Need IDE recommendations

[brikis98]

Not sure if this belongs in the software or the programming forum, but at any rate... I need a recommendation for a good IDE for web coding in Java - that is, servlets, JSP's, HTML, CSS, Javascript, etc.

I tried --MyEclipse-- (a plugin for Eclipse), but found it very buggy and not worth the money. I did like its integration with tomcat (it can autodeploy your project whenever you push save), but other than that, I found few redeeming features.

any suggestions are greatly appreciated

 

[Argo]

If you need free the I don't see why you wouldn't use Eclipse. If you don't mind spending a bit of cash then IntelliJ Idea is pretty good.

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: Argo
If you need free the I don't see why you wouldn't use Eclipse. If you don't mind spending a bit of cash then IntelliJ Idea is pretty good.

I tried --My--Eclipse, which is a plugin for Eclipse specifically for web development and didn't like it.

Free is NOT a requirement, but obviously never hurts. I'm open to other Eclipse plugins or totally different software alike.

 

[mundane]

I think Netbeans has a module specifically for J2EE components.

 

[Thyme]

Eclipse without Myeclipse is doable with the WTP plugin: http://www.eclipse.org/webtools/main.php

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: Thyme
Eclipse without Myeclipse is doable with the WTP plugin: http://www.eclipse.org/webtools/main.php

oooh, this looks promising.

thanks for the suggestions so far - please keep them coming

 

[aceO07]

Netbeans has integrated tomcat and http monitor and other tools. I think it has code completion options for js too, maybe as a plugin/module. You most likely do the same with Eclipse, but Netbeans can pretty much just install and use.

 

[SpiderWiz]

Originally posted by: Thyme
Eclipse without Myeclipse is doable with the WTP plugin: http://www.eclipse.org/webtools/main.php

We use this also.

 

[brikis98]

bump

 

[Thyme]

You should probably use eclipse unless you have a reason not to.

 

[aceO07]

I tried Eclipse with the tomcat plugin yesterday and it was subpar to my experience with Netbeans 5.5 (with no extra plugins). Netbeans has integrated tomcat support. Has http monitor. Has special editor for all the tomcat web.xml features. I don't need to write the xml mappings for my servlets. It autohides my windows/views until I hover over. I don't need to click to show and click again to hide as in Eclipse. (If this feature is possible in Eclipse, please let me know.)

Eclipse has better features for writing code, but I really enjoyed the extras that Netbeans came with. It's a great help if you want to dive into tomcat, servlets without having to do anything extra.

Also, Netbeans comes with CVS support. This is great for me when I want to do work on desktop or laptop. I noticed this isn't standard on Eclipse. Is there an easy way to set it up?

I will give Eclipse w/ WTP a try today. It's a huge download. I tried updating my version to use WTP, but the update manager said it didn't meet requirements for versions. I'm using 3.2.2 w/o extras. I'm downloading the WTP all in one download and will try it again.

 

[itachi]

given that you're not using any frameworks (i.e., struts or jsf), there's no point in spending money on any software.
use wtp and aptana (http://www.aptana.com).. that should satisfy all your needs.

 

[Thyme]

Eclipse has CVS support natively and there are plugins for most CVM systems. I'm not sure about the other features.

Eclipse is probably the most popular and there are lots of plug-ins developed for it, so if there's no strong reason to use something else, I'd still suggest the OP use it.

MyEclipse has a ton of features that you wouldn't have necessarily noticed on first glance. Ace, you might want to try it out, though it's not free.

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: itachi
given that you're not using any frameworks (i.e., struts or jsf), there's no point in spending money on any software.
use wtp and aptana (http://www.aptana.com).. that should satisfy all your needs.

we are using struts, actually, as well as a bunch of tag libraries and plugins, so something that knows how to handle them would be "nice".

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: Thyme
Eclipse has CVS support natively and there are plugins for most CVM systems. I'm not sure about the other features.

Eclipse is probably the most popular and there are lots of plug-ins developed for it, so if there's no strong reason to use something else, I'd still suggest the OP use it.

MyEclipse has a ton of features that you wouldn't have necessarily noticed on first glance. Ace, you might want to try it out, though it's not free.

We use eclipse for everything here, so I am in favor of using it, I was just looking for plugins ppl had experience with (although I'm open to other IDE's too).

As I said, I used MyEclipse and was not impressed. Yes, it is "aware" of struts and the like, but I didn't find any of its tools useful - I ended up editing raw XML files anyway. Moreover, I ran into lots of bugs/quirks that drove me insane, so I really did not think it was worth spending money on.

 

[Pugnax]

Eclipse rocks!
It does take a while to figure out, but the plugins you can get for it are great. If you are writing java, it's certainly one of the best IDEs. I use it for Ruby/Rails development daily now and really have no qualms about it. Aptana is a nice addon to Eclipse as well.

 

[itachi]

Originally posted by: brikis98
we are using struts, actually, as well as a bunch of tag libraries and plugins, so something that knows how to handle them would be "nice".

unless your company's willing to pay thousands to tens of thousands (assuming a small team), myeclipse is your best bet.

you can also try checking out bea workshop for jsp.