development tools

[Kiyu]

Hello-
I am an accomplished programmer ( scripter...? ) in PHP. I started
off using vi and DreamWeaver to code and then, after years of using
those tools "discovered" Zend Studio - an IDE for PHP. I slap myself
every time I think about the stupid things I wrote to debug my code
when I really needed a good tool that had a debugger. I am familiar
enough with the syntax of Java to code in it and have written some
simple stuff. I am now at the point that I want to do some serious
work in Java and don't want to slap myself in 5 years after I've been
using the wrong tools. I have looked at Java development offerings
from Sun and Borland, but there are so many tools; I'm really not sure
what I should buy. Also, although I am willing to spend what it
takes, I don't want to spend a couple grand on a tool I won't ever
really need. I am sure the reader's next question will likely be:
what kind of development are you going to do? My answer is this: I am
working towards extending/working with the Sun Java System RFID (Radio
Frequency ID tags which will eventually replace barcodes). I plan on
writing server-side code as well as some interfaces.

This leads me to another issue: Sun has what seems to me to be a
dizzying array of various server softwares that all seem to somehow
work together, but is there somewhere that Sun outlines how it all
should work together or what can be omitted?

Guidance and opinions are welcomed. Thank you.

-Kiyu

 

[Oscar kind]

I am familiar
enough with the syntax of Java to code in it and have written some
simple stuff. I am now at the point that I want to do some serious
work in Java and don't want to slap myself in 5 years after I've been
using the wrong tools.

Sounds like a smart idea. However, there are no "wrong" tools IMHO.
But there are unsuitable tools: an IDE for a beginner, for example.

In your case, it sounds like you're almost ready for an IDE. I say almost,
because every IDE has different things with which it tries to help
developers. Building projects is one of them, but every IDE does this
differently.

The first thing is to learn to use ant. It automates builds for you, and
can even increase version numbers, commit version tags in cvs, create the
database, or deploy your application. And that's plain out of the box.

Then you want to look at several IDE's. The best three I've heard of are
Eclipse, IntelliJ and BlueJ. But others like JBuilder are also quite good.

A short overview (my limited knowledge/opinion only):
- Eclipse is free but doesn't support Java (1.)5.0 yet (unless in beta)
- IntelliJ does support Java (1.)5.0, but is expensive
- BlueJ is simple, but free (I have no knowledge about support for 1.5.0)
This IDE is good for beginners, but others find it nice as well.
- JBuilder is quite good, not free, and IMHO less useful for it's price
than both Eclipse and IntelliJ.

Your mileage will vary, so I advise you to try a few different IDE's and
see which one works best for you.

 

[Alex Hunsley]

Sounds like a smart idea. However, there are no "wrong" tools IMHO.
But there are unsuitable tools: an IDE for a beginner, for example.

[snip]

Just to add to Oscars post: if you do use an IDE, make a little effort
and learn how to do things on the command line first (i.e. compiling and
running your java programs). You will gain some understanding of what
goes on behind the scenes, and later when you use an IDE and perhaps run
into problems, the experience will prove useful. Good knowledge to have.