as such there's no Right Answer (pat. pend.)
Nothing is inexplicable; only unexplained -Tom Baker, Doctor Who
I'm an eclipse user, and I have been now for over a year. I think it's awesome, yes it takes a bit of getting used to, but I find that the way I work, eclipse just speeds everything up.
However, it's clear that the Eclipse/IDEA argument is another vi/emacs war, and nearly everyone is going to have a strong opinion either way. I guess it's down to which fits the way you work best. I suggest trying IDEA out, if it works better for you, switch. If it's just as confusing as eclipse, don't bother, stick with the free alternative.
.sigs are for losers
I usually use Eclipse, for financial reasons, but I've used IntelliJ for a few months at a different company, and I regretted getting back to Eclipse. Eclipe is acceptable, but to me IntelliJ was much more intuitive to use. Of course there's a little bit of a learning curve -IDE's are complex programs. But I remember often being pleased with finding functionality at places where I expected/guessed/hoped it would be. I've rarely used a program this complex that felt so 'natural'. I completely agree with the advice before to give it a try; if my boss would pay for it, I'd switch immediately.
"Money is a sign of poverty." - Iain Banks
I haven't worked with the latest version of idea, but i used it a couple of years. Today i code with Eclipse. I can say that it was always a step behind, adding the best new usability-improvements a couple of month later. Well, that was my Impression. I don't know if its still like that. I loved to use Idea, because the usability was always very straight forward and developer-centric. Eclipse is a little more cryptic, with lots of functionality thats always present, even if you don't need it. But its very good, has lots of plugins (including the impressive myEclipse) and doesn't cost a cent.
I started migratring from Eclipse to NetBeans when I saw how nice 4.1 was. Now I'm using the daily builds of 5.0 and it's fantastic. Great for doing GUI or J2EE work. Integrates with JBoss, which is key for my work. Haven't used IDEA so I can't help you there.
I checked out the Eclipse. Wasn't that impressed. To me it seemed too busy. I never understood the one editor fits all languages concept. Pick a language and write an IDE for it. Whats so difficult? I can see why most people on here seem to prefer the IntelliJ IDE.
I've used Eclipse for a while but was forced to change to IDEA because of a new project I got involved in and the project, including the GUI, was written in IDEA. So I wasn't able to migrate the project to Eclipse because IDEA does some magic with the Swing part (if someone can tip me on how to get the Swing GUI written in IDEA working in Eclipse, it would be great!).
But I like Eclipse. Here is why:
- Eclipse looks more polished including fonts, project navigation...
- Overall usage is clearer in Eclipse. I like Eclipse's views - IDEA's small changing windows in the bottom of the GUI and popup windows are frustratingly messy.
- Debugger in Eclipse is GREAT!
- Code analyzer works on all files in the project, not only the one open in the editor.
Both have similar great features that I couldn't live without anymore and IDEA is good too, but I like *using* Eclipse more.
Dear Ask Slashdot: I am currently an Agnostic, but I've read a lot about this "Jesus" thing on the internet and it sounds really cool!! Although I don't plan to now, I would like the option to sin, and I would prefer something that keeps my weekends free because I really like to sleep in. I've read a little bit about Catholicism and it seems interesting, and I've looked at Judiasm, but I think I would have a problem fasting for a whole day even though eight days of gifs would be neat. Hopefully someone can point me in the right direction!
====
Will we actually see this on Ask Slashdot? Well, why not have a real religious argument, that would probably be less controversial than what IDE to choose!!
ACHTUNG! Das computermachine ist nicht fuer gefingerpoken und mittengrabben. Ist nicht fuer gewerken bei das dumpkopfen.
Personally, I have used both in the workplace. I have found IntelliJ to be:
1) more expensive
2) more intuitive
3) more reliable (ie: searches in Eclipse regularly left items out)
4) faster
I would say that #1 is your deciding factor. If you are willing to spend the money on it (you can usually get it for 1/2 price for a Personal copy -- and free for open source projects), it is a much better product.
Some will argue that Eclipse is better because of the fact that it is open source. As much as I prefer open source software, I was willing to spend the money on IntelliJ for home because of #2-#4.
