Free, color-coded java coding program?

[blurredvision]

I'm looking for a freeware program so I can mess around with Java a bit here at work. I have a little downtime here and there, and I wanted to learn bits and pieces of the language, since it seems to be the language of choice for internal apps at work.

I'd prefer this program also be color-coded, otherwise I'd just use notepad 😀. What do you guys recommend? I'd google a bit, but it seems much easier to just get suggestions from the guys who live and breath this stuff, and would be able to suggest something in a second. Thanks all-mighty programmers!

 

[stevf]

So you are looking for a simple text-editor that does syntax highlighting (keywords in one color, qoutes are another etc)? Most text editors other than notepad seem to do that.

Take a look at crimson editor, it is free and does syntax highlighting. Do you have the java JDK set up on your computer there? if so you can set crimson to compile from its menu. Otherwise you will need to compile from the command line.

 

[mundane]

Eclipse, but it's far from light weight.

 

[blurredvision]

StevF, I will be setting up the JDK on my computer. Syntax highlighting is definitely a better sounding term than my "color-coded" one 😀. I had used JCreate (or JCreator, can't remember), and it was nice as far as interface and things go, but wasn't free, only a 30-day trial. A couple guys here at work use eMacs or something, but I don't want to get into installing cygwin, which I think I was told was necessary to use that one.

 

[stevf]

You could use emacs, not overly familiar with it but you should be able to use emacs and then compile from the command line. Crimson editor is completely free. There are others too, but not familiar with them. Some might suggest notepad++ and i think Jedit are both free too. in the software for windows is a sticky about freeware and it lists some of the stuff you are looking for. Textpad is pretty good too but that is not freeware if you are using it at work

 

[jbubrisk]

I THINK JEDIT supports Java, it supports a bunch of different languages (syntax highlighting), and it was even written in Java! I use it for PHP coding, along with some great plugins, and it works great! I think there are a LOT more Java plugins too! Not sure about compiling the code... but I'm sure there would be a plugin for that!

 

[EvilManagedCare]

jGrasp is lightweight and has syntax highlighting. I'm not sure about how advanced the highlighting is in terms of customization as I always left it at the default settings.

Nevertheless it's easy to use and free.

 

[esun]

I think Eclipse is basically standard for Java development. If you get it set up properly, you won't use anything else. If you want just a good text editor with syntax highlighting, almost anything will do.

 

[Modelworks]

Context would be my choice.
It has templates for everything there is or close to it. 🙂
http://www.context.cx/

 

[aceO07]

I used to use JCreator Pro (registered). It's not bad and simple to use, but Eclipse is pretty standard and has more useful features and is free. Eclipse has a slightly bigger learning curve, but I think it's worth it after you stick with it.

 

[tfinch2]

Originally posted by: EvilManagedCare
jGrasp is lightweight and has syntax highlighting. I'm not sure about how advanced the highlighting is in terms of customization as I always left it at the default settings.

Nevertheless it's easy to use and free.

jGrasp sucks. It is sooooo slow.

TextPad for simple edits, Eclipse for everything else.

On Linux I'll use Emacs or vi, depending what the system has.