TW Blog :: Archives for September 2003

The J-Bay Of J-Editors

Relates to Java and IDEs

Ok, have played around with Eclipse this weekend, and I am totally converted. All the IDEs I had tried up till now have been removed from my system, and Eclipse has become my only Java editor. It is superb! The features are just too many to list right now, but with realtime tool tips from the JavaDoc and source file, error checking, advanced file compare and rollback and auto-compile on save (to name a few) my personal Java development is coming along rapidly. And that is in only 36 hours! The interface is crisp, the icons are visually pleasing and instructive and the well documented start-up tutorial got me up and running in no time with workspaces, perspectives and views. Creating custom classpaths to the Open Office API and MySQL Bridge was a breeze. And if all this wasn't enough to get me excited, the quick fix feature put the icing on the cake.

Massive respect to the team that dedicate their time to develop this Open Source project. Maybe once I have a real feel for the system, I will have a look at a few of the plugins for PHP, Perl, XML and SQL. Even try and get involved when I can find the time. The Point Break of non-commercial/low-budget Java IDEs!

Posted on Sunday, Sep 14, 2003 at 16:45:13.