Some will likely point out that #3 just means that I was likely doing something wrong. It wasn't just me - it was the entire team. At the time that I noticed this deficit (last year), the entire work team was required to use Eclipse; and a few of us switched to IntelliJ (and honestly a couple to JBuilder as well; no one switched to NetBeans, though we tried it) because all but 1 of us despised how Eclipse performed.
If you aren't looking for something with all the bells and whistles, you might just want to go with a much cheaper solution like JCreator (which I also paid for) -- but I personally would recommend IntelliJ.
http://www.google.com/profiles/malachid
I have sworn by IDEA for the past three major version releases. Now I find myself swearing at it sometimes. While the feature set has continued to grow impressively, the product is started to feel slow and bloated. In particular, the editors have impressive error checking features that are always on but wind up hindering you if your files start to get big or you start to do unusual things like create a JSP page that generates Javascript (for an AJAX application).
While one can refactor for better modularity when this happens, I would rather be able to turn some of the dynamic parsing off until I get my darned edits done so the screen feedback keeps up with the keyboard. (I did try looking under all the GUI rocks for the "disable" switch and I can't find one).
Still, it is better than Eclipse for what it does and I consider it worth the money I spend (about $200-$300/year) to keep it updated.
The best IDE for Java is your favorite text editor, a console and ANT. IDE SchmIDE.
The first roadblock is how to run a program from the IDE. Yeah, yeah, in Java you have to specify which module contains a class with a static main method, but still, bringing up a project and figuring out the Run dialog can be an effort.
The second roadblock is how example programs are packaged -- some kind of .zip format and unzipping when you load projects -- still haven't cracked that on.
The third annoyance is if you have a bunch of .java files that compile to a bunch of .class files, and you just want to use Eclipse a text editor for the .java, as a compiler for the .class, and perhaps to run a .class file containing a static main(). Eclipse is real fussy about existing/new directories, and yes I have generated projects to encompass collections of .java files I had previously maintained with a text editor and compiled with javac, but I can never remember from one time to the next how to do it.
Last time I mentioned any of these issues I was modded Troll and told I was an idiot (gee, people are that sensitive about any criticism about Eclipse). Eclipse may be good, Eclipse may be powerful, but Eclipse has a lot of the stamp of IBM on it that they have their unique way of doing UI's, and I second that observation.
Well, i dont think any other Java IDE can come close to IDEA.. IDEA is the way to go :-)
You could try using netbeans, an open-source project. Some of the advantages of using Netbeans are
1. Its JSP, HTML, and XML editors are excellent. This is something that is sorely lacking in Eclipse. It is fast and it does not freeze like eclipse.
2. Eclipse freezes when trying to open a class or expand the project tree. This happens most of the times.
3. Code-completion is slow in eclipse.
4. NetBeans 4.1 comes with full integration with Tomcat 5 and Sun System Application Server PE 8.1. In order to get this functionality with Eclipse you need to download or purchase plugins. In NetBeans, in order to deploy/run a J2EE application in Sun's app server, all you need to do is to press the run button. NetBeans will compile and deploy the app and launch the app server (if it is not already running), and open your default browser to the right URL. This makes testing code very fast. You don't have to worry about bouncing the server, going out of the IDE to compile the source and then copy the WAR or EAR file to the deploy directory of the app server. You just press Run.
5. NetBeans places all of the project metadata into ant build scripts rather than the extra, IDE specific files.
You could read some real stories from eclipse users here
http://www.netbeans.org/switch/realstories.html
Can the OP please tell us why the Eclipse environment setup took him/her such a long time? I've used Eclipse in the past with plugings such as EMF, JUnit (which now comes built in), VSS Plugin, Java Pretty Printer, Perl SDK Plugin, etc., and I never had too much trouble or time spent in setting up the environment....
http://efil.blogspot.com/
I've never been a huge fan of Integrated Development Enviornments. The learning curve is usually quite steep, each has its own peculiarities, and each does things you originally had no intention of doing.
Case in point, Anjuta, on the creation of a new app, creates a 500K config file and I have no idea what it's doing. Each IDE also has a tendency to create its own directory hierarchy, make file or equivilent, and if versioning is included, will pick its own scheme.
What this usually entails for me is loss of control over the project. I sort of feel trapped within the IDE, and unable to get out. The Visual Studio effect; I don't know where my code ends and the automatically generated stuff begins.
As such, I prefer keeping it simple. I use a bare text editor where possible. Syntac highlighting is a must for me, and I've found very few editors that do this correctly. Emacs will work if your colour scheme is OK, but Emacs is a quasi-IDE to begin with.
I find writing computer programs to be just that. Writing. It's a personalised sort of thing. A few personally written shell scripts, a handmade makefile, the command line and a decent editor can go a long, long way. You are intimately aquainted with all aspects of the project. On the downside, you are intimately aquainted with all aspects of the project.
Your milage may vary, considerably. But before you begin to use an IDE, as what it is giving you, good and bad, that a personalised DE is not. There's a trend towards monolithic IDE programs that do it all in one, but do they really deliver on their promise. Are you really more productive. Your troubles with Eclipse could be symptoms that IDE are really not for you.
May the Maths Be with you!
Depends what you want
If you want:
The best code editor for any language at all ever then splash out any by IDEA. It rocks.
If you do any Java GUI development or want a quick free way to get going then Net Beans is for you. I generally recommend this to beginners because it is very easy to set-up and understand.
See: http://www.netbeans.org/
If you want a plug-in for every occasion, and don't mind having a long set-up time then Eclipse is for you. You can shortcut some of this by using something like My Eclipse.
http://www.myeclipseide.com/index.htm
Personally I use IDEA and Net Beans. Can't be bothered with Eclipse really.
IntelliJ IDEA is available for a free 30 day trial. Just download it and try it out, and you should be able to answer your own question. I did and decided that while IDEA is good, Eclipse has more compelling price:performance.
There are other free options as well:
Oracle JDeveloper
Borland JBuilder
And maybe a few others if you search Google for "free Java IDE".
Flying is easy, just throw yourself at the ground and miss. -Douglas Adams
If you want to do the comparison with Eclipse 3.1, this could be useful:
F2 (or hover mouse) * Ctrl-Q: show definition (and docs, if any) of symbol under the cursor
F3 * Ctrl-B: jump to definition of symbol under the cursor
Alt-LeftArrow * Ctrl-Alt-Left Arrow: back to previous location (like back in your browser, it has a stack of visited edit locations)
Ctrl-Shift-T * Ctrl-N: find class by name
Ctrl-Shift-R * Ctrl-Shift-N: find non-Java file by name
Ctrl-H (java search)? * Ctrl-Alt-Shift-N: find any method by name
Alt-Shift-L * Ctrl-Alt-V: extract highlighted expression as variable
Alt-Shift-I * Ctrl-Alt-N: Inline highlighted variable or method
Alt-Shift-M * Ctrl-Alt-M: extract highlighted block as method
Alt-Shift-R * Ctrl-F6: global symbol rename (does it via the parse tree, so variables or methods with the same name in different contexts won't be touched; if you rename a class or package, it takes care of all filenames and related import statements)
Alt-Shift-C * Ctrl-Shift-F6: change method signature (again, global based on the parse tree)
IDEA is an excellent tool...far superior than Netbeans or Eclipse IMHO. I have used all three and found IDEA to be heads above both.
...do not use Eclipse. It is NOT a nice tool, highly confusing, buggy, unstable, and its so called "platform features" are used by about 3 people in the world.
It is much more stable (It caught a JVM bug, reported it to me and offered to restart or adjust itself!),
has excellent featueres built right in (no hunting for plugins and having to deal with buggy plugins),
has a MUCH shorter learning curve then Eclipse,
excellent version control (better then Netbeans 5, Eclipses' has bugs in it) subtle features that you grow to appreciate, excellent merging and version revision, comparison,
GUI is highly optimised (very fast on Linux),
features actually work (try adding a property to a class with 50 members using the bean pattern interface in NB),
has helpful docs,
doesnt fall over on huge projects (Netbeans does when using refactoring...grrrrrrr...all that wasted time),
has an awesome library of refactoring templates that actually work,
manages to do things "just right for you" e.g. build system,
and many more.....
The only problem is the $400 price tag.
One bit of advice.....please for the love of Gosling
As for NB.....4.1 has the above problems, 5 still to early to say though Matisse is good!
I paid the $400.
...but I once had a somewhat bizarre set of circumstances that led to me downloading and using Oracle's JDeveloper. It really wasn't too bad, I liked it much better than NetBeans (what's up with "mount points", anyway?), although I still prefer Eclipse. And it's free-as-in-beer, so all it'll cost you is some time to download and install it. I've also heard nice things about TopLink, but I haven't looked into it.
Just junk food for thought...
Along with other posters, I don't understand what could have taken so long to install Eclipse, unless you are running on a computer 2+ years old, w/ 256Mb RAM. Eclipse has always been very easy (and quick) to install (sans plug-ins). I have been using Eclipse since 1.x, and also several other IDEs Eclipse was slow (at least to bootstrap) in the 1.x -2.x series, but the latest major version 3.x has fixed that nicely, plus has better feedback on what it is doing. You do have to have a beefy computer to run it though -- it frequently takes upwards of 250Mb of RAM. I am using may plug-ins however, for Spring, Hibernate, JBoss, PMD, and Automated Metrics. I also use Rational Software Architect, *sometimes simultaneously*. I've found that most major vendors of complementing developement products (i.e. Source Control, Configuration Managment, Testing tools) are shifting resources to support plug-ins. Like it or not, we need these tools, and it's nice to have them in one place. One thing I don't like is how little real-estate on the screen you can find yourself with. Optimally, you can have a dual monitor setup or something, otherwise you'll need bifocals by the end of the day. Invest in the learning curve, and you won't be sorry.
Netbeans has an awsome J2EE support. It has a fully featured JSP editor and has the ability to launch and debug web apps from inside the IDE. The J2EE support is installed along with the IDE. Eclipse plugins suggest that they can do the same. However I had a tough time configuring these plugins with partial success only.
Netbeans has a very good support for J2ME apps through mobility pack.
Netbeans has lots of sample applications that make learning easy.
Netbeans has an integrated catalogus of useful design patterns which is very handy.
I have not tried it profiler .
Three thoughts I give you. But, do not think too much, do as J. Krishnamurti says Thinking is conditioning. Where there is conditioning, there is no freedom.
1 Eclipse is an option in some Linux OSs, like SUSE 9.3. That is how I got my Eclipse running. It is stable enough so the guys who put the distro and other free apps decided to throw it in the mix.
2 IDEA wins best IDE year after year, I think, after Borland Jbuilder 3 won years before. Marketing? Maybe. Back then it was Borland, today it is IDEA. The thing is best IDE title is won by not-free IDEs.
3 Eclipse is like Wikipedia: same info as in Encyclopedia Britannica Online, created by regular but interested people, with little differences that catch up in little time.
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I have been using IntelliJ for 3 years now, and I have to say it is the best IDE I have ever used, and I can't imagine using anything else. I have tried to use eclipse a few times, usually when there is a new major release. Everytime I use it, it gets better, but it is never quite ready for me. When I use it, it feels like Eclipse is a cheap knock off of intelliJ. It kind of looks the same from the outside, but when you sit down and use it, you know instantly that it isn't the real thing.
I recently tried out netbeans for the first time in a long time, and it has gotten much better, but it isn't quite there either. The GUI editor is nice, but the java editor needs some more work.. I put this on par with Eclipse, but if you are doing GUI work, I would pick netbeans.
It is true, you get what you pay for. Try out intelliJ's free trial and if you like it, and you have the cash, buy it, intelliJ will pay for itself in the long run. If you are strapped for cash, use one of the free editors to write the next killer app, and make yourself some fat cash to buy yourself a nice new intelliJ license.
People will probably think I'm lieing, but I don't care. My IDE of choice is and will probably always be VIM. I have tried many IDE's and they all have something nice to offer, but I just can't get past the power of VIM. I can write code so much faster in VIM than I can with any other IDE. I often keep an IDE around for debugging though. The scripting capabilities of VIM, while not as robust as Emacs, are quite extensive and powerful such that you can build scripts to handle most repetitive tasks.
Ideally, it would be nice to run VIM inside of Eclipse or IntelliJ as my editor. Is there such a thing? That could definitely coerce me into using an IDE. I've thought about writing something like this as a plugin for Eclipse but have not bothered to do so. Let me know if anyone knows of such a thing.