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Java's top guns

<em>JavaWorld</em> honors the leading Java technologies in the 2002 Editors' Choice Awards

By Jennifer Orr, JavaWorld.com, 03/26/02

Page 4 of 7

Best Java IDE: Forte For Java 3.0, Sun Microsystems

With the Forte for Java 3.0 release, Sun introduced the Enterprise Edition, a commercial version that facilitates J2EE application and Web services development. The free Community Edition has all the capabilities of the previous commercial product -- Forte for Java, Internet Edition -- and now provides a toolkit for building database-aware Web applications.

"Forte for Java, Community Edition, is an excellent IDE for introductory Web development," says ECA judge Wm. Paul Rogers, an independent Java architect. "It's better equipped to champion the call of Java than any other free or light version IDE I've tried."

Taking a slightly different approach from other proprietary IDEs, Forte for Java is based on the open source NetBeans Tools Platform. Thus, the IDE benefits from Sun developers as well as the entire NetBeans open source community. Forte for Java's Extension Partner Program also fosters a community development environment; it allows independent vendors to build their products on top of the Forte for Java platform.

"These partners are among the Forte for Java IDE's most valuable assets for providing complete development and application solutions to mutual customers," says Forte for Java product manager Dan Roberts. "To date, nearly 100 companies have teamed with Sun to build add-on modules or to bundle the free Forte for Java, Community Edition, IDE into their own offerings."

Finalist: IDEA 2.5, IntelliJ

IntelliJ's IDEA features easy code generation, quick navigation, search-and-replace capabilities, and JavaServer Pages (JSP) and javadoc support. The latest version includes 13 new code refactorings, backward and forward navigation buttons, integration with JUnit and Microsoft's Visual SourceSafe, and improved Apache Ant integrations.

"While most Java IDEs seem to have grown into full-blown operating systems, IntelliJ keeps it simple -- and fast," says Sommers.

Finalist: JBuilder 6.0 Enterprise, Borland Software

For JBuilder 6.0, Borland added a new Enterprise JavaBean (EJB) 2.0 designer, Unified Modeling Language (UML) code visualization, and refactoring, unit testing, and javadoc support to its popular JBuilder IDE.

"The best just keeps getting better," says ECA judge John Zukowski, a strategic Java consultant with JZ Ventures. "Better integrated testing, refactoring, and UML -- you wonder what's in store for 7.0."

Whatever Borland plans next, Tony de la Lama, Borland's vice president of Java solutions, assures developers that JBuilder will continue to advance best practices for J2EE application development.

Most Useful Java Community-Developed Technology: Apache Ant 1.4.1, the Jakarta Project

Though originally developed as a Java-based build tool, Ant has matured into a more versatile product, thanks to the open source project's active developer community. Ant's developers have extended the tool's capabilities beyond just compiling and jarring Java source files. With Ant, developers can compile, run unit tests, deploy to a remote app server, and run deployment tests with one command. In addition, Ant lets developers issue SQL statements, zip a logfile copy, and email that copy as a MIME attachment. Most of these functionalities were added by independent developers, who, after solving their own specific build problems with Ant, shared their solutions with the Ant community.

 

